Once and for all - why Kerry lost!

[LTRS]

The minute we choose a candidate based on his war record instead of his voting record we lost! Period. Kerry voted for most of Bush's controversial programs, and wussed out on speaking against the ones he didn't vote for, long before he became a candidate.

We lost because the messaging sucked and sucked badly (when oh when will they fire the horrible consultants that run this party?), but more importantly we lost because Kerry had a recent history of voting not on principle but on what he thought would get him the most votes in a planned run for president a year later, and the Bushies exploited the hell out of that.

Kind of hard to explain to voters why Bush was wrong on tax cuts, NCLB, the patriot act, the Iraq war, ad nausuem, when you voted FOR all that stuff as a senator (probably because you thought if you didn't you couldn't run for president and capture the middle). Except surprise, there is NO MIDDLE anymore, and your base and what is left of the middle thinks you're just a con job, because you caved and didn't stand up for your principles when it counted.

Kerry lost because they tagged him as an unprincipled flip flopper, and in the year previous to the election when he was calculating, but not yet running for president, he was one.

Now he is one of only 2 voting against Rice. So is that just another political calculation on his part to fire up the base -- he's running again in 2008 -- or is he getting back to his core principles? We can't possibly know. And neither can the voters. Which is why, if nominated, he will lose again in 2008.

The constant calibration gets old. Very old. The public isn't as stupid as people think -- maybe about policy, but not about seeing the core values of a man. And time and time again they will opt for the agenda they disagree over a lack of principles if those are the choices. Every damn time.

Until our politicians and "consultants" finally get that, we will be wandering in the wilderness, hostage to the rethug's destruction of our country.