Kerry Has To Convince America That Tough Talk And Swagger Don't Mean Sh*t

[DrFunkenstein]

If there is one job that Kerry has before him, it is making Bush's cowboy rhetoric a liability, not an asset for our national security.

It's the walk, not the talk.

I am thrilled that Kerry picked up on both the "incompetency" and "Tora Bora" themes I've been begging for months to hear. Now there is one last thing:

Kerry needs to say that Bush's love of tough talk made him listen to the chickenhawks at the Pentagon, rather than trusted voices like Colin Powell.

Split the administration right down the middle and let them scramble to convince people that Powell and Cheney really love each other.

Have Kerry say that saying we want Osama "dead or alive," saying we're going to "smoke him out his cave" means less than nothing when you use Afghani warlords instead of Green Berets.

Telling insurgents to "bring it on" from behind a desk is no substitute for taking the bullseye off our soldiers' backs.

Kerry is absolutely on the right track. If Bush made Kerry synonymous with the flip-flop, let Kerry give Bush some rose-colored glasses. The "boy in a bubble" routine is very effective. Slamming Bush for not using the funds is a top-notch way of marking differences in the here and now.

I know alot of people at DU think it is enough to call Bush a phony cowboy, but the truth is that Americans don't give a damn. They like a guy who talks tough and will protect them on a date. What we have to do is convince them that Bush's love of swagger clouds his judgement in very dangerous ways during very dangerous times.

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. On the right track with those

IMO. He'll certainly earn points with those.

The one about OBL dead or alive though, maybe needs to be rethought a bit. Bush et al (especially the media) will be waiting with baited breath for the slightest whiff of the ff***. If said in the way of the outsourcing, he has to be careful because he's talking about getting other countries involved. If that's the case, it's a fine line to criticize working with Afghanis.

I understand it all hinges on the case of pointing out Iraq was a diversion. That we should have finished the job in Afgh. And I completely agree with that. But it's how he says it.

ff*** = I hereby refuse to say that label from here on out as it relates to Kerry. I'm not going to give B/C validation on their lies.

[DrFunkenstein]

7. Bush's Top Ten National Security Flip Flops (Debate Prep)

1. Bush said we were winning the war on terror; then he flip-flopped and said we couldn't win the war on terror; then, a day later, he flip-flopped again and said we were and could win the war on terror.

2. Bush repeatedly refused to admit he made mistakes with the Iraq war; then he flip-flopped and said he "miscalculated" and; then, flip-flopped again with the mother of all oxymorons and said the war was a "catastrophic success."

3. Bush said catching Osama bin Laden was his "#1 priority" and "we will not rest until we have found him."; then, a year later, he flip-flopped and said he didn't know where Osama was, didn't care, and that catching Osama was not a priority.

4. Bush opposed creation of the Dept. of Homeland Security; then he flip-flopped and supported it.

5. Bush opposed creation of the 9/11 commission; then he flip-flopped and supported it.

6. Bush opposed giving the 9/11 commission more time to complete its work; then he flip-flopped and supported giving it more time.

7. Bush said he'd cooperate with the 9/11 Commission; then flip-flopped and withheld documents from the Commission.

8. Bush opposed having Condoleeza Rice publicly testify before the 9/11 commission; then he flip-flopped and let her publicly testify.

9. Bush opposed creation of a panel to investigate Iraq's failure to have weapons of mass destruction; then he flip-flopped and supported it.

10. Bush vowed to never reward North Korea's nuclear blackmail; then he flip-flopped and offered them aid in exchange for a promise not to build nuclear weapons. Bush is also rewarding North Korea by pulling out thousands of U.S. troops from South Korea. magazine, 8/23/04]

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/09/con04380.html

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

2. The saddest truth...

is that Kerry has pretty much been making all these points for months now -- and so have many other Democrats on the campaign trail.

The reason why these charges dont stick to Bush is that a) surrogates who come to TV shows do exceptionally poor jobs of amplifying on the K/E theme and b) we do not have the radio echo chamber and c) the criticisms have not been given a simple overall template that is pithy and devastatingly effective.

But if Kerry leveled these criticisms matter-of-factly at the debate, it may become more effective...

[secular_warrior]

3. deceitful, stubborn, wreckless, ignorant, detached from reality (nt)

[moondust]

4. Baghdad Bob was all tough talk and swagger. n/t

[deckerd]

5. Time to Cowboy Up

All Americans realize it's time for America to cowboy up. But real cowboys
aren't stupid and they don't follow stupid decisions to the bitter end. That's
because they've got cattle to protect. How many cattle do you have on your
ranch, Mr. President? Have you ever gone out in the driving rain to save the
life of an animal? Have you ever saved the life of another human being?

I've killed a man at close range and I've saved a man's life, and you know what?
I'm a hell of alot more proud of the latter. You can call that a "nuanced"
worldview if you want, Mr. Bush. It takes an understanding of the world
around you to save lives. It's important for real ranchers to know which way
the wind is blowing if they want to know which storms they need to prepare for.
This President doesn't seem to believe that or understand that.


Saying we want him "dead or alive," saying we're going to "smoke him out his cave" means less than nothing, when you use Afghan warlords instead of Green Berets.

Telling insurgents to "bring it on" from behind a desk is no substitute for taking the bullseye off our soldiers' backs.

[AgadorSparticus]

6. i agree. kerry needs to turn that empty bravado toxic for bush.

the best way to make bush look like an ass is to make BUSH make himself look like an ass.