why Democrats always get outfoxed ( By Michael Tomasky)

[phantom power]

The problem begins with the fact that majorities of the public tend to agree with Democrats on the issues. This isn't universally true, of course, but it's true with regard to more issues (perhaps many more issues) than not. On health care, the environment, investment, education, just about everything except national defense, majorities lean toward the Democratic position.

This sounds like a good thing. But in fact, it's an incredibly bad thing, because it leads Democrats to believe that they can win on the issues. So a Democratic presidential candidate's pollster goes out into the field and comes back with data proving that 54 of percent of the people are with us on this issue, and 61 percent of them are with us on that one, and so on. And so the pollster tells the candidate, "Just talk about the issues, and everything will be ducky."

http://www.prospect.org/web/printfriendly-view.ww?id=8490

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Good article

[dback]

2. GREAT article

Giving it a major kick. Really good points about how liberals and conservatives see the world, and how this trickles down to their campaign approaches.

[Kolesar]

3. Kerry won't attack Bush on the Iraq war issue

It's Bush's war, but Kerry does not make that the issue. He also fails to bring up that the radical right wing has taken over the government. That would win votes.

[barb162]

9. A Mythic Reality

from the NY Times

A Mythic Reality
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: September 7, 2004
Campaigning exclusively on domestic issues won't work. Mr. Bush must be held to account for his dismal record on jobs, health care and the environment. But as Mr. Hedges writes, when war psychology makes a public yearn to believe in its leaders, "there is little that logic or fact or truth can do to alter the experience."

To win, the Kerry campaign has to convince a significant number of voters that the self-proclaimed "war president" isn't an effective war leader - he only plays one on TV.

This charge has the virtue of being true. It's hard to find a nonpartisan national security analyst with a good word for the Bush administration's foreign policy. Iraq, in particular, is a slow-motion disaster brought on by wishful thinking, cronyism and epic incompetence.

If I were running the Kerry campaign, I'd remind people frequently about Mr. Bush's flight-suit photo-op, when he declared the end of major combat. In fact, the war goes on unabated. News coverage of Iraq dropped off sharply after the supposed transfer of sovereignty on June 28, but as many American soldiers have died since the transfer as in the original invasion.

[peacetalksforall]

4. So the right wing advisors tell the right wing candidate to go out there

and just lie and trash and it works.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[depakid]

7. Not but around 8 months ago, Tomasky trashed Dean

for mostly all of the opposite reasons. This guy's a hypocrit- whether he's correct in his assertions or not.

[KoKo]

8. What a depressing article..... especially since Dem Political Operatives

have had a long time to see this, as Tomasky points out. They get paid millions and serve us the same old warmed over strategy..

But, maybe he's just a cynic..and doesn't have anything good to say about anything.

[bogey18]

10. First level - talk about things. "how do you like

my new assault rifle? I just bought it when the ban ended."
2nd level - talk about people. "That Michael Jackson is sure weird, isn't he?" "Barbara Walters looks like she had plastic surgery."
Third level - talk about ideas. "George Bush is stacking the courts with right wing judges." "Tax cuts only benefit the wealthiest Americans."

What level do you think the majority of Americans operate on?

Whether this guy is a hypocrite or a cynic or whatever, the fact of the matter is that he is RIGHT! We keep falling into the trap of thinking that people are using enlightened reasoning to make their decisions, when the fact is the Republicans keep attacking our candidate's character and it works to a horrifying degree. 4 months ago, the thinking was that George Bush was such a god awful president, such an obviously amoral corporate pawn, that any dem worth his salt could kick his ass. But here we are again, wondering how in the world they could attack a genuine war hero when their candidate is a genuine documented awol fortunate son and get away with it - even conservatives said "It would be a mistake to go there." But nothing breeds contempt like the repeated success that scum like Rove have experienced by smearing anyone and everyone who stands in their way.

Every time I say anything negative about Kerry's campaign, there is a flurry of nasty little notes in DU and probably another 20 people who put me on their unwelcome list - but I can't help it. Whether you like it or not, somehow the evil Rove has managed to make the Kerry Campaign look indecisive. I think our biggest hope is that the Bush goose steppers have pissed off so many people in the media and elsewhere that everyone who can is going to add a little something if they sense Bush's momentum starting to wane, plus all of the Honorable people left in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, will also put their fingers on the Kerry side of the scale if they think the unclothed little emperor can be safely toppled.

[bklyncowgirl]

11. Tomasky is dead on right

Liberals believe we are right and all we need is a little persuasive arguement and we will prevail. We have this charming belief that people will see through the lies and the fog and vote for us because "WE ARE RIGHT!"

The other side, of course has no intention of winning on the issues. Their approach is to slander, distort and obsfucate. Done right it's very effective and the worst thing is we always fall for it.

One thing that Tomasky did not point out is that while Bill Clinton of course is a politican of great charisma and ability, he also understood how the Republicans operate and more importantly knew how, and was willing to use these underhanded techniques himself. The most notable example was how he smeared primary opponent Jerry Brown with unfounded charges that Brown had displayed a tolerant attitude toward girlfriend Linda Ronstadt and her rock star friend's recreational drug use. It seems to me the reason that Bush senior didn't screw too much with Clinton is that he knew that Clinton had shit on him and he also knew that Clinton would not hesitate to use it.

The very fact that former Clinton operatives are supposed to be building an "opposition reasearch" capability (read smear shop) for the Kerry campeign is a shocker.

SHOULDN'T KERRY HAVE HAD HIS OWN SMEAR SHOP ALREADY. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!

[bogey18]

12. Great post, cowgirl.

And absolutely correct - we do always fall for it.

[Vitruvius]

13. Kick

:kick: