Bush may need broader campaign

[Justice]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2004/06/01/bush_may_need_broader_campaign/

Very interesting. You can see how the Kerry folks are taking and will take advantage of Rove's overreliance on "tactical maneuvers" over leadership.


"....But in recent weeks, Bush has slipped in key polls in individual states, including Ohio and Pennsylvania. That has forced party stalwarts to acknowledge a longstanding truism of presidential politics: It is nearly impossible to patch together the 270 electoral votes needed to win without building broad support nationwide, despite the mathematical quirks of the Electoral College system...."

"Republicans, who have touted the Bush/Cheney campaign as assembling the greatest grass-roots political operation in history, with an e-mail list of 6 million supporters and an intricate network of volunteers, acknowledge its limits."

"You can have the best ground game in history," said Bill McInturff, the Republican pollster, "but a fabulous ground game doesn't make up for the fact you're down 5 points."

[Justice]

1. Self Kick

This is actually a very positive article for Kerry - demonstrating that Bush's strategy of focusing only on the 2000 battleground states was a mistake - as Kerry is challenging Bush on a national level - requiring Bush to step up in all 50 states.

It highlights indirectly just how sure the Republicans were that the Democratic candidate would not have the $$$ to compete. Like it or not, Kerry's opting out of matching funds (and being able to loan his campaign $6M) has been the difference.

[NewHampster]

2. This OpEd made my lunch

so I'm kicking too.

Today it seemed like the entire OpEd page was anti shrub.

John E Mack's "Responsible Warrior" is a great read about leadership and Lawrence of Arabia.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/153/oped/The_responsible_warrior+.shtml ANY NATIONAL leaders understand that it is not difficult to rally the populace and stifle criticism while a war is going on. A leader has only to emphasize a threat to national security and the need to "support the troops." Even doubt and searching analysis may be called unpatriotic while the conflict rages.

This works, however, only as long as the war seems to be "going well." Much of the criticism now directed at the conduct of the war in Iraq is not new, but the sober voices that predicted the present crisis of leadership were drowned out during the flush of apparent success.

[UpInArms]

4. sounds like he has read Goerring

"Why of course the people don't want war. But it is the leaders who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." Hermann Goerring, Nazi Germany.

[Just Me]

3. I would suggest simply pointing out their "broken record" syndrome.

Even my very "militant" brother-in-law wondered: "Why do they say the same thing over and over? Have they hit a dead end or something?"

I suggested that, maybe,...they are "dead enders" and have nothing else to offer. Then, I smiled and said, ",...maybe they fail to represent American innovation, huh."

Boy O',...when I opened that door,...suddenly, my Bush-loyalist brother-in-law whipped out a slew of Bush-bashing criticism. I absorbed as a quiet "listener". It was quite fulfilling *LOL*!!!!

[Jade Fox]

6. Congrats!

[struggle4progress]

5. Reserve your seats now to see * crash and burn!

:bounce: