KERRY HAS FOUND A WINNING MESSAGE !

[Merlin]

Kerry's winning message

Listening to an excerpt of a Kerry speech this week on an NPR via the Internet, my Son heard what should be his winning message: Bush is out of touch. He doesn't get it.

This is a simple, concise theme that is easily understandable by the common man and has the advantage of encompassing every major theme in the campaign:

--Bush is out of touch on Iraq because he started a war without knowing that there were no WMD, even though his own intelligence establishment told him so;

--Bush is out of touch on Iraq because he keeps telling us that things are going well there even though his own intelligence reports say they're getting worse;

--Bush is out of touch in the war on terrorism, because he didn't know Osama was coming after us on 9/11, even though his own intelligence people warned him it was imminent.

--Bush is out of touch because his blue-blood mind doesn't understand that jobs are going overseas.

--Bush is out of touch because he doesn't know how hard it is for people to get health care.

--Bush is out of touch because he doesn't read the newspapers, he doesn't read his own intelligence reports, he doesn't read economic data, he doesn't understand average people.

This is a winner, folks! Hope JK sticks with it.

[yelladawg]

1. I like it

Bush is out of touch

[Eric J in MN]

2. Bill Clinton won in 1992 partly because George H. W. Bush

was percevied as out-of-touch.

[Merlin]

5. That'll make it doubly galling for junior.

To get his ass whupped on the same basis his daddy lost!

Love it!

We are gonna kick that sucker's ass!

[cheshire]

22. I love it too, I think Sr and Jr are One Term Wonders. Wonder WTF.

[Catfight]

7. Runs in the family then, but how do we expect a rich elitist spoiled brat

to be in touch with the common person? I know I've never had a chance to go to Yale with a C average. I know I've never owned a Ranch and got to spend 40% of my time on vacation. I know I never had oil companies given to me and then drove them into the ground, only to be bailed out. I know I never could afford a baseball team. How does anyone expect a rich white man who was the son of a President to understand the REAL world. This is the message Kerry needs to drive home!

[fugue]

10. The Kennedys managed it, didn't they?

The Kennedys always seemed to be in touch with the common person, despite their unquestionably rich upbringing. Of course, they weren't spoiled brats.

I forget where I saw it, but someone else pointed out that the Kennedys also never pretended to be average people themselves. They realized they had to listen to average people in order to be in touch with them.

It can be done. But not by Bushes.

[T Bone]

48. Kerry is smarter than Bush and doesn't pretend to be average

Kerry is smarter than Bush. He does not pretend to be average. But since he is smarter than Bush and not pretending to be average he knows he has to LISTEN to average people. It helps Kerry that he is a Democrat, the party of average people. Bush does not listen to average people (notice how only highly-selected audiences get in to his speeches?) because he has deluded himself into actually thinking he is average, rather than the spoiled brat, economic elitist, Texas Oil Trustfund kid that he really is.

Bush=economic royalist.

[senseandsensibility]

19. Absolutely

Although back then, Clinton had the advantage of a media that wasn't quite as whorish as today. They allowed his "out of touch" message to see the light of day.

[malatesta1137]

3. This is too long for brain-dead Americans

Americans need sound bites, and Kerry has one:

W IS FOR WRONG

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. That's what happens

when you live in a high security bubble. When you cut yourself off from real life. When you've been protected and pampered since birth. W doesn't have a clue. He is TOTALLY OUT OF TOUCH with reality.

[alcuno]

6. They've tested * statements and found that people are most turned off

when he says things that really resist the facts. For example, insisting that Iraq is marching towards democracy while ignoring the big problems. It's part of the "out of touch" concept.

[Catfight]

13. Who tested? I always ask Bush supporters why they support him,

they can not point to any factual information, only subjective comments like, "I think he's a good guy." I guess I should start saying, "Hitler was a good guy to many people, so was Kenneth Lay, OJ Simpson, etc..." There's a lot of nice guys who shouldn't run the world.

[Toucano]

8. I'm going to use it!

Thanks.

[Kahuna]

9. Succinct and BRILLIANT!!! You have just been promoted..

from an "armchair strategist" to king of all armchair strategists!!!

:yourock:

[Demi_Babe]

11. I just forwarded this to the Kerry campaign

I like it!

[RobertDevereaux]

12. Are you speaking of...

...Bush, that out-of-touch guy? :^)

[Merlin]

14. The very same!

Out of touch with reality.

[mzmolly]

15. Excellent!

:toast:

--Bush is out of touch in the war on terrorism, because he didn't know Osama was coming after us on 9/11, even though his own intelligence people warned him it was imminent.

Call the campaign!!!

Contact National Headquarters
Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc.
P.O. Box 34640
Washington, DC 20043
202-712-3000
202-712-3001 (fax)
202-336-6950 (TTY)

[salin]

16. In an article today I read a phrase I have been hearing,

though not articulating, since the GOP convention.

Bush's message, essentially, is "STAY THE COURSE". Of course he would never use those words which are associated with the loser election of his Daddy.

In short... the counter message needs to be (and USE THE PHRASE... psychologically TIE JR to POPPY): "We can not afford to "Stay the Course"... this also emphasizes the point made in this thread that jr, like poppy, is COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH.

[Merlin]

17. True. Junior is even more out-of-touch than Poppy. At least Poppy was sane

Junior is delusional and messianic. He is an idealogue who doesn't appreciate the importance of having a firm grip on reality.

Of course, we can't say all this.

What we can say is:

Bush is out of touch with the average American. It's time for him to go!

[Cocoa]

18. yep

it's a winner.

[senseandsensibility]

20. It IS a winner

if we can get it through the media filter. It has the advantage of being both true and all encompassing. I like it a lot.:bounce:

[RetroLounge]

21. Bush is out of touch

Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch
Bush is out of touch

I like it...

RL

[Merlin]

23. Great sig. But it's missing one more "W"

George W(RONG) Bush

[knowbody0]

24. out of touch

stay the course - 'member how sad it was when the titanic went down

[IndianaGreen]

25. Out of touch?

How about those idiots in Congress that voted for the war ignoring the millions of people in the US and the world that demonstrated against it? How about those chingados in Congress that ignored all of the e-mails, letters, faxes, and phone calls from their constituents begging that they vote against the Iraq War Resolution.

Bush is out touch, but so is the Congress that voted for this war of aggression.

When it comes to the Iraq War, there is plenty of bipartisan blame to go around!

[girl gone mad]

28. What does that have to do with this topic.

Do you need to hijack every single pro-Kerry thread?

Why not start your own threads complaining about how bad Kerry and the Democrats are.

[DoYouEverWonder]

29. What's up IG?

Whose side are you on? You're sounding more and more like a freeper lately? I'd hate to see you go?

[IndianaGreen]

45. The American people need the truth about Iraq, not a new slogan!

The truth includes the lies of the Bush/Cheney Administration that got us into this war, as well as the failings of our political leaders (including Democrats) that failed to prevent the war. Taking responsibility for our commissions, as well as omissions, is the first step to healing. The second step is to stop doing harm. The war is harmful, to us and to the Iraqis.

It is going to take great courage to tell the truth about Iraq. It is going to take great leadership to tell the truth as to what to do NOW about Iraq. This is the one thing that Bush is incapable of doing! The truth is that nothing we do, can ever fix what Bush has broken. The only way out of Iraq is to get out. The only way out of Iraq is to do what our political system failed to do in Vietnam: WITHDRAW THE TROOPS!

Kerry's bio shows that he has the capacity to do that. Although it has been a long time since Kerry opposed the evil war in Vietnam, he has taken the correct stand before, such as when he voted against DOMA and against the so-called "partial-birth" abortion ban.

The American people need some straight talk, as Truman used to do, or Franklin Roosevelt. The American people don't need a Talmudic rationale, nor do they need to hear the fear mongering of the rightwing.

Telling the truth about Iraq is the challenge that we face today. It should be the Democrats that tell that truth, now rather than later. Drinking Kool-Aid is not the answer! Forget the focus groups, forget the strategists. Their election gaming have done more harm to this country than good.

Kerry doesn't need a catchy slogan, or a nice sounding phrase. What Kerry needs is to speak frankly to the American people, and tell us that the war was wrong, that nothing we do can fix the wrong that was done, and he, not Bush, is the one that can lead our nation out of Iraq.

Published on Thursday, September 16, 2004 by the Miami Herald
Kerry Needs the Courage to Walk Away from Iraq
by Howard Zinn

If John Kerry wants to win, he must recognize that our military intervention in Iraq is a disaster -- for Americans, for Iraqis, for the world. He must stop boasting about his courage in Vietnam and instead start talking about his moral courage in opposing that war. He needs to stop saying, as he did recently in the Midwest, that he defended this country when he was fighting in Vietnam. That is not an honest statement. If it were true, then he would not have turned against the war.

He was not defending this country when he fought in Vietnam. He was defending this country when he said that we were wrong to be in Vietnam and we should get out.

He should not be saying that he will wage the Iraq War better, that he will replace U.S. troops with soldiers from other countries. If it is immoral for our soldiers to be occupying Iraq and killing Iraqis every day, then it is immoral for foreign soldiers to do the same.

He should be clear: We are not defending our country by our war in Iraq, and we should get out.

He should stop saying what President Bush is saying, that we have to ''stay the course.'' We stayed the course in Vietnam and it cost more than 58,000 American lives and untold Vietnamese lives.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0916-01.htm

[GimmeDANEger]

33. What the hell?

The other two responses sound waaaaaaay more freeperish than IG. I'm sure IG, like myself, was against this was from before it started. How does pointing out that both sides really approved the war make him/her a FREEPER. It makes him/her an ANTI-WAR LIBERAL. I hate when people don't look beyond party lines to realize that both sides do in fact make mistakes. My heart broke the day our government went to war without listening to any of us who were against it. That is not Freeperish.

[girl gone mad]

36. No one accused IG of being a freeper.

Read my post again. I didn't even disagree with IG. I just happen to think that she should start her own thread, instead of using this thread about a good campaign strategy for Kerry as an opportunity to start bashing Kerry and other Democrats for the IWR vote.

[gordianot]

26. Seriously out of touch

W is out of touch to the degree as someone with serious psychological issues.

The man needed serious treatment years ago and now his political supporters and most importantly his family are deep in denial. I am sure the Kerry campaign knows what many have observed from a distance.

Some one this far out of touch in a position of power can be dangerous.

[Cronus Protagonist]

39. Good job! That's exactly what the common man will do with the statement

Most likely accompanied with a wise smile about what we're going to do about it.

Good work.

You might be a Republican if...
http://cronus.com/quiz

Commentary by a Republican...
http://cronus.com/republican

The REAL Republican Platform...
http://cronus.com/platform

Bush's Illustrated Resume
http://cronus.com/bushresume

Isn't That Strange?
http://cronus.com/oil

:)

[frank frankly]

27. I agree, Merlin

glad that you see it, too. great post!

[girl gone mad]

30. Good.

Your son is smart.

I would add to that:

he's out of touch because he never saw combat, yet he thinks his NG service was as heroic as Kerry's Vietnam service. (Kerry can't say it, but his surrogates can).

he's out of touch because he thinks outsourcing is good for the economy.

he's out of touch because he thinks tort reform is the answer to the healthcare crisis.

he's out of touch because he thinks affirmative action should be outlawed.

he's out of touch because he thinks stem cells won't be a viable treatment option any time soon, and that banning federal funding is a good idea.

[Guaranteed]

31. Fucking brilliant.

That's the one. And it's the one that took down his dad, too.

[Cronus Protagonist]

42. That's right. That perception did his daddy in!

That was a happy election, if I remember correctly.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Guaranteed]

51. Wouldn't hurt to mention that, too. nt

[Sparkly]

32. He's "unwavering" because he's out of touch

He doesn't know enough to turn the wheel when he's steering the boat into one disaster after another. He's out of touch and doesn't see the problem, congratulating himself on "staying the course" and "not flip-flopping."

[AmyStrange]

37. Fits right in with that definition of insanity...

you know the one. If you keep doing the same thing (staying the course) and expect different results,

d

[AmyStrange]

34. George W(ay Out Of Touch) Bush...

he's been way out in the Bush since he was born...

d

[Qutzupalotl]

35. That's great and widely applicable.

They say he needs to attack on Iraq policy. I can see it being applied there especially well. Just point to any recent statement from Bush, then to reports from Iraq.

Out of touch. I like it!

[phish420]

38. Hell Yeah! n/t

[Cronus Protagonist]

40. I'm going to try that one on my Republican dentist this week

"Don't you think Bush is a little bit out of touch with reality?"

Hehe. I can imagine the alarmed look on his face. It's a good one, that's for sure. :)

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[goodwalt]

41. "Out of Touch" sounds lame

I just scrolled through thirty-four responses commenting on how great the theme "Bush is out of touch" is, and I can only conclude that at least thirty-four DUers are smoking the chronic. BUSH IS OUT OF TOUCH? You mean like HITLER LACKED SENSITIVITY! 1000+ soldiers are dead, and approx. 5000 more are waring prosthetic limbs because we sent them to war to make us LESS SAFE. RECORD surpluses have been transformed into RECORD deficits. We have the first net job loss since Herbert Fucking Hoover was President, and the most persuasive-the most eloquent and concise message our candidate can run on is "Bush is out of touch"?

The Bush campaign has done a masterful job of painting the least intelligent child of privilege to ever hold the office as a "strong" and "decisive" leader by relentlessly repeating tough-guy sound bites, and having every republican with access to a microphone repeat this mantra until it has been accepted as fact by approx. HALF of the voting public. THAT is what he is running on, and THAT is the perception that we have to bring down. The good news is that we have TRUTH on our side. The bad news is that many Democrats seem to think that hard hitting attacks along the lines of "Bush is out of touch" will get the job done.

"Where is Osama?" Is a nice strong rallying cry. "While my son was being killed- did you enjoy that goat story?" is good- a little wordy, but good. "Was improving Haliburton's stock worth the death of my son?" has a nice ring. My point is, we can't point out the heinous nature of W's administration with milk toast epithets. Righteous anger and balls are the order of the day, and "Bush is out of touch" is frankly, lame.

[Cronus Protagonist]

44. Where is Osama?

I agree with you on most of your points, but Osama is not a good theme. What do you do when they produce him? They don't even need a body,

"We found dna evidence from a piece of a human heart muscle that was found in a cave at Tora Bora that proves Osama bin Laden was, in fact, killed by our glorious, brave and patriotic troops who have all made us safer, and it's all due to our president Bush's determination and unwavering commitment to our clearly successful foreign policy."

Pfffttt.. That's the sound of the Kerry campaign losing all its air on the way to a disastrous loss.

I like the idea of reminding everyone about the 7 minutes and I think someone should release the video in its entirety for all of us to watch in real time. I'd be glad to host it.

I see the Kerry campaign is taking your advice, as the rumor has it, in that they're going to parade the families of people who lost their own in the war and give them a microphone.

Hopefully they'll include the families of the 9/11 victoms too, but the caveat to that is that some are not pro-Kerry, just anti-Bush, and a lot of them are against the war, which Kerry has danced around a lot in the past.

Of course, the fact is, after all that has been said and done, Bush is truly, undeniably and obviously out of touch with the sentiments of the American public. These spots will then reinforce the obvious thing that we all know, which is that Bush is not working for the American people.

You might be a Republican if...
http://cronus.com/quiz

Commentary by a Republican...
http://cronus.com/republican

The REAL Republican Platform...
http://cronus.com/platform

Bush's Illustrated Resume
http://cronus.com/bushresume

Isn't That Strange?
http://cronus.com/oil

:)

[AmyStrange]

46. good rebuttal...

the theme isn't "Bush is out of touch" the theme is "Bush is out of touch WITH REALITY". Like the reality that Iraq isn't safer. Like the reality that we haven't found Osama and why do you think he's in Iraq? Like the reality that people are having a hard time getting health care and so on and so forth.

Good work,

d

[goodwalt]

47. Osama not about spin

If this was Clinton running for his fourth term- the repug mantra today, and every day would be "Where is Osama?" We should not run away from this. IF they catch him- or de-frost him out of Rumsfeld's walk-in, then that is the news of the day- and whatever the net effect on the public is IS what it IS. Common sense says that such a conveniently timed discovery is bullshit- the voting public will see that and vote how they were going to before- OR, they will be so impressed with W's newly effective war on terrr, and vote for him. At the last minute- or last couple of weeks- such a thing cannot be successfully spun. It is what it is. The TRUTH NOW is that what the imbecile in charge has been doing has made it LESS likely that we find the man responsible for 9/11- and if we don't have sense enough to use that against him, then we deserve to lose.

[Cronus Protagonist]

49. FYI - what you call "sense enough", I call your "ego"

Apparently only your way is sensible, but you're passionate and I think well-meaning despite your claim to righteousness. Perhaps I'm being too hard on you and you might be willing to concede that there are many sensible ways to accomplish anything, and most of them are not yours.

And, sorry, but I don't agree with your argument that "we" deserve to lose - under ANY circumstances.

I trust you are not speaking for me, because I deserve to win, and so do all of us who have fought this regime tooth and nail from the get-go, no matter what strategy is used by the Kerry campaign, and even if the struggle goes on after the election.

If there are indeed any people at all who "deserve to lose", a concept I find repugnant, they are surely on the other side.

Thanks.

In Memorium
http://brainscream.com/MP3/wtc-Roger_Waters_and_Waking_Born-World_Trade_Center_Tribute.mpg

[IndianaGreen]

50. "Where is Osama?" Now, that's a rallying cry that sticks!

Where was Osama while Bush was invading Iraq? Osama wasn't in Iraq!

[Joe Turner]

43. Yes, "Out Of Touch" defines Smirk well n/t

[Disturbed]

52. Out of touch?

W is outa his freakin' mind.

Stay the course is what the Captain of the Titanic said too.