Last night I watched John Kerry on David Letterman. Kerry was dull uninspiring and frankly too much the politician. He is not a leader and he bitches too much about what a bastard GW Bush is.
We already know what kind of person GW Bush is. The country is fully conscious Bush is no intellect and will never give the Democrats an honest case. Bush has a standard stump speech and he sticks to it. Kerry has a stump speech but it is not effective because he is such a stiff. Kerry is going to lose the election unless he can in some metaphysical fashion set fire the electorate.

Dan Rather should resign; allow the next generation of CBS talent to start their reign. He is old, boring, and dated.
David 9/21/04

In 1987 Lee Atwater warned: "The GOP can never win the intellectuals or the better educated but not intellectual, we can only win by juicing the working folks who are naturally suspicious of the "Elites" and the "Big College Boys" Atwater understood that most folk are busy paying bills and lack the time for complex issues and serious investigation of fact.
Like FDR and even LBJ Atwater understood that elections are 70% emotion and 20% fact and 10% red meat rumor. "KEEP IT SIMPLE"
Bill Clinton in his long draw of a book speaks endlessly about how critrical it was he answer the negative ads run by opponents in Arkansas and later throughout the country immediately, right now!
John Kerry is a blathering idiot like Mike Dukakis who thinks he can defeat street fighters by being a decent guy who tells the truth.
BULL SHIT!
Street fighters thrive on the decency of their opponents. Hitler won by telling the big lie until even the angels wondered if it might be true.
GW Bush's mantra in this election is simply: "KERRY IS A WHINING LOOSER!"
See http://www.rachellucas.com or http://www.andrewsullivan.com or try out http://www.belmontclub.blogspot.com I also recomend http://www.donaldsensing.com
All of th ese blogs show how the NRC and t he Bush Camp hustle well intentioned and sincere folk with repetition and loud noises.
Spophistry is the word and it works!
My question for my blog friends: "Do you not realize Bush and Co see how powerful Blog Sphere has become? Do you think they will allow this to continue?
In Bush Term Two, they will find a way to stiffle the blog sphere and even Rachel Lucas will gasp and slink away in to the night! Calling these predators "Asshats" will not be enough!
This Administration is a group of cynical Texas Business Interests and they will stop anything even friends to insure they get what they want.
bashing Kerry is understandable. He is an idiot. But Bush and Co are predators who have an agenda.
1. Abolish the 40 hour week and OT except for certain friendly business interests.
2. put Federal monies into the churches and corrupt them further.
3. Play the Homo Card and split the liberal left thus set the stage to defeat Hilary in '08 by portraying her as a threat to marriage.
4. Loot Iraq and destabilize Iran and then try to loot them.
5. Run up a huge deficit and bleed the Yankee government white.
6. Cripple the Broadcast Networks by huge FCC fines and alienate the public through a smear campaign of everything that is not FOX or News Corp.
7. Alter student loan program and bleed the state universities.
8. Gut regulatory agencies with poison pill rules and new outsourcing contracts.
9. Gut Federal Courts by setting poison rulings that will stumble the courts for years.
10. Gut Medicare by making it a mess of rules and contradictions.

And why not? The GOP is run by bitter southern moralist who detest Modern Times.
The failure of honest conservatives to see the scorpions in their midst is the real tragedy.
Laugh all you want. But remember I warned you.
They lied about the war and now they have the morons thinking Saddam Hussein was at 911.
They will win by telling lies.
While Blog sphere chases Kerry the Bush Camp will sucker the country into a mean and bitter future.
David 91104

The recent flap over ‘forged’ documents used by CBS and endorsed by Dan Rather are a superb example of Partisanship where there should be none.

CBS used to have a reputation for stepping away from the news and delivering facts unaffected by personal interest or political gain.

William Pailey, they man who made CBS the Tiffany Network eschewed partisanship, feeling it clouded the networks ability to have the publics respect. In the 1950s Pailey fought with Edward R. Morrow over the issue of slanting the news. Morrow was a serious thinker who loathed the antics of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R Wisconsin) CBS was known as intellectual and worldly. To be silent and allow McCarthy to ruin the country struck Morrow as obscene. Pailey felt the average person was more than able to see through McCarthy and did not need CBS to pester them.

Dan Rather has always been a liberal partisan and he never conceals his contempt for the GOP and especially the Bush family. Read his book. "The Camera Never Blinks"
Rather is from Texas, an older, more FDR devoted Texas. He is in his 70s and has a dated way of looking at things. America has moved away from the righteous mid century liberalism toward a hard-edged moderation that seems conservative from a distance.

In truth the Bush administration is ordinary in its Doctrinaire Business mentality. Its political thinking is classic conservative even its theology is mainstream with a whiff of evangelical fervor. But so what? Liberalism is an ideology just as well. The country has never allowed any idea to poison the well. Bush Conservatism will peak out and the excesses will be removed. What congress passes it can refute by a simple vote. The truth of history is a genuine fact. The abuses at Abu Gherab have been exposed. We are all aware of the situation at Guantenamo and are watching reforms take place. The government was here before Bush and will be here long after.

The Bush Administration reflects a predictable rebellion toward rapid change and a natural fear of losing control. The Liberalism of the 1930s was a rebellion against the reactionary 1920s we survived both decades.

In 55 Months GW Bush will be gone forever and America will carry on. We survived Nixon Carter and Clinton, we will survive Bush.

Dan Rather needs to retire, allow a new generation of CBS talent to take charge and lead the Network into the new century. His refusal to vacate the stage of history in a gracious fashion is a loss for him and CBS. If Bill Pailey were around, Rather would be long gone. Les Moonvies hurts himself and CBS by not setting a date for Rathers exit.

In rgars to the election over all. John Kerry has a chance to defeat the president, and I hope he does. But Mr. Kerry must create a serious reason to do so. Not liking Mr. Bush is not enough. The Administration lies outright on the deficit as well as the war. Iraq is no longer a insurrection as it is a genione war against the US.

Kerry should seize the moment and re-define Iraq as a country at war with the United States and the Al Cedr brigades as the enemy. Kerry should hammer on the themne that we will be their three more years easily and just how many lives and treasure are we willing to lose? Ultimately the fantasy of democracy in Iraq has to be challenged.

John Kerry has such a wealth of issues to use against the GOP and he has flubbed just about every one of them.

My personal view is that the Democrats should concentrate on the Senate, there will be real power their and a means to prevent the Bush administration from damaging the Supreme Court.

I do hope Bill Clinton can affect the Kerry Campaign.

David 91004

The Kerry campaign must come to terms with cruel reality and began a detailed presentation as to why the country should endorse Mr. Kerry. Emphasis should be on the Supreme Court, the deficit, and the long term goals in Iraq.

As stated here before a true leader controls the agenda and never allows the other guy any leverage. The Kerry camp let GW Bush imply Mr. Kerry was disloyal or at the least a waffler. These are old style methods and Mr. Kerry has seen them before.

I firmly believe that the GOP is a cynical band of businessmen who stoke the emotions of the poor and near poor. So why do Democrats allow this to happen again and again? Mike Dukakis in 1988 and Albert Gore in 2000. In 1992 the GOP tred to smear Bill Clinton but he was glib enough to give it right back. He did the same in 1996.

Most Americans are not very deep politically. They have families to raise and lives to live. The Blogsphere is populated by driven minds in possession of the time to think and write. Most folks have neither.

Instead of abusing the people Kerry must develop a three line mantra: Bush endless war! Bush endless deficits! Bush endless mean judges. Simple talk big ideas.

Kerry comes across as far too verbose and he whines.

I am a liberal Democrat, I want victory. What Kerry and friends forget is that Bush has the advantage. Take it away from him and beat him up on the endless war endless deficit and mean judges. Pound the drums, "Bush is not the future, he is the past!" And mean it.

Kerry still has a chance, but it is dwindling away as people get distracted by hurricanes and the Base Ball playoffs and the NFL season.

David 9/8/04

Greetings!
August is over and I'm back. I've been working on the final draft of a novel and it wears me out easy. Here if San Francisco things are quiet. Few people here are interested in the GOP convention just as few were interested in the Democrat convention. I am pretty certain that most people have decided what they will do in November.
John Kerry must survive the first debate and in the meantime he must deflect the vicious ads about his 1971 senate testimonies concerning the Viet Nam war. My own thoughts on this mess, is that Kerry will not get past it an GW Bush will be re-elected. Kerry must develop a message that mutes the War Protester image. He has to diminish the value of re-electing the president. Very few candidates have ever defeated a president seeking a new term.
In the 20th century only Taft, Hoover,Ford, and Carter were defeated outright. GHW Bush lost in a three way battle just as Taft did in 1912.
In 1996 The GOP had Robert Dole, a genuine WW2 hero and he lost to Bill Clinton. Kerry may well be remembered as miscalculation in running on his military record. Perhaps if he ignored Iraq and terror and concentrated on the economy and the Supreme Court, he might have a bit of a chance.

I have said before that I suspect the country is tired, its been a long four years. Bush might loose on that issue alone.
As things stand, Bush looks to be re-elected unless he stumbles or Kerry gets a issue that makes him more credible.

2
Russia is going through hell. The world is ignoring it, a bad mistake. 200 school kids are hostages in the latest drama. The Chechyn Terrorist seem able to move about Russia quite freely. Mr. Putun will suffer for this.
Be sure other terrorist are watching and learning. The Chechyn's use women who have lost brothers or sons or husbands. Does the US look out for woman?
More later
David

I am 53, I have lived in America all my life. I have studied politics as a sport, institution, and cancer at different times. I am increasingly disgusted by the cynical manipulation and shameless antics in campaigns. The Dem-crats and the GOP treat the public as fools and then ask for respect.

John Kerry takes a 4 month career in Vietnam that ended in near death and milks it for all it's worth. GW Bush acts as if he is a sacred wall between civilization and Al Qaeda. Both men are abusers and we are the abused.

In the end, the idea of a unadorned discourse and truth are tossed away by lame excuses that no one listens unless it's a dog fight.

I agree that theater is a big part of politics and presidential races are mostly theater. The founding fathers hoped these once every four year blow outs would replace revolution in the streets. Well maybe they do. But the fraud and baloney hurts the dignity and character of the country.

2

I do feel that an adult somewhere needs to shout "Stop" at the charade of terror alerts. The TV networks milk them because it's free news and has lots of drama. But it's all a lie. Bill Clinton got warnings and he never spooked the country.

Now the whole nation is burned out and if the wolf ever shows up no one will care.

A car bombing in NYC would be a tragedy, but not a threat to the nation's survival.

The UK had an IRA terror that set off bombs in London and other venues for three decades and they NEVER juiced it or hustled the public.

Why must the US go so crazy over these things?

3

The great evil we do not acknowledge is the huge federal debt and the effect it has on liquidity and control of money. More than half of Federal Bonds are bought overseas. We are at the mercy of strangers.

The time is long past due, to get a grip on the debt and create a believable plan to pay it off. A 4% Federal tax on all business Gross Profits would be a start. A congressional mandate of paying $125 billion a year on the debt. And then once the deficit is less than 10 billion a year, keep it there. Retire short term bonds and offer tax credits to cash in others.

This will be the choke issue in 2008.

4

I dread a second Bush Administration. They will populate the Supreme Court with reactionaries and the Religious Right will bully the GOPwith extremist demands. It will be a dark unhappy four years. More war, less peace, and a theocratic paranoia will poison everything. Do we need this?

David

The terror alert is bullshit.
GW Bush or perhaps Karl Rove and Dick Cheney likes to scare the country. Do we have terror alerts against Texas?
I think Bush sells Terror Alerts to wealthy Texas cronies who hate the Liberal North.
America should get wise to this scam.
Do you think the GOP would refuse a million dollars to scare NYC or other Liberal Cities?
Remember the Religious Right hates the modern World and seek every chance to abuse the secular comunity.
Ignore the terror alerts, do not surrender to the Big Lie!
David 8/2/04