How do you rate the Kerry Campaign?

[WI_DEM]

Poll question: How do you rate the Kerry Campaign?

Does the Kerry campaign so far remind you of:

The Gore campaign of '00
The Clinton campaign of '92
The Dukakis campaign of '88
The Mondale campaign of '84
The Carter campaign of '76
The McGovern campaign of '72

In terms of effectiveness at this early stage?

[liberal N proud]

1. 1992, the campaign really did not get started until Labor Day and this

thing has been brweing since before July.
So we have a lot left to see from Kerry yet.
I am beleiving it when they say he is a strong closer. (because I need to).
Lets give him some time yet.

[USA_1]

2. Kerry campaign BLASTED on the Big Ed Schultz Show

This afternoon, Big Ed BLASTED Kerry and the DNC for running a wimpy campaign.

I mean he was downright BRUTAL in his attack!

And he was correct.


He lambasted Kerry for his refusal to answer the stupid lies made by the Swift Boat liars.

He also blasted him for addressing tiny crowds in small towns while failing to conduct speeches in front of large crowds in big cities.

Kerry refuses to appear on national TV shows and it appears as if he is too afraid of addressing issues in a forthright manner.

Kerry and the DNC are showing too much goddamn weakness!!!

HOW MANY MORE TIMES MUST PEOPLE LIKE BIG ED AND MYSELF SHOUT AT THE TOP OF OUR LUNGS FOR KERRY AND THE DNC TO SHOW TOUGHNESS IN THIS CAMPAIGN???

HOW MANY MORE TIMES MUST PEOPLE LIKE ME TELL YOU DEMOCRATS TO POST ON REICH WING WEB SITES LIKE AMERICANFORUM.COM OR THE KANSAS CITY STAR AND ASSERTIVELY STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH???


DO YOU PEOPLE WANT TO WIN THIS CAMPAIGN???

DOES THE DNC???

DOES KERRY???????



Stand up now or soon it will be too late.

[WI_DEM]

4. whoa!! Kerry has addressed lots of huge crowds

I can't fault him there. 50,000 in Portland, Oregon. 15,000 in Grand Rapids, Michigan when Bush was getting just a couple of thousand. 13,000 last week in Scranton, Pa. Plus I'm glad he stops in small towns and takes time to address them, every vote counts.

[USA_1]

8. crowd size

I live in Minnesota which is considered a swing state.

A few days ago while Bush was appearing in front of a large crowd, Edwards appeared in front of a tiny crowd in a small town and was answering questions about trivialities.

Yes, it's OK to address small town concerns. But that's what campaign aides and endorses such as DNC leadership members should be concentrating on.

Kerry and Edwards should be in front of HUGE crowds especially in view of the fact that the undecided vote remains a very large one.

Minnesota has a large undecided vote. It's time to rally that vote but you cannot do it if you are going to waste time talking about knitting or other nonsensical stuff that is of no consequence.


Bush and Cheney are talking shit pretending to be great "patriots" who have done everything to protect the USA against foreign enemies. And they are saying that Kerry and Edwards could not begin to duplicate their "successes". All that, of course, is bushshit.

But because Kerry, Edwards, and the DNC stupidly refuse to answer this garbage by openly giving the public viable alternatives, people are left with the impression that Bush and Cheney are speaking the truth when they are not!

NOW IS THE TIME TO GET THOSE UNDECIDED VOTERS. TOMORROW WILL BE TOO DAMN LATE! Kerry, Edwards, and the DNC MUST change their wimpy "strategy" or the campaign will be lost.

[scarletwoman]

19. Well, I'm in Minnesota too,

and on the same day that Cheney appeared before a "crowd" of about 200 people at the State Fair, Edwards was speaking to a REAL crowd of nearly 12,000 at the Annual Labor Day picnic on Harriet Island sponsored by the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly.

There are venues large and small, a single day snapshot doesn't give the whole picture.

sw

[Zynx]

3. Those who like to make the '88 comparisons, defend yourselves.

[sleipnir]

6. They won't, it's the silent plurality here that dislikes Kerry.

It's more of a protest vote if you ask me, but I could be wrong.

Zynx, I'd say that at least 40% of DU is in the range from "Unhappy with Kerry" to "Strongly Dislikes Kerry." By clicking '88 and Duke, they are expressing their honest feelings and trepidations about Kerry and also attacking Kerry in a sly fashion.

I strongly believe that almost a quarter of DU'ers here really, really don't like Kerry at all, but have quieted down the rhetoric and vitriol. They've taking to silent protests and elusive manners of attacking Kerry. Those who haven't have been tombstoned.

Personally, it's more like '00 Gore for me, the focus on swing voters, swing state, a lack of central vision, and too much DLC involvement are the major comparisons I see. I'd put myself in the "Unhappy with Kerry" category, but I'm backing him because the other choice is unconscionable.

[progressivebydesign]

24. You forgot the percentage from infiltrators..

.. the ones that have posted enough to be beyond suspicion... we have quite a few of them here. They're coming out of the woodwork to attack our candidate. Do you really see anyone on rightwing sites like this trashing Bush? No.. the GOP is sleazy, but smart... they KNOW better than to trash their own damn candidate.

Oh.. and you forgot the percentage of people in cubicles in some office somewhere who suddenly thinkg they know how to run a presidential campaign.. cuz.. umm.. they read newspapers and stuff.

Kerry has great energy, he and Edwards are taking to the crowds (large and small), and they have YET to really let any charge sit unanswered. They did respond to the Swift Boat Bastards from Hell, but it was largely unoticed by the media, until Kerry got rough with them.

If people who call themselves Democrats want to eat their own, I hope they don't mind the Bush aftertaste on November 3rd.

[Czolgosz]

5. This is nuts. If I saw this posted elsewhere, I suggest the we DU

it. What purpose does this serve?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[USA_1]

9. Big Ed's Show today

Big Ed reported that he got many e-mails from people who endorsed his view that the DNC is running a wimpy campaign and that Kerry & Edwards MUST appear on nationwide TV in nationally broadcasted shows. Like it or not, their wimpy campaign simply will not work to get those undecided votes and they must run an ASSERTIVE campaign.

I, too, sent Big Ed an e-mail in which I agreed with his viewpoint.


Time is running out.

Stand up today, or go downhill with the rest of the USA tommorrow if Bush "wins" in November.

[blm]

10. You're off the mark completely. It's like Carter and Reagan in 80. Kerry

is a strong challenger against an incumbent who voters aren't sure they want for 4 more years.

Reagan passed muster with the voters during the debate when he sounded reasonable and calm.

Anyone think Kerry can't sound reasonable and calm?

[tritsofme]

16. No comparison to 1980 to me,

Carter couldn't get his approval rating north of 35% until after election day. He had a rough primary challenge from Teddy Kennedy. And he had John Anderson eating at his left flank.

This election will be much closer than 1980, and 2000 is really the only analogy that is valid to me.

[Doosh]

22. still, Reagan trailed by as much as 9 points in mid OCTOBER!

and here we are in mid september and Kerry is down (at worst) by half that, if he's even down at all in the electoral college.

[tritsofme]

23. The difference is the approval gap

His approval rating was stuck in the low to mid 30% range, people were sick of him but not yet ready to dump him.

bush's approval rating is either just at or above 50% in most polls, that puts him strategically, in a much stronger position than Carter.

If bush's approval rating takes a dive during the next month, but he stays competitive in the horserace, the 1980 anology might come into play.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

18. Then I guess it's good news...

Reagan sounded like a moron and Kerry certainly isn't that.

[Cocoa]

11. Kennedy '60

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. RFK '68

would actually be better, and should be JK's model.

[USA_1]

13. Kerry campaign

Ken Auletta is appearing on Charlie Rose's show this evening.

He says the same thing I do = the failure to respond to Bush's attack ads and other viciousness is what is destroying the Kerry campaign.


WAKE UP DEMOCRATS ---- FIGHT BACK OR LOSE THE ELECTION!!!

[shivaji]

14. Kerry is running a smart campaign................because

he does not want to waste time peaking too early. Just
watch him go on attack around oct 15. Voters have short
memories, and they only remember the last shpeel heard.

Also, too much and live exposure of Kerry is not desirable.
Like it or not, he does not connect well with the audience
ala Edwards or Dean. If he is smart, he will keep running
the "stealth" campaign and capitalize on the anti-Bush
sentiment in the country. Let's face it, the less people
know about Kerry and his plans, the better off he is.

[Admiral]

17. smart??? weeellll....under utilized sounds a bit more accurate...

I think that he is not using his resources that are available to him. Concider radio...I am in the car, and I don't hear Kerry's voice...Where are his interviews in which they can play the sound bites. There are stations/radio talk show hosts that are favorable to Kerry, and they would loooooovvvveeeee to get Kerry and Edwards on the station and they can play up the reasons for Kerry campaign. Those radio guys need to have a direct feed from the DNC and Kerry and Edwards so that we can talk up what they want us to...

[shivaji]

15. Kerry is running a smart campaign................because

he does not want to waste time peaking too early. Just
watch him go on attack around oct 15. Voters have short
memories, and they only remember the last shpeel heard.

Also, too much and live exposure of Kerry is not desirable.
Like it or not, he does not connect well with the audience
ala Edwards or Dean. If he is smart, he will keep running
the "stealth" campaign and capitalize on the anti-Bush
sentiment in the country. Let's face it, the less people
know about Kerry and his plans, the better off he is.

[Doosh]

20. they're not nearly as inept as Dukakis of 1988

by mid September of 1988 Dukakis was finished, while Kerry is still in this and his poll numbers are improving.

[GOPAgainstGW]

21. The Going in the Ditch 2004 Campaign