Thursday, July 29, 2004
It Just Got Interesting
Kerry Gets It Right
When push comes to shove, John Kerry can pull off some amazing feats. His acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention was impressive. We all know that candidates in the primaries have to appeal to their base, so Republicans head right and Democrats head left. At their respective conventions, both head more to the middle. Last night John Kerry didn't just drive to the middle, he pulled up onto the Republican's lawn and shouted, "Bring it on." This campaign just got interesting.
Kerry surrendered no ground in his speech. His record in Vietnam was emphasized to no end, most likely as an attempt to inoculate himself against the coming attacks on his Senate record. The subtext being, so what if I voted against bill XXX, I fought in Vietnam, did you? Tactically necessary and brilliantly done.
He also surrendered no ground on patriotism, the flag, values and the Constitution. But two other things really stand out. First, his promise to cut the deficit in 1/2 in four years. Traditionally, I'd laugh out loud at any democrat that claimed the high road on fiscal responsibility, but the Republicans have surrendered that issue through reckless spending over the last four years, much to my disappointment. Secondly, he got it right on religion in quoting Lincoln when he said, "I don't know if God is on our side, but I can pray that we are on God's side." That was refreshing to hear after a year of my party attempting to merge Republicanism and Christianity and it echoes my own personal beliefs.
Traditionally, there are three tests on the road to the White House. Failing any of these three is fatal. First, is selecting a respectable VP which Kerry has done in Jonathan Edwards. Second, is to give a rousing acceptance speech, which if he hit issues that resonate with the Elephant, he most certainly moved some swing voters. The final challenge (which Al Gore failed so miserably at) are the debates, which now look as if they will be dynamic and interesting.
You don't have to like John Kerry or even plan on voting for him to notice that he has accomplished an important task this week, he's united his party to a degree I've not seen since 1992. It will be interesting to see how the GOP responds.
As usual, the Economist sums it up better than I could:
http://economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2981824
When push comes to shove, John Kerry can pull off some amazing feats. His acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention was impressive. We all know that candidates in the primaries have to appeal to their base, so Republicans head right and Democrats head left. At their respective conventions, both head more to the middle. Last night John Kerry didn't just drive to the middle, he pulled up onto the Republican's lawn and shouted, "Bring it on." This campaign just got interesting.
Kerry surrendered no ground in his speech. His record in Vietnam was emphasized to no end, most likely as an attempt to inoculate himself against the coming attacks on his Senate record. The subtext being, so what if I voted against bill XXX, I fought in Vietnam, did you? Tactically necessary and brilliantly done.
He also surrendered no ground on patriotism, the flag, values and the Constitution. But two other things really stand out. First, his promise to cut the deficit in 1/2 in four years. Traditionally, I'd laugh out loud at any democrat that claimed the high road on fiscal responsibility, but the Republicans have surrendered that issue through reckless spending over the last four years, much to my disappointment. Secondly, he got it right on religion in quoting Lincoln when he said, "I don't know if God is on our side, but I can pray that we are on God's side." That was refreshing to hear after a year of my party attempting to merge Republicanism and Christianity and it echoes my own personal beliefs.
Traditionally, there are three tests on the road to the White House. Failing any of these three is fatal. First, is selecting a respectable VP which Kerry has done in Jonathan Edwards. Second, is to give a rousing acceptance speech, which if he hit issues that resonate with the Elephant, he most certainly moved some swing voters. The final challenge (which Al Gore failed so miserably at) are the debates, which now look as if they will be dynamic and interesting.
You don't have to like John Kerry or even plan on voting for him to notice that he has accomplished an important task this week, he's united his party to a degree I've not seen since 1992. It will be interesting to see how the GOP responds.
As usual, the Economist sums it up better than I could:
http://economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2981824
