CNN: Kerry Shaking up his Campaign?

[WiseMen]

All rumors have been that Kerry has been upset at poor
recommendations regarding counter-offensive to smears.

Now CNN is discussing it publicly. "Worriers" have
had it right.

Susan Estrich's leak to Fox that Kerry was "over-ruled" by advisors on
reacting immediately to the SwiftVet Smear is well founded.

Advisers really suffered from a "failure of imagination" regarding
what the SwiftVets Smear could do.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. Too bad CNN has it totally wrong and the campaign already announced

New Staff Additions Strengthen Kerry-Edwards Team for Final Campaign Push

8/31/2004 2:18:00 PM

To: National Desk and Political Reporter

Contact: Allison Dobson of Kerry-Edwards 2004, 202-464-2800, Web: http://www.johnkerry.com

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ --With just over two months to go before Election Day, the Kerry-Edwards campaign announced Tuesday that it has brought on board key new staff to help lead the campaign to victory on November 2nd. The new additions strengthen an already impressive campaign team and bolster the campaign's efforts to put John Kerry and John Edwards in the White House.

Joining the Kerry-Edwards campaign: Senior Advisor Joe Lockhart; Director of Rapid Response Joel Johnson; Senior Advisor for National Security Affairs Dr. Susan Rice; Policy Advisor on Israel and the Middle East former Congressman Mel Levine; Elizabeth Edwards Chief of Staff Lori Denham and Elizabeth Edwards Communication Director Karen Finney.

"It says a lot about the strength of the Democratic Party that we are able to bring in such experienced individuals to help us cross the finish line first in November," said Kerry-Edwards campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill. "We welcome each of our new additions and look forward to putting their talents and experience to work in this campaign to build a stronger America."

Joe Lockhart is a Partner with The Glover Park Group who specializes in media relations and political strategy. He served as chief spokesman for President Clinton and the Clinton administration from 1998-2000, where he conducted daily press conferences for White House journalists and briefed the president and senior members of his administration on all press matters. Before joining the White House in 1997, he was National Press secretary for the Clinton/Gore '96 re-election campaign. He was the Deputy Press Secretary for the Dukakis/Bentsen '88 presidential campaign, traveling with the nominee. In 1984, he was Assistant Press Secretary for the Mondale/Ferraro campaign and during the 1980 Carter/Mondale campaign he was a Regional Press Coordinator.

Joel Johnson, co-Founder and Managing director of The Harbour Group, LLC, has built a distinguished career in the corridors of Capitol Hill and the White House. Prior to founding The Harbour Group, Johnson completed his appointment as President Clinton's Senior Advisor for Policy and Communications. In this capacity, he was charged with coordinating the message and communications strategies designed to promote the administration's legislative and policy goals. When Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle was elected Democratic Leader in 1994, Johnson was appointed Staff Director for the Senate Democratic Leadership, serving as Daschle's chief legislative and communications advisor for five years.

Dr. Susan Rice has taken a leave of absence from the Brookings Institution where she is a Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies. There she led examinations into the national security implications of global poverty and inequality and also worked on issues such as transnational security threats, weak and failed states, terrorism, post-conflict reconstruction, peace and stability operations and new strategies for corporate social responsibility investing. Prior to this, she was assistant secretary of State for African Affairs from 1997-2001. From 1995- 1997, Rice served as special assistant to the President and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC)

Rep. Mel Levine, who served in the House from 1983 until 1993, was a top congressional expert on Middle East and Israeli security issues during his tenure. Throughout his ten years in Congress, Mr. Levine served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East. He was the author of a number of Congressional initiatives pertaining to U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Lori Denham joins the campaign after serving as Senior Vice President for Policy and Planning at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Lori worked for 13 years for Rep. Cal Dooley, most recently as his Chief of Staff.

Karen Finney worked as the director of Business Development at Scholastic in New York. She is a veteran of the '92 Clinton/Gore campaign and of the Clinton White House.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=35465

[Bluebear]

2. Welcome Joe Lockhart!

[iconoclastic cat]

3. I love the penguins! BTW: I heard that Lockhart is good.

Can he kick heads if need be?

[WiseMen]

4. Sorry Friends. Campaign not likely to publicize internal reorg. going on

It is highly unlikely that there will be any press release
regarding nature and extent of any shake-up that Kerry is
trying to bring about. Kerry is well known for wanting to keep
these things quiet.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. I'm sorry you are willing to parrot Judy Woodruff's lies

It is a fact that no one at the campaign has lost their job or been demoted. How does adding new people constitute a shakeup?

[WiseMen]

7. Please do a search on Wisemen! I noted the "rumor" few days back.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=683633#684375

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. Are you bragging about being the first one to spread GOP spin and rumors?

:wtf:

You must mean something else.

[cheshire]

13. You truly are a ballsy lady to be a Dem in Montana. CA here, good luck

[Feanorcurufinwe]

16. Well,

I'm male, but, I'll accept the title 'ballsy' anyway lol

Wait till November, we will have a new Democratic governor-elect and who knows, maybe we can surprise you in the Presidential race...

[WiseMen]

15. I, unfortunately, do not have GOP sources. I do have others.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=683633#684375

[Feanorcurufinwe]

17. I don't accept the assertions of DUers at face value, sorry.

The post you've linked to just repeats the same false spin that has been proven wrong today.

[9119495]

8. Yeah, but if you call it "new staff" and not "demotions"

there would be no story.

Did you guys know that Al Gore INVENTED the internet?

[mzmolly]

12. A Shakeup is NOT a bad thing. It can be seen as a HELL YEAH, it's about

time ... and, THAT KERRY IS A STRONG LEADER, and, DAMN RIGHT THOSE SWB ADS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEBUNKED RIGHT AWAY!

Regardless of what happened exactly, this is a good thing. Kerry sees that he needed to strenghten some weak spots. :hi:

[Feanorcurufinwe]

14. The fact is there was no shakeup.

That is the truth. No one was fired, no one was demoted, new people were hired.

[mzmolly]

19. I like how it plays in the media regardless what it's *called*

*shakeup* *additional staff* *reorganization*

I don't make no never mind to me. :hi:

[KittyWampus]

27. Not Only Parrot Woodruff But Make Shit Up

[Lex]

20. Joe Lockhart is a damn fine addition! Seriously--this is excellent news.

"Joining the Kerry-Edwards campaign: Senior Advisor Joe Lockhart . . ."

I heard Joe Lockhart speak when he was promoting the documentary film "The Press Secretary." (Helen Thomas is in this film too.) http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=248933

Anyway, Lockhart took over as Clinton's Press Secretary right after the Lewinsky bullshit happened.

He knows how these Repukes play. He knows they lie.

And he knows the news media is just a big echo chamber looking for a scandal or smear. He had to handle them face to face everyday as Clinton's Press Sec'y. I'm sure he has connections in that regard too.

This is an EXCELLENT addition to Kerry/Edwards' team.

Go Joe!

[John_H]

24. Is Susan Rice condi's first cousin who is involved w/ African AIDS issues?

IIf so, that's an hilarious fuck you to the chimp.

[flpoljunkie]

5. These so-called rumors are coming from outside the campaign, anonymous

Democrats fretting about Kerry's campaign--much like those here on DU who panic on cue from Karl Rove.

It is not news Kerry campaign is taking on more advisers for the final push; I read about Joe Lockhart joining the campaign last week.

CNN is being their usual mouthpiece for anything remotely negative regarding John Kerry while failing to call to task the lies of the "Swfit Boat Veterans for Truth."

We must not hesitate to call them on this and remind them that we will hold their feet to the fire and demand they DO THEIR JOBS!

John Kerry is our righteous warrior. He has shown his entire life that he exhibits "courage under fire." I do not doubt that he will come through for us and send the moral coward back to Crawford in November.

[shawcomm]

10. How does Kerry get overruled?

It's his freaking campaign.

I think some have gotten their underwear in a bind. Everyone needs to relax. Let them get their little convention out of the way and Kerry can come back and sideline the not-so-swiftvets by focusing on the issues.

[LuminousX]

11. Kerry just bringing in the closers to finish out the campaign

a fresh pair of tires on the car for the final laps of the race

hoisting the spinnaker for the trip home.

[KittyWampus]

29. I LOVE YOUR NASCAR ANALOGY!

:yourock:

[gratuitous]

18. The rumor travels

This morning, it was just a pipe dream of Al Hunt at the Wall Street Journal. Now CNN picks up the meme.

See how it works?

In reality, they're both whistling past the graveyard. They truly wish that Kerry's campaign was in disarray, and their wishful thinking has poisoned their reportage.

[Lex]

21. So now we put out the meme: We are coming to get your sorry Repuke asses!

We have a Kerry/Edwards team that is BETTER THAN EVER.

Say bye-bye Repukes!

Tuned up and ready to go--

[NewYorkerfromMass]

22. WiseMen I am very disappointed in you

and I am sure I am not the only one.
I will leave it at that.

[joanski01]

23. Joe Lockhart is great!

He did a great job for President Clinton, and he will do a great job for Kerry. I was so glad when I heard he was going to work for the Campaign. He can be President Kerry's Press Secretary as far as I am concerned.

[misterphelps]

25. Please Please Please...

PLEASE get some fighters on this team!

I think they're running for student body president.
Strong trumps smart now

[shoopnyc123]

26. He could drop Harold Ford I think...

...as co-campaign whatever. He's a dishrag.

[drdigi420]

28. its a ruse, a rumour spread by the GOP to make the Kerry camp

look discombobulated

dont fall for it

[NewYorkerfromMass]

30. This is disinfo. Absolutely

I can't believe all the people falling for it.

[John_H]

31. So they're not bringing in Lockheart? Damn!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

32. Read the press release in response #1 for the details nt