Kerry Reshapes Campaign: WaPo

[oldhat]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64274-2004Sep5?language=printer

Kerry Reshapes Campaign
Democratic Nominee Taps Two Veteran Party Strategists for Top Roles

By Lois Romano and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 5, 2004; 7:24 PM


PITTSBURGH, Sept. 5 -- Under fire to shape up his presidential campaign, Democratic challenger John F. Kerry on Sunday tapped two veteran party strategists from Boston to assume top roles in an operation that has been criticized by Democratic allies for allowing President Bush to regain the initiative in the battle for the White House.

Campaign officials said John Sasso, who has been running general election operations at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), will now become the senior Kerry adviser aboard the candidate's traveling charter until the election. Michael Whouley, who helped rescue Kerry's campaign in Iowa during the nomination battle, will take over Sasso's responsibilities at the DNC, reprising the role he played for Al Gore four years ago.

[goforit]

1. Yep......and Kerry's been wind surfing!!!...TOO MANY VACATIONS!!!!!!

KERRY ......is the one who should wake up and smell
the Damn Coffee!!!!!

[Massacure]

3. Kerry is human too. He can only do so much.

Besides, Bush has been looking a bit beat lately.

[Monte Carlo]

5. All work and no play makes John a dull boy.

It's OK - it's Labor Day weekend, everybody's on vacation. Aren't you glad that Kerry is at least aware of the complaints against his campaign?

[CarolynEC]

7. Good point, regarding JK being in tune...

"Aren't you glad that Kerry is at least aware of the complaints against his campaign?"

Like the good commander he is, JK knows that he's got to constantly evaluate and adjust tactics to suit conditions on the ground.

:)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Kerry windsurfs and Bush falls off Segways

I think pictures of Kerry windsurfing and motorcycling help. Especially when Zellout Miller makes ignorant comments about it.

[Monte Carlo]

2. Bueno.

I like Mary Beth Cahill, but I fear she didn't have sharp enough claws for this election. Sasso, I understand, is not afraid to go for the throat, so to speak.

[RummyTheDummy]

10. You mean like he did while running the Dukakis campaign in 88?

I don't remember a whole lot of "going for the throat" during that disasterous campaign.

An underwhelming choice.

[Monte Carlo]

16. If I remember right, Sasso was not connected to Dukakis towards the end.

Don't hold me to that, but that's what I remember. Kerry would have to be insane to even think of hiring the person responsible for the tank.

[Quetzal]

4. Michael Whouley is super-effective

He is one of the main reasons why Kerry beat Dean and came out on the top of the pack in the Iowa primary.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

11. yeah, but isnt this old news...I thought Whouley was already on board?

Is this shifting deckchairs on the Titantic?

[whalerider55]

6. hmmm...

not a big fan of sasso's here in MA- for the time he was with the dukakis campaign on '88 (before his exit), i felt (note the subjective) he was not aggressive enough.

maybe my memory is faulty.

whalerider55

[jefferson_dem]

8. I thought he got canned from Dukakis campaign because he was too hardcore

but i may also be wrong.

Hardcore is just what we need now, by the way!

[jefferson_dem]

9. Thanks for the link. More on Sasso and the "shake-up" here -

http://www.rogersimon.com/archive/004605.html

[belle]

13. Just tell me he's not the guy responsible for the tank photo op...

[oldhat]

15. Nah

That was Susan "Super Genius" Estrich.

[Piperay]

18. Susan Estrich always gets the blame but

from what I understand Dukasis would not take her advice, maybe he should have.

[pacalo]

14. Excellent article. In essence, the point is Sasso can fight dirty &

effectively. Good to know that he had nothing to do with the Dukakis defeat (as well as the tank photo op).

[VolcanoJen]

17. Whouley's officially back on board?

Hip, hip, hooray!!!

He's an all-star, a legend, an enigma, and I'm a huge fan!!

:bounce:

[Moderator]

19. Kick!

:dem:

[Quetzal]

20. Some info on Whouley

The Revivalist

It's been a long time since John Kerry got anything resembling good news. In fact, for most of the winter Kerry has been fending off reporters determined to nail his coffin shut. But lo and behold, after several days of steadily climbing in Iowa polls, Kerry may now have a claim to first place there. That's a startling development. Sure, a Kerry win in Iowa hardly makes him the race's front-runner. But it might be his last, best hope for staying alive.

There are some obvious reasons for this Kerry comeback. One is the way he essentially gave up on winning New Hampshire and began campaigning constantly in Iowa, in the hope that a surprise finish would slingshot him into New Hampshire with fresh momentum. Another may be a sharpened stump style, and the well-advised dumping of contrived slogans like "The Real Deal."

But there might be another, more hidden story -- a secret weapon Kerry unleashed in Iowa several weeks ago. His name is Michael Whouley.

Michael who? Unless you're a hard-core political junkie, you've probably never even heard the name. But within the Democratic political world, Whouley is an almost-mythical figure. Revered as one of the party's fiercest and most talented ground-level organizers, Whouley is widely credited with saving Al Gore's foundering campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire in the 2000 primaries against Bill Bradley. Now this old Kerry ally may be working his magic one more time.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/16/opinion/main593698.shtml