Reply #28: Well, sorry to say, it worked for Bush. And of course Kerry knew.

[boxster]

Bush pulled the "change the tone in Washington" crap. Regardless of all of the proof to the contrary, people still bought the MESSAGE and not the media spin.

They're still buying it today.

Come on - how could Kerry NOT know that it was going to be rejected? Of course he knew. Hell, everyone on Earth knew.

If they didn't know, they weren't paying attention. This was a dead issue from day one, yet the media (and WAY too many DUers) kept trumpeting it from the rooftops. It got tons of press even though McCain has consistently said that it wasn't going to happen.

It's not the rejection that's important here. It's the offer being made. The appearance of being able to bridge the political chasm is WAY more important than the fact that the offer was rejected.

The rejection was a given. Everybody knew that.