Sprinter Faces A Marathon (NY Times crapping in their pants)

The Old York Times ^ | 02 MAR 2004 | Todd Purdum

[mylife]

Sprinter faces marathon....wow truth in media

[mylife]

Three days before the 10 Democratic contests of Super Tuesday, a national poll by the National Annenberg Election Survey at the University of Pennsylvania found that just over a third of registered voters who said they intended to participate believed they had learned enough about the candidates to make an informed choice. A like percentage expressed a similar view in the 21 states that have yet to vote.

Its pitiful isnt it?

[Shermy]

"NEWS ANALYSIS"

More and more I've seen this in the loftier rags. A cover for an opinion page piece put on a news page - call it "analysis."

[gov_bean_ counter]

Tonight on the Fox Roundtable someone was complaining about the Bush campaign's lack of action thus far. Mort (I think) said there is plenty of time for people to find out what is wrong with Kerry.

[JRios1968]

Maybe Ketchup Boy will now come to regret saying "Bring it on".

[AB AB AB]

Why all the Kerry-promoting quotes from "former Senator Max Cleland" lately? He will be Kerry's VP candidate. Just picture it. A pair of wounded "war heroes" to attack the "wartime president." Don't forget -- you heard it here first.

[squidly]

I just get such a kick out of this talk of how Kerry has to "define himself" over the coming months, as if he hasn't done that over the last twenty years. Too many of the sheeple listen to the speeches instead of checking the records.

[Sloth]

For all his early success, Mr. Kerry's biggest vulnerability may be that so few voters really know him.

Like hell! That's the only thing that's keeping him anywhere near Bush in the polls.

[mylife]

the gimpywimp ticket?

[RayChuang88]

My guess is that within two weeks you'll see the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign open up a web site with numerous citations from the Congressional Record showing Kerry's very liberal voting record. Once the public finds out about Kerry's voting record they will dump Kerry like yesterday's tissues. :)

[Timm]

It's hard to see Kerry *not* taking a hit on national security. His anti-war activism won't help him. His votes against every important weapons system, each of which are now vital in the war on terror, is going to hurt. Surely any sane, non-ideological person can see this.

Kerry thinks, though, that he can wail gloom and doom long enough about the economy to win in November. Thus far, a small ray of hope for this strategy has been allowed to appear. The White House just hasn't articulated the strengths of the economy very well, and thus the "story line" has always been whether Bush can overcome the "weakness" in the economy. Sometimes the point is put that way. Other times pundits will say that the White House "must" make this election about foreign policy. Either way, argh! That the conventional wisdom has evolved to this point is itself indicative of a failure-- thus far-- of the GOP to be aggressive enough in talking up its economic strategy.

Sound familiar? This was dad's failure in 1992: too much of the country believed a period of growth in GDP and jobs was the worst economic period since the depression!!

Like dad, W will have to contend with rags like the Times carrying water for the Democrats. Nevertheless, if he campaigns competently, he'll be more effective than dad was. The public likes W better, and more importantly we're not faced with a monolithic Democrat media as in 1992.

Luckily, he can put things simply, which will lend itself to effective communication despite a hostile portion of the media. In brief, economic growth is strong, real wages are up, taxes are down, jobs are increasing-- and, in any case, a tax increase will kill job growth! This is hardly the most difficult thing an incumbent has ever had to communicate to an electorate. In any case, the future of the country depends on the White House getting this message out, so they'd better be serious about doing it.

I think the election might be close. Still, if Bush campaigns competently, the economy continues to grow and create jobs, and there are no spectacular foreign policy setbacks, he'll win. He's got the most control over the first element. I don't think it's been a gross error to remain silent for now. Soon, though, it's going to be time to speak on these matters. Let's hope the White House does it right.

[Cicero]

Bush senior made several mistakes, of which the biggest was saying "read my lips" and then raising taxes.

And he was undermined by Ross Perot, who wasted no time attacking clinton.

But the final reason he lost was that he didn't really try. I don't know why, but he just gave up. He didn't really seem to want it. He was tired.

I don't see that happening with GWB.

[PackerBoy]

But the final reason he lost was that he didn't really try. I don't know why, but he just gave up. He didn't really seem to want it. He was tired.

Whether he was tired, or just frustrated that voters might pick another unknown southern governor, he DID seem to give up in 1992. I read that he pooh-poohed many of his campaign advisors' suggestions throughout the campaign. Maybe 12 years in the Oval Office and next door was too much.

[Intolerant in NJ]

Sprinter Faces A Marathon...and at the finish line will be waiting a million or so Vietnam vets, their relatives, and survivors who just can't wait to vote against Kerry, the man who maybe more than anyone else helped set them up to be spit upon and called "baby-killers" at the end of their honorable tours of duty - it's payback time..........

[Piranha]

In journalism, including the NY Times in particular, a "News Analysis" piece is acknowledged as an opinion peace that (a) attempts to give deeper perspective to the news than a regular news column, but (b) contains many more facts than an Op-Ed type opinion piece.

The Times has run these pieces at least since I was a kid, and I'm 47 now.

[spokeshave]

Yaeh........and add in the cool $Million Theresa has in WAL MART (that notorious opressor of the low wage group) and all those Heinz factories moved overseas....was it really 57..?

[okie01]

"The Times has run these pieces at least since I was a kid, and I'm 47 now."

How many of their News Analyses, I wonder, have been favorable to Republicans...???

[Piranha]

After the next one, and the one after that, there'll be two.

[AB AB AB]

That's the one!