Kerry Can Still Win- Here's How

Bush is running as if he is not already the president. Economy- recession started under Clinton. 9/11- not my fault- all I have done is strike back and lead a war. Huge federal deficit- he said yesterday on O'Reilly that Congress needs to show fiscal responsibility. Iraq WMD intelligence- we all believed it: Clinton, Blair, Putin, UN. Chaos in Iraq? Blame the forces fighting against freedom. He is accountable for nothing, he takes responsibility for nothing. Why does he get away with it?

Because Kerry does not offer solutions. He lists the problems with Bush but does not take the next step towards fixing them. All this does is get cheers from his own voters. The undecideds are looking for something more. As I first wrote a few months ago "people have decided they are not happy with Bush." The right-track/wrong track number is still low (41/52 is the RCP average). All Kerry had to do to win was make himself an acceptable alternative. But he hasn't yet (Bush leading 49/43 is also the RCP average). He does not offer us a new direction- he does not say often enough and specifically enough- here is what I would do right now. This is my plan. This is what I believe the next four years should be about. This is why I would be a better president than Bush. It is not enough to say no more Bush. John Kerry has to make people want to vote for him to win.

One thing killing him on this is the Bush campaign's constant flogging about flip-flops. They have succeeded in making this a character issue, particularly when it comes to Kerry's fitness to be Commander in Chief. Unfortunately, while Kerry's record in actually fairly consistent (much more so than the "resolute" Bush) he sounds like he is arguing with himself when he speaks. He sounds like he doesn't know what he really thinks sometimes, and sometimes like he is giving himself an "out" for later on. Some of this is no doubt due to his career in the Senate as opposed to a governor like Bush. He has to answer questions and then get out of his own way. Keep It Simple, Stupid! He must meet this issue head on and turn the tables. Here's how:

The Iraq vote:

"Mr. President, I know what I believe. I voted to give you the authority to use military force if necessary against Iraq. You assured us there were weapons of mass destruction there. There were not. You assured us you would form a global coalition. You did not. You assured us you would seek another vote at the U.N. to try to get support not just for the war, but for the peace. You did not. You assured us you had a plan to win the war and secure the peace, and you did not. Our brave young men and women are fighting and dying over there every day, and lives have been cost by your administration's failure to plan and failure to commit the troops necessary. We let ammunition dumps go unguarded, an army disperse, and looting to ensue. We let terrorists keep their bases of operations and recruit more militants into their gangs. Mr. President, our men and women in uniform deserve better leadership, and when I am elected
president they will have it."

The 87 million dollars:

That quote of him saying he voted for it before he voted against it is the worst thing he has said all campaign. The minute I saw that, I thought "Oh boy. I am going to see this clip in an ad." So here's what to do: "Mr President, of course I would do everything necessary to support our troops in battle. How dare you or anyone else suggest otherwise. I have fought and I have bled for this country, and there nothing more important to me than the safety of Americans, especially those brave souls on the front lines. What I objected to in this bill was how it was going to be paid for and how it was ging to be spent. We still all these months and all these attack ads later have only given out a few million [whatever it is] of all that money anyway. I did not vote against our troops, I voted against the way they were being led here in Washington. I voted against the failed policies of your administration, and I would do it again."

On Iraq:

Kerry needs to say exactly and specifically what he would do and what we should be doing right now to make the situation better and protect our troops. He needs to explain how bad the situation is right now, what our failings are and then I want to hear the words, "If I were president, I would start by doing 1.2.3.4.5." And then, he needs to shut the hell up. Simply saying he would have to wait and see what the situation is on the ground (while honest) in January does not cut it, and sends a message that nothing will change right now anyway.

On the economy:

Again, be specific. We know for the most part, Bush's economic record has been lousy. But what would Kerry do differently. Kerry must not say, we have lost so many million jobs, blah, blah, blah. People know this already- just say how he would fix it.

"I would immediately do the following things to get our economy moving again and get good jobs back here in America. 1.2.3.4.5. At the same time, we cannot ignore the outsourcing of America which is sending good jobs overseas that we need here at home. As president, I would immediately end the tax breaks for companies sending jobs overseas and make the climate better for business here at home."

It almost does not matter what the issue is, Kerry needs to say his piece real quick and be done. Do not use all of his time. Do not hesitate or equivocate. Do not beat around the bush (pun intended). Do not say "maybe" it depends" or "I would have to see."

Watch for this- because if this last example happens...

Moderator- Given what we know now, would you support military
action to get
rid of Saddam Hussein?

Bush - Yes. Blah blah blah.

Kerry- Well, of course there is no way to have known that blah blah
blah.

We will have four more years.