Why does Kerry have to explain ways to clean up Bush's mess in Iraq?

[veracity]

I just don't understand the Dem strategy. Kerry and his campaign folk are always being asked what they would do differently in Iraq? Why don't they come back FIRST with a reminder that Bush/Cheney/PNAC created the horror....and ANYONE coming in as a new president could not do any worse?

Kerry has GOT to stop being on the defensive. Attack, attack. There's so much to attack.

[LisaL]

1. Exactly.

And if Kerry is asked if he would have voted for the authority if he knew what he knows now, why in the world doesn't Kerry just say there is no way he would have given Bush the authority if he knew how badly Bush would use this authority and what a mess Bush would make of things?
There are just so many things one can bash Bush on. And it's bogus that negative campaign leads to love voter turn out-it might actually lead to low voter turn out for your opponent.

[speedoo]

2. My answer to your question.

Kerry is under pressure to state his solution to the Iraq problem because of his vote on the IWR and the rethugs' very effective way of backing him into a corner. His statement that he would have voted "yes" even knowing what we know now, does not help at all.

Neither does this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2350283

There is a huge opportunity to attack the coWard on Iraq, but Kerry seems unable to do it because he has been outmaneuvered.

[Dawgs]

4. Whatever speedo!!

Who's side are you on? Kerry does not have to answer for anything. Bush took us to war. It's his and Cheneys... not Kerry's or anyone else's. It's time for Bush to start answering for this war. Not Kerry.

[qanda]

11. You are absolutely right

And we should have a daily thread that begs the Kerry campaign and all the media whores to ask Bush what he plans to do in Iraq. And as I said in another thread that I started on this very same subject, "stay the course" is not an acceptable answer. Bush created this mess and he also has a chance to win the election and should have a plan for how the mess in Iraq will be fixed.

[Dawgs]

3. I agree.

How bout "Why don't you ask Bush what he's going to do or is doing?".

For fucks sake, why is the media not focusing on this war. Every day for the past two weeks it seems like we are hearing about 50 people a day dying. It's getting much worse over there and people need to wake up and realize it's Bush's war. It's not anyone else's, it's Bush's alone.

Time to wake America.

[RoundRockD]

5. Bush has had 3 years to show us what he can and will do. He's made

a mess of everything he has touched. I don't know what Kerry would do, but I know what Bush has done and it's been a disaster and I'm not willing to give him 4 more years to make things worse. I have a soon-to-be 17 year-old son and I refuse to let him be at risk of fighting a distrastrously managed war.

[mike_c]

6. because some of us will only vote for a candidate...

...that presents a clearly stated and well reasoned alternative to the PNAC plan for regional ME hegemony-- the plan that necessitates a permanent occupation of Iraq and the defense of a puppet Iraqi government. Kerry does not have to explain anything to anyone, but if he wants my vote he has to convince me that he will end the occupation of Iraq with all possible dispatch. Being something of a sceptic where politicians are concerned, that requires a bit of explanation.

[Hello_Kitty]

16. Speaking of PNAC

Not many voters even know about it. Dems need to find a way to explain the plans of this organization an how Iraq fits into it. People need to realize that the neocon economic utopia experiment they tried to create over there has gone horribly wrong and is getting more of our servicemembers killed, wasting billions of our tax dollars, and creating terrorists. Kerry knows about it so why doesn't he address it with the voters? It's pretty complicated but there has to be a way to make it understandable.

[ingsoc]

7. It isn't about placing blame for most people.

I just don't understand the Dem strategy. Kerry and his campaign folk are always being asked what they would do differently in Iraq? Why don't they come back FIRST with a reminder that Bush/Cheney/PNAC created the horror....and ANYONE coming in as a new president could not do any worse?

Yes, yes, Bush messed up in Iraq. The citizens are willing to acknowledge this I think. However, I think most people are actually willing to overlook the "blundering through the desert without proof" aspect of the war, if in the end it turns out that Iraq will emerge with a stable government relatively soon. And in order to do to appeal to those people, the candidates have to have a plan.

We can go around affixing blame all we want, and yes, blame is important. But that alone will not be enough. It isn't going to get Kerry out of doing his homework, and coming up with a coherent plan. Iraq is too important of a situation for that.

[Hello_Kitty]

17. Iraq won't have a stable government anytime soon.

Our government can't even uphold that sham anymore. Their whole success was riding on oil revenues and all these investors who were supposed to come in. When your investors keep getting kidnapped and murdered and the Iraqis that you "liberated" are suicide bombers it doesn't look real good. Despite all the feel-good stories about "schools and hospitals being built" (with our tax dollars), the real stories are getting out. We need Bush and the neo-cons OUT NOW!

[whistle]

8. He doesn't, Kerry just needs to provide a plan outline which...

...makes more sense than anything BushCo has proposed and a promise to America to bring immediate stability in Iraq and then to bring American troops home as quickly as possible.

[faithnotgreed]

9. you know why? because people know bush has totally botched

this thing. they dont need to hear him explain because they can see or hear, even from 1984 media, that this thing is out of control

for more reasons than iraq, people are looking TO john kerry to come out and say what he stands for.

not to the people who go to his rallies, and not to the people who know he has a book out called "plan for america"

for the rest of the nation who knows (as we have been reading just in the past days) that bush is a wipeout, and for the undecideds, people want to hear from kerry why he can do any better and what his plans are for doing that.

the reasons that plan hasnt reached america can be the media or his advisors or whatever it can be blamed on. the fact is though, is that kerry must get out there whether its a news conference or extensive interview, something on his terms, and let people know how strong and intelligent he is. he is running for president and its not enough for people to know how awful bush is

people have this perception - and by people im talking about undecideds and weak bush supporters and there are a lot - that kerry doesnt stand for anything. thats partially bush tactics for sure, but kerry does need to get out there before the debates because you can hear from people that they are wondering and getting impatient

i know this is bushs mess all over the place, but thats the whole point of an election season. get your plan and yourself out there firmly to say why people should fire the incumbent (which they have reasons for) and why they should hire you instead (people are mumbling even though we dont like it, but people are mumbling that they dont know who kerry is or what he would do any differently)

its so weird because we know he would be infinitely better on everything basically but there are a lot of people who dont know this.

this is the first post i can recall where i have urged kerry to do anything other than hes doing. even during the swift boat smears, i stood back to see how that would go.

but now im feeling strongly that he has to get his message out on his terms because like it or not, people are not sure about him and arent going to go to his website or get his books or come to du or anything like that.

you can feel the country is ready to change to kerry.... and i cant wait for them to get to know him. he has everything going for him and i want people to see and hear him. it wouldnt take long before they would know he could and should be their next president.

[WI_DEM]

10. because he is running for president

and yes, he should also be hammering Bush for his lack of a plan as well.

[faithnotgreed]

14. agree

[Catfight]

12. We should just start calling him, President Kerry since he's already

doing the job!

[Francine Frensky]

13. I agree. What will stop Bush from 4 more wars???

I would refuse, if i was Kerry, to give an answer, other than something vague if really pressed, because the POINT IS this is bush's mess. He broke it, he bought it, and the danger for America is that he DOESN"T EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT HE WAS WRONG and a vote for bush is a vote for more wars just like this one.

[LuminousX]

15. Kerry's team needs to ask how Bush is going to 'own' the mess in Iraq

[qanda]

18. Kick

:kick:

[oasis]

19. Whatever Kerry's plan is he doesn't need it picked apart by a Rove

controlled media. Fencesitters shold visit Kerry's website to get an idea where Kerry stands on issues. They can compare Kerry's vision against Bush's reckless policies which have only served ogres like Halliburton.

Please be aware that many here who question Kerry have a hidden agenda.

[Ravy]

20. At some point, he HAS to get out the fact that...

... yes, due to the mismanagement, there are only a few options left for Iraq. Where the president and I differ is primarily that I will bring the troops HOME when we leave there, not send them to the next domino in their global domination attempt.

[Nordic]

21. because .... he's going to inherit the mess

seems like a perfectly fair question to me.

I wish he'd say "we need to get the hell out of there".

but no, Begala said yesterday "we want to win in Iraq".

There's no winning in Iraq. Time to declare victory and leave.

[faithnotgreed]

22. yes. because hes going to inherit this so he has to say what he will do

about it when he does....

i agree with that point