September 16, 2004

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE EVENTS OF THIRTY YEARS AGO?:

KAMIKAZE KERRY RIDES ALONG WITH LOSER DAN (DEBORAH ORIN, September 16, 2004, NY Post)

Worried Dems say it shows lack of discipline, lack of strategy, lack of message and freelancing — just what a slipping campaign can't afford. "It's stupid, it's stupid, it's stupid. Get off the National Guard and all that bull. Every day we talk about the National Guard and Vietnam is another day that George Bush wins. No one cares about 30 years ago," a top Dem says.

Another tells of a focus group of swing voters this week where no one even mentioned Rather's Guard flap but an unnerving number "parroted back" attacks on Kerry as a flip-flopper who lied about his Vietnam service. "The Kerry people think they didn't attack Bush hard enough. They're dead wrong. More attacks on Bush aren't a reason to vote for Kerry," this strategist says.

Others suspect the driving force in going after Bush on the Guard is a deep rage inside Kerry and wife Teresa — remember how she tried to paint Bush as a shirker at the Democratic convention? — over how the Vietnam issue has backfired on the Democrat candidate.

By this theory, Kerry simply can't accept the fact that the anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth seriously damaged him with TV ads challenging his war and anti-war record.

Kerry, they say, is fixated on getting someone to do similar damage to Bush. But the Catch-22 is that Bush's Guard record is nothing new, while Kerry's attacks on fellow vets as rapists, pillagers and war criminals were news to most.


The most important thing these contoversies teach us is about who the two men are today. Mr. Bush is incredibly disciplined and just gets on with the campaign and his own message. Mr. Kerry is thoroughly undisciplined and consumed by rage, allowing the story to dictate terms to him. The original stories may be silly, but these differences are instructive and should be dispositive on the question of which man is better suited to the presidency.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 16, 2004 10:09 AM
Comments

If you have based your life and self-image on the belief that you are entitled to be President ( since you are from Massachusettes and your initials are JFK ) you would be angry as well. The disturbing part is his belief that his record and support among the loony left, Mass. Democratic Party would translate into national acceptance. The guy is delusional.

Posted by: Tom C, Stamford,Ct. at September 16, 2004 10:28 AM

The bit about "parroted back" is amusing, considering how Dems seem unable to do anything but stand there slack jawed when asked a question not on the list of talking point responses.

Posted by: Raoul Ortega at September 16, 2004 11:21 AM

If he doesn't talk about his Vietnam career he has to talk about his Senate career, and as of now, Kerry still thinks that's a bigger liability.

Posted by: John at September 16, 2004 1:18 PM

Both the Democrats and Rather suffer from Captain Ahab disease. The 2000 election was their equivalent of losing a leg, and this election will be their only chance at revenge.

Posted by: Robert Duquette at September 16, 2004 1:47 PM

I've been cutting the Kerry campaign some slack. It's not like they're ignoring some issue sitting out there that would make them winners. But this is just getting ridiculous.

The threshold any challenger has to get over is for the electorate to imagine him as President, and in particular as Commander-in-Chief. Incumbents are already over that threshold. So the proper counter to the challenger's ability to act as President is to act Presidential. Bringing the same sort of attack against the incumbent -- particularly one who has already led two invasions and an on-going world war -- is just nuts.

Posted by: David Cohen at September 16, 2004 3:07 PM

The afternoon drive-time guys on KFI (640AM, Los Angeles) had a meltdown on this subject yesterday. Went something like this:

"WE'VE GOT AL-QAEDAS FLOODING ACROSS THE MEXICAN BORDER TO KILL US, AND THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN'S ALL ABOUT *VIETNAM*?????!!!!!!!!"

Posted by: Ken at September 16, 2004 3:35 PM

Kerry's temperment, arrogance blended with anger ('how dare they'), is why Rove knew the mockery tactic would work.

Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at September 16, 2004 4:53 PM
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