There is only one way Kerry is going to win this

[still_one]

He cannot worry about defending his record so much as attacking bush on his record...

List all the mistakes bush has made
List all the flip-flops bush has made
List the lack of things bush has done in four years, and what he will do in four years

527 groups have to push the Halliburton/Cheney connection
the outing of CIA agent Plane
the decption on Iraq that bush made
bush clips saying thomas and scalia are his ideal supreme court justices

etc

[Spiffarino]

1. It's a good idea to hammer Bush

However, people need a reason to vote for him. If you look at some of his polling numbers, it appears Rove has been somewhat successful in defining Kerry to a lot of voters. On matters of trust and decision-making, Bush is leading by most counts. This makes absolutely no sense, of course, but these perceptions are driven by Rove's careful image-making.

Kerry needs to get control of his image and that will take a positive message. But I wholeheartedly agree that he will also have to put a hurt on Bush's image if he's going to win. Both are equally important and must be served up in measured portions.

[Guaranteed]

8. "Kerry needs to get control of his image"

Exactly.

Now, he CAN do that while destroying Bush's (look what they did at the RNC). But he can't just list all this shit that Bush did wrong. It has to all come together to show Bush's motive, and a political difference between him and Kerry.

Excellent post, gtrump.

On edit: You know, all these people that try to act like DUers don't know what they're talking about are out of their fucking minds. We know our shit.

[Spiffarino]

10. Right. Lists aren't going to cut it.

It will take, as a later post so eloquently states, hammering his points home through repitition at every stop. This is the one way to ensure his major points get across.

JK is a good campaigner, but he is also a thinker. In the course of a normal day, that's a good thing. It's not going to help in a national campaign. Shrubya's dumbed-down stump speeches piss off us DUers, but the public (who don't give a rat's about politics most of the time) loves it because it's digestible.

Oh, and ty, BGL!

[Hippo_Tron]

19. Kerry would have control of his image if it weren't for the god-damn media

If Flip-Flopper is all you hear, then Flip-Flopper is what you believe.

[Guaranteed]

20. It's not Kerry's fault, but it's not really

the media's either.

He hasn't crafted an image that's easy to fit into a 30-second soundbyte. He's a complicated man, and they're tearing him up over it.

[kentuck]

28. I disagree... It is mostly the media's fault...

But that is a reality we have to deal with. In the face of all the facts and documents, they reported this crap from the SB vets for 3 weeks, as if it they had equal credibilty to the US Navy and the people that were on the boat with John Kerry. We can't let the media off that easy.

[Spiffarino]

2. Dupe

Damn itchy mouse finger!

[njsoccermom]

3. JK campaign, listen up!!

Kerry campaign, if you read this forum, here are some ideas:

you need better, tighter one-liners and repeat them every stop


"Zell, your doctor called, your rabies shot is ready"

"Zell, there's a rocking chair in Georgia with your name on it"

"these guys want to defend the country, they can't even defend their own convention"

How about this idea:

paint all of Bush's flip flops on the side of a campaign bus

paint your talking points on the side of a campaign bus

GET CREATIVE!!!

[senseandsensibility]

4. Hey! Great ideas!

Welcome to DU!!! :hi: Hope the Kerry campaign is listening. Why don't you e-mail them?

[Arkana]

6. You forgot one

"Zell, your proctologist called. They found your head."

[Guaranteed]

9. LOL! nt

[newyawker99]

24. Hi njsoccermom!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Blue_Roses]

5. while I agree with your list,

I disagree that it is the ONLY way. There are many factors that go into winning. It's like a perfect storm. Kerry also has to hammer and hammer and hammer and hammer and hammer and hammer and hammer Bush on everything he has screwed up in the last four years and did I say --hammer. It's not just enough to bring them up but delivery too. I am beginning to see the type of man Kerry is--a kind man who believes in peace and fairness. He doesn't strike me as the type of man who is naturally mean-spirited--which is what bush is. Makes it hard to fight on the "street" level of bush. I think that's the heart of it.

[elperromagico]

7. Why did Dick Cheney do business with Saddam in the 1990s?

Ask that.

[Riddler]

12. The best way to insure a victory

is for everybody to go down to their local Democratic Headquarters and volunteer to help any way they can. That means manning phone banks, emailing letters to editors, exposing the lies and hypocrisy of the Bush administration on a local level, one to one, since the national media won't expose them, and making sure you do everything you possibly can to get Kerry voters to the polls. This election will not be won or lost on the issues as there are so few undecided voters. It will be who gets their voters to the polls and that can be accomplished on a grass roots basis better than on a national basis.

[elperromagico]

15. Welcome to DU.

:hi:

[newyawker99]

25. Hi Riddler!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[fortyfeetunder]

11. Back to my pit bull analogy

And once again, apologies to animal rights activists:

Right now the Bush campaign is acting like uncontrollable pitbulls nipping at Kerry's legs. Pretty soon, if they aren't controlled, they will be going for the balls and then for the jugular. Kerry will be toast.

The only way Kerry can control these types of cretins is not hope help is on the way, but take out a big @$$ stick and beat the living **** out of each and every one of them until they can bite no more. Then Kerry's campaign in the direction it needs to be -- winning in November 2.

If I get in on C-Span Washington Journal this is exactly what I am going to say.

[sangh0]

13. Bookmarking

For reference purposes, this is "the only one way" #420

[iwantmycountryback]

14. I'm not a person to criticize a whole lot

But Kerry HAS TO come out swinging now, and I mean swingin like Muhammad Ali. No more bullshit.

[TheRovingGourmet]

16. If all Kerry does is attack Bush, then nothing of what he stands

for or believes in will get out.

[AuntPatsy]

17. Exactly! people are still scared over 9/11, he has to tell

them his plan, not continue to knock down Bush, yes he has to attack but if that is all he does, the media will have a field day, "Why is Kerry just going after Bush, doens't he have a plan?"

There is alot to this campaign, he is not in it alone, this is not only his fight but all of ours as well, its our country too and we want it back...

So everyone has to do their share, and help Kerry get his message out that he is not only more intelligent than Bush on home safety and just as strong, (some people confuse his obstinace with strenght but we need to deal with that too) but will be more up on all other issues as well..

Economy, health care, education etc...those undecided and even those still thinking of voting Bush in need to hear it all...

[sampsonblk]

21. And...?

This election isn't about what Kerry believes in. There are plenty of good things to say about Kerry, but this election is about GW Bush.

[TheRovingGourmet]

22. It is about Kerry and Bush. The voters know Bush; they don't

know Kerry.

[sampsonblk]

23. Just my opinion, BUT

If people decide only that Kerry would be better than Bush, then Bush will still win.

It has to be that Kerry is good, and Bush MUST go. I have heard a million times "Why change the president in the middle of a war?" The only reason to do that is that the guy we have is a disaster. Only showing Kerry is better, in my opinion, won't do the trick.

Keep in mind that's just my opinion based on my feeling of how people think.

[DuaneBidoux]

18. AND KISS (Keep it simple stupid)

Kerry suffers from extreme intelligence. That is a good thing when doing diplomacy with other leaders who 99% of the time are also extremely intelligent (the U.S. being one of the few advanced countries to actually elect a mentally challenged individual in modern history).

But it is a drawback when communicating with the American people through mass media. He needs to create dozens of 15 second spots that come on and repeats simple mantras over and over such as (the Repugs have managed to do this with flip-flop. They understand how effective it is):

Do you like having more Mercury in your water? Then you should vote Bush. (no subtle arguments, and then shut up)

Have you enjoyed losing your overtime pay? If you want to lose more, vote for Bush

Bush said he gave you a tax cut, but that is like taking a cash advance on your credit card and calling it a raise. Your children's share of that "tax cut" is a $7000 (or whatever) bill to come due in 2014.

It's nice that Bush is building schools, it's just too bad they're all in foreign countries.

ETC. ETC

Relentless, tough, and SIMPLE so that anyone who hasn't figured it out by now (which probably places them toward, at the very least, the lower third of the intelligence curve) CAN figure it out.

[Tatiana]

26. GREAT points!

:hi: Welcome to DU, BTW!

[kentuck]

27. I think Bush tried to build himself up by tearing Kerry down...

Kerry had to look worse than Bush in order to make Bush look acceptable to the voters. So their intent was to personally attack Kerry and bring up his negatives and tear down his positives. Now, the question is : Can Kerry build himself back up by creating doubts about Bush's credibility and ability to lead and his honesty...