<html><body>  Kerry COULD have run an anti-war campaign that would have put Bush on the defensive,  given that the war is rapidly becoming unpopular, which he hasn't.  He COULD have made a bigger  issue of Bush and Cheney's refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, than he did. He COULD have attempted to run a campaign  by energising his base on the issues they feel to be important, just as Bush did. Instead, he has attempted to silence his base - as he did in the Boston Convention. Kerry is running a "me too" campaign of the same character that the Republicans ran before the time of Goldwater and such campaigns usually lost. How can you out flag wave the Republicans? Steve<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message -------------- <BR> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1458" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Before the Swift Boat Veterans for Obfuscation campaign, independents who were aware of Kerry's service record overwhelmingly favored him over Bush. It was smart strategy on Kerry's to play up his service. What would you have done about the SBVT?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-- Luke</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=srobin21@comcast.net href="mailto:srobin21@comcast.net">srobin21@comcast.net</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org href="mailto:lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org">lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, September 04, 2004 2:01 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [lbo-talk] Time Poll: Huge Bounce For Bush</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <P>Well, of course Bush got a 'bounce' after the GOP Convention. What is unusual is that Kerry got no 'bounce' out of the Democrat Convention. Further, the Bush team is much better at mobilizing public opinion than the Kerry New Democrats, who are extraordinarily inept at that. They have tried to out flag wave the Republicans and got hit by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. They have an issue on which Bush is vulnerable (the War in Iraq) and have effectively spurned it, They are (at best) mealy mouthed in their opposition and at worst, supportive of it. So why are the poll numbers surprizing? The Democrats, it appears, are in the midst of a Dukakis style melt down. Steve</P> <P><BR></P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message -------------- <BR><BR><BR>> > <BR>> Was anybody not expecting a Bush lead after the conventions, after <BR>> a week of unchallenged Bush propaganda? I thought incumbents that are <BR>> tied are in serious trouble, and those with leads slightly smaller than <BR>> this one are basically tied? The Dems have to keep it cool. Everyone I <BR>> know -- though not in the campaign I'm afraid they reflect on the state of <BR>> affairs -- has been acting like its over. The Dems are going to need much <BR>> more sangfroid if they want to face the Rovinator. Did people really <BR>> think that the statistical Kerry lead / tie -- which is trouble for the <BR>> incumbent -- was just going to last all the way through Nov? <BR>> <BR>> -gr <BR>> ___________________________________ <BR>> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo! /lbo-talk </BLOCKQUOTE> <P> <HR> <P></P>___________________________________<BR>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk</BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></body></html>