Posted on 09/23/2004 2:11:29 PM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican
(AP) WASHINGTON - Bowing to political realities, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has canceled plans to begin broadcasting television commercials in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana and the perennial battleground of Missouri.
The decision to shrink his political playing field reduces Kerry's strategic options — at least for now — in the homestretch of the campaign. George W. Bush won all four states in 2000, and Kerry can't win the White House without taking a state or two from the Republican incumbent.
While pulling back from some states that Bush carried, Kerry is still strongly competing in several GOP-leaning battlegrounds, including Ohio, Florida, Colorado and Nevada.
Ads were scheduled to begin airing Oct. 5 in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri as part of a $5 million investment through Nov. 2, but campaign advisers concluded Kerry isn't doing well enough in the states to justify the cost.
The campaign, which has reserved commercial time in 20 states through Election Day, notified television stations in the four states that Kerry would not follow through on his plans for the first week of October. Plans are still in place to air ads starting the second week of October, campaign officials said, but those will likely be tabled, too.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Arizona, Arkansas and Louisiana are unlikely to see Kerry ads unless there is a major shift in the campaign's dynamics. Missouri is still the subject of debate inside the campaign, with some advisers pushing to advertise in the traditional swing state.
With its burgeoning exurbs and rural areas turning more Republican every day, Missouri cannot be won by Kerry in a close race, some advisers have concluded. But some think it's important for the Democrat to spend money there, forcing President Bush (news - web sites) to defend the GOP turf.
Bush and the Republican National Committee (news - web sites) have been advertising moderately in Arizona and Missouri. With Kerry chased from those states, Bush can shift their budgets — $330,000 this week alone — to states that Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore (news - web sites) won four years ago.
Kerry spent about $15 million in the four states, half of it in Missouri, trying to put them in play. It was part of a strategy to stretch the battlefield into GOP territory, from Virginia and North Carolina in the South to Arizona in the Southwest and Nevada in the West.
Constantly shifting their strategies, both campaigns recently increased their ad budgets in West Virginia and Colorado. Bush has boosted his ads in Minnesota, Maine and Oregon — all states won by Gore that Kerry can't afford to lose.
Ohio and Florida, with a combined 47 electoral votes, offer Kerry his best hope of claiming territory won by Bush in 2000. After that, the options dwindle to a few small states: New Hampshire, Nevada, West Virginia and Colorado.
Kerry ads are running in 14 of the 20 states in which he reserved commercial time. His schedule calls for ads to begin airing next month in Washington state and North Carolina.
Because of population shifts since 2000 that favor Republicans, Kerry could win every state taken by Gore in 2000 and would have just 260 electoral votes, 10 short of winning the presidency. Gore lost to Bush by five electoral votes, 271-266.
LOSSSSSEEEEERRRRRRRRRR
Well said....well said.
the little engine that could'nt
Kerry has spent so much of useless attack ads and
his staff has siphoned off tremendous amounts in
salaries, there is little left.
As as his campaign goes up in flames, few Democrats and
none of his foreign friends with two brain cells still
living, are going to give him one more dollar.
If you really, really want to see some "well said" see if Al Baby can resurrect (and ping us to) the thread he started right after he got home from his colonoscopy.
I guess he has to use his resources to shore up New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Oregon! Bwahahahahaha!!!
What they are really saying is that Kerry is so far behind in MO that the St. Louis voting machines can't be rigged to overcome the deficit.
We are still getting some DNC attack commercials but no Kerry ads have been seen for the last two or three weeks in my part of the state.
Why don't you go "shove it" you "idiot", "scumbag" because nobody cares about you or Arizona. -- sweet lady.
I heard Rush say today he thought perhaps Kerry was running low on money. I doubt it. Kerry took the federal 75 million in August but didn't really spend anything that month, the DNC backed him up with ads along with the 527s. I think it did hurt that the Swift Vets caused him to create and run some ads attacking Bush over the subject. But I wouldn't jump to the conclusion he is running low on cash. One he would lie and take money from MRs. "shove it". I think the dem's believe they can win those states Gore won, and carry either Florida or Ohio and Kerry wins. So they are focusing all efforts on protecting those Gore States and picking off one or two from Bush
Typical move by the French, when the going gets hard...SURRENDER...la
This is good news for the citizens of Arizona,Arkansas Louisiana and Missouri. Less rhetoric on the airwaves.
Well three states and a partial since according to Tereeesa Arizona is not really a whole state.
Oh yes, the French connection.
Ew, I gotta have one of those on October 8th...maybe I oughta start a thread :-)
If only he would give up Massachusetts too. You dudes realize that post-November 3rd this national embarrassment will still warm a seat in the US Senate--unlike Albert Gore, who disappeared to grow fat and bearded and insane. Kerry may still miss lots of votes and lots of intelligence briefings, but he will still be loose in Washington to work his special brand of America-loathing mischief. And if the Dems ever take the senate again ...
Please do...but be sure and fire up the computer first thing when you get home and start posting before the drugs wear off!!
(I've been there, done that twice before myself...not so bad except for the dreaded "prep work")
He had 3 ads in a row here just before Judge Judy.
Local channels have his ugly puss on continuously. I see more of him than I do the President.
ABC, NBC CBS are giving FREE Kerry promos all day. On the radio breaks, they play seconds of Kerry's idotic speech of the day. I'm telling you, the major networks are in full Kerry campaign mode here in Sarasota. It's disgusting.
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