John Kerry’s Box
By Tom Adkins (09/26/04)
Comparing candidate rantings during primaries to say, just before elections can be an excellent source of amusement. They say things and do things in February that create superb feats of gymnastic backtracking in September.
When Democrats nominated somber (some might say morbid) John Kerry over the excitable (some might say nuts) Howard Dean, they admittedly overlooked everything but electability. Turns out the greatest unifying theme among the Dem faithful isn’t an ultra-liberal, anti-war, anti-American mindset after all, but a “get Bush” agenda. After all, Kerry offered the same tepid socialist platitudes.
But interestingly, Democrats rejected any candidate who took a stand on the Iraq war- either side! Kerry was the only Democrat who plainly took both sides. Why? Because the war on terrorism wasn’t as important as taking down George Bush.
So the Democrat faithful tossed away pride and principle…what’s new?...and chose John F Kerry, the guy who started running for President before he got to Vietnam, and has the self-made documentary to prove it. And he’s got that deep voice thing going. And nice hair. And that famous liberal sense of superior destiny. (Some call it “snotty”)
And he fought in Vietnam, you know…
Now, the first Thursday in November is approaching. We’re considerably closer to actually pulling levers and punching chads. Voters are focusing. And asking hard questions. In 2004, the single most important question is: We are in a world war against terrorists. Would you prefer George Bush’s “kick-butt and ask stupid questions later” attitude, or John Kerry’s “Let’s ask the French if it’s okay” approach?”
For Republicans, that’s an easy answer. Bush is annoyingly moderate domestically, but there’s no question the war was right, smart, and that all wars are fraught with difficulty. But Democrats have a paradox. Sure, they all despise George Bush. But while some are vehemently anti-war to the point of trying to create another Vietnam, others don’t think it was such a bad idea. And the mindless dolts who make up the vast majority of Independents ask one simple question: which guy do you trust?
Here is John Kerry’s quandary. Except for marrying incredibly rich women (some call it “gold digging”), he has done surprisingly little in his entire Senatorial career. No notable legislation. No notable accomplishments. No leadership. And a lifelong trail of rhetoric and (some say anti-American) activism. Yet John Kerry has, by his own famous admission portrayed himself as someone who was for the war, against the war, for security, against security, for America, against America…it’s not that he stands for nothing. He’s stood for -and against- everything.
But there’s a good reason.
By declaring hatred of George Bush their unifying theme, Democrats built a coalition of voters from virtually every side of every issue. Now, Kerry cannot take a stand on any of them. As the political operative extraordinaire Dick Morris noted, if Kerry selects any position, he alienates a massive chunk from both his base and the middle. And everyone always knows where Bush stands. Those voters will have to choose whether they hate Bush more than they hate Kerry’s particular policy flip. Or flop. And wonder if he’ll change his mind tomorrow. Six weeks out. In the middle of war.
Welcome to John Kerry’s box.
This is the first wartime election since 1980. It’s about 3,000 Americans who died in a terrorist attack, and which man is going to keep it from happening again. And the best thing John Kerry offers? He doesn’t like the other guy.
Kerry’s problem? He spent a lifetime within a political party that, especially among its hardcore, doesn’t care about principle. And nowhere can you find Democrats more devoid of principle than Massachusetts. Mike Dukakis should have been tossed out for giving killers weekend furloughs. Ted Kennedy should be rotting in jail for drunk-driving Mary Jo Kopechne into a swamp. And John Kerry should have been thrown into Boston Harbor for lying about fellow soldiers and actively working against his nation’s noble war against Communism. The willingness of the average Massachusetts resident to prostitute themselves for any Democrat despite horrific transgressions has been the undoing of every Beacon Hill presidential candidate since JFK.
Still, all is not safe for Republicans, who have a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But this time, Democrats have made it easier. They boxed Kerry in…actually, helped him build his own box. Now, George Bush simply has to act Presidential.
Some might say “reelectable.”
(Printer friendly version) Email: Tom Adkins
