Kerry's response to MoveOn: it's all about strategy

[Sparkly]

Personally, at this time, I don't want Kerry to say exactly what I'm feeling/thinking, or what I think he should be feeling/thinking, or even what he IS feeling/thinking. At this time, I want him to to say whatever will help him win the election. Period.

With that in mind, I think his response to MoveOn was the right strategy. He "condemned" it, yet Clark and other brass got right out there and backed it up.

That leaves BushCo in a real bind.
- The charges against Bush* remain, and were strengthened.
- The call for Bush* to condemn the SwiftSmears is heightened.
- GOP ties to SwiftSmears look relatively closer and more corrupt, while Kerry's ties to MoveOn look more distanced.
- Kerry takes the high road against "negative attacks," while Chimp is cowering on the low road.

If Kerry had simply agreed with MoveOn, they'd be on equal footing, strategically (of course they were never on equal footing when it comes to facts). This puts Kerry at a distinct advantage, it seems to me. (And I wouldn't be surprised if this were carefully coordinated.)

His job right now is to win the election. That's the #1 thing I expect from him. And to that end, this seemed like a brilliant strategy.

Please flame nicely. :)

[jjmalonejr]

1. No flames from me

Nothin' but love

[Sparkly]

4. Aw, thanks

:hug:

I saw that 200+ thread and was sure I'd catch hell!

[batt188]

2. I agree- good move...

as much as I wish Kerry would rip into Bush.

[MissouriTeacher]

3. It's a great strategy.

Kerry condemns an "inflammatory" ad while Bush refuses to condemn his own inflammatory ad. Bush comes off looking like the negative one while Kerry maintains his integrity.

Meanwhile, MoveOn continues running the ad and the message gets out either way.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. Also, Kerry condemning the ad gives it more publicity

[mfritz]

5. Yes, Good Move

Good move by Kerry.

In my heart I'd like him to wage a scorched earth campaign against Bush and bury him under incendiary negative attacks. He would have ample material.

But that's a losing strategy. He made the right move.

Plausible Deniability. Let Kerry keep his hands clean while his supporters fling back some mud at the filthy Bush campaign.

Kerry should keep hammering on the domestic issues in all the battleground states. That strategy is working.

[soggy]

6. i agree, brilliant move.

and it certainly doesn't hurt that everyone on the PLANET knows that pretzelboy used daddy's connections to get into the guard...

i mean, what's he gonna do? deny it? i dare him.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

7. Kerry's playing to win

[Piperay]

9. I TOTALLY agree

this was a BRILLIANT move on Kerry's part. :thumbsup:

[malatesta1137]

10. Good move in theory

I am keeping my fingers crossed we'll be saying the same thing on Nov 3. Let's not forget that in order to beat a corrupt and cancerous mob like the Bush administration, you have to sometimes lower yourself to their level. But I have a feeling Kerry knows what he's doing and is acting very presidential already. He's leaving the dirty work for Dean, Clark and MoveOn.

[RetroLounge]

11. I agree it was a good move

especially since cable news was playing the ad over and over last night.

RL

[bigtree]

12. You are correct

This is a well-played move by the Kerry camp. I'm not at all suprised to see this depth of strategy from his team. I'm always amazed at how many folks here think Kerry is just standing around putting his foot in it without any direction or planning. This is big time politics with all of the big time operators playing together for the first time in a long time. Kerry has already proven that he knows how to stick it to his opponents and he will continue to do so.