Alter: Only the Strong Will Survive (Positive On Kerry)

[Justice]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5569818/site/newsweek/

Polls show that undecided voters mostly agree with John Kerry on the issues but they are only now focusing on whether he would be a strong leader.

So it was no surprise that Kerry, surrounded by his Vietnam buddies, used variations on the word "strength" 17 times in his speech, injecting a little testosterone into each policy proposal. He raced through the text like Armstrong at the finish line, which some critics say wrecked the good lines he had prepared. I thought the haste inadvertently transmitted energy and passion, which—for a man falsely depicted as listlessly lacking convictions—looked strong.

Bush risks coming across as a carping fearmonger. Both candidates know that the more optimistic candidate usually wins, but it's harder for Bush to pivot to the positive (a la Lance Armstrong's definition of strength) when so much of his campaign revolves around taking down Kerry.