There is nothing wrong with Kerry that can't be fixed by what's right with Kerry, or so his camp believes. Worried about the recent polls, his campaign intends to "define Mr. Kerry's candidacy", which amounts to "a re-emergence of sorts by a candidate who largely yielded the spotlight to Mr. Bush after effectively winning the Democratic nomination in early March."
Was it Kerry's vacation, or the Bush ad campaign? Did Kerry fall down, or did that son of a bitch Bush knock him down? Richard Cohen says "Both".
And how might the re-launch of the Good Ship Kerry proceed? We turn to Jim VandeHei of the Washington Post for a description of the Kerry Combover, in which Kerry's positions will be shifted from the left to cover some bald spots in the center:
As he prepares for the most ambitious and defining phase of his presidential candidacy, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) is relying on image-makers schooled in traditional Kennedy liberalism to sell himself anew to voters as a 21st-century centrist Democrat, a muscular hawk on national defense and deficits.
Mickey is both dubious and poignant:
...asking Shrum--who's spent much of his life looking for the next JFK--to be the man to tell Kerry--who's spent all of his life trying to be the next JFK--that he isn't the next JFK seems way too much to expect.
Late Add: Why even the bad news is good news for Bush - How can Bush get these poll numbers after the 9/11 Commission hearings and, more importantly, the recent news of unrest in Iraq? I stabbed at that earlier, and will add this on Iraq - the recent bad news may lower the baseline, so that the "Bush's team is making progress" theme actually takes hold, as measured from April to October. I note that as an observer, rather than an advocate - Kerry can spend the next six months saying that he never would have let things go this sour, but if the public believes that Bush has learned from his mistakes (without ever admitting them, of course), it becomes a tougher sell.
At some point, presumably, people start paying attention and the baseline perceptions settle in. Presumably.
Isn't it starting to look like Kerry's camaign will be a non-stop defining phase, relaunch, or reintroduction. He was toast in December, with Dean looking to run away with the Democratic nomination. Then Kerry relaunched. And he continues to point out his own flip-flops since. First he voted one way, and then he voted another (on the same issue). Next, he criticizes the President, and then adopts, essentially, the President's position (staying the course, e.g. in an appearance at CUNY Kerry responded to a question by telling the questioner that he wasn't listening--the questioner wanted the troops out of Iraq, now). The relaunch will be the story every so often, and the friendly and supportive media will give lots of space to reintroduce him, as, what is it this time? A timeless Kennedy wrapped in centrist (Democratic Leadership Council) sheeps' clothing. If this is already declared the most ambitious and defining phase of his campaign, what will they call the phase after the Democratic convention?
Posted by: Forbes | April 22, 2004 at 05:34 PM