Category: John Kerry

Culture War, 2004.

As the Senate GOP tries to schedule embarrassing votes for Johns Kerry and Edwards, Richard Rosendall of Salon remembers the last election cycle the GOP invoked the culture wars so heavily: 1992. Thanks again, Pat Buchanan.

Day of Decision.

Super Tuesday has arrived, and many pundits are predicting it to be the last stand of John Edwards, who’s got mathematical problems even if he should upset in a few states tonight. Nevertheless, I voted for Edwards this morning (although the machine I used was so Third World that I have to wonder if my vote’ll get counted), not because I prefer him all that much to Kerry in the end — I think either will make a fine candidate this year — but more because (a) he bothered to show up here twice, and (b) with his personal charm and rhetorical focus on poverty, I believe he has a bright future in the Democratic party. If my vote can help suggest that he has a following outside the South, good for it. All that being said, I’m happy with Kerry too, and he can expect my vote in November, if (ok, when) he proves to be the Dem nominee.

Frontal Assault or Friendly Fire?

The Bush team start prepping their anti-Kerry ads, and, fortunately for the Dems, they’re still living in Fantasyland. “If they run ads about [the Vietnam era], they will probably focus on Kerry’s high-profile opposition to the Vietnam War and comments about U.S. atrocities that could neutralize his record as a decorated veteran.” Um, yeah, ’cause veterans are usually all for atrocities. Still, even amid all the wishful thinking, Dubya’s reps do allow themselves a moment of clarity: “Acknowledging that Bush has received major financial support from corporations, McKinnon said: ‘The issue is hypocrisy in saying you’re going to take on the special interests, not who took the most special interest money. You don’t hear the president in the Oval Office railing against the special interests.'” Well, that’s true, you don’t, but that fact hardly makes for a compelling campaign ad.

Americas Two, Red and Blue.

The good news: The Dems are up big on Bush (Kerry by 12, Edwards by 10). The bad news: A Zogby poll suggests there’s been no movement in the red state/blue state dichotomy quite yet. Hmm…this Zogby poll would be more interesting if it gave state-by-state numbers.

The Doctor is Out.


After a long, slow, and dismal post-Iowa slide (which, as Chris Suellentrop waggishly put it, wound up “with the leisurely pace of the interminable conclusion of The Return of the King“), Dr. Dean calls it quits, leaving basically a two-man field for the nomination. (Early scuttlebutt had Dean possibly endorsing Edwards, but, although Edwards sent the right signals, Dean instead asked his supporters, strangely enough, to vote his name despite his leaving the race.)

Well, I guess it’ll probably take some time to put Dean’s swift rise and swifter fall in perspective (Is this Goldwater, McCarthy, Muskie, or something altogether new?) To be honest, I was always a bit surprised by the furor surrounding Dean, given that he was neither as lefty nor as populist as many of his followers seemed to think. I know many found him inspiring, but, even after tentatively getting behind him, I never really saw it or felt it…in fact, quite the contrary. So, while it’s always a bit disconcerting to see something that started so well end so badly, I’m can’t say I’m overly aggrieved by this turn of events. As I said before, if the nominee is Kerry, so be it.

Of course, there’s still the matter of John Edwards, whose surprise showing in Wisconsin definitely keeps him viable for at least one more round. Kerry’s overwhelming lead aside, I’ve been quite enthused by the rise of Edwards since Iowa, who seems like the type of fresh and viable new face the Democratic Party’s been needing for some time. Whether or not he has a chance of coming back to win it all this year, I’m inclined to vote for him, if only to show he’s got some legs outside the South. At any rate, he’ll be speaking on campus early this morning so, if all goes well, I may get a chance to see how he comes off in person.

The Nitty-Gritty.

With the nomination basically sealed up, Team Kerry (and the White House) now turn their attention to the red state/blue state calculus of the general election. So far, the talk is basically what you’d expect: “Bush advisers hope to keep Kerry pinned down trying to hold on to states that former vice president Al Gore narrowly won in 2000 — Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Michigan among them…[On the other hand,] Bush also will have to fight hard to win some of his red states that have suffered economically. ‘Bush has got to thread the needle,’ said a GOP strategist in one of the battleground states. ‘He won several states by a very small margin. Look at Ohio, Florida, Missouri, West Virginia, New Hampshire. I just think it’s a tough sled.'” And, in related news, The Atlantic‘s Josh Green evaluates the swing regions in 2004.

Kerry Digs In, Dubya Dips Out.

As Kerry readies for the big fight ahead, the GOP starts getting real ugly, with doctored Hanoi Jane photos and Drudge-inspired, Murdoch-driven tales of a possible extra-marital dalliance. Yep, the GOP sure loves them the adultery card, but I don’t think that dog will hunt this time around…not after the impeachment fiasco. Update: The accused woman says drop it, already, and Drudge — without apologizing for slandering her or Kerry — changes his tune about the alleged affair.

On the flip side of the card, Dubya’s Document Dump answers few questions about his guard duty, and reports are now surfacing of National Guard documents destroyed by Governor Bush’s people in 1997. And then, of course, there’s the matter of that skipped drug test…

Five for Fighting.

After John Kerry’s two dominant wins in the South, General Clark calls it quits. Ho-hum. Good news for Edwards in the short term, I guess, although it now appears that Dean will stay in the race after Wisconsin, despite the loss of AFCSME and the wavering of Harkin. Well, keeping Dems at the front of the news for a few more weeks can’t hurt the larger goal, but Dean’s revived bashing of “Washington insiders” sounds increasingly hollow and desperate to me. They weren’t a problem when “Boss” Gore came a-runnin’ to the Dean camp, now, were they? As for Kerry being the “lesser of two evils,” I just don’t think Howard Dean would improve that equation all that much.