By positioning himself as a moderate hawk on defense, he has essentially given up on the "Peace at any cost" crowd and may have handed Nader an additional 2 or 3 percent.
When given the choice between 1000 moderate votes and 10 extremist votes, it's always better to try to get the moderates. But since a sizable portion of Kerry's base supported Howard Dean because of his total opposition to the Iraq War, he may have lost quite a few of them without appreciably expanding his moderate appeal.
Overall a decent speech, better than expected. But it may have hurt more than he realizes right now. Let's see how Nader uses this opening.
If anyone wants to comment on the air, the Roger Fredinberg Show will be taking comments on the Kerry Speech in about 30 minutes. Talkone.com 18008505043
Bring it on! Lets Roll.
Ole Kerry ain't gonna get much of a bump from tonight's blah blahathon.
Historically you should get atleast 5 points, I bet Naders gets more of a bump than Kerry.