KERRY..... NOW'S THE TIME TO STRIKE

[ulTRAX]

If all Kerry does is respond to the bogus issues Rove is concocting, he'll never be able to frame the debate. Ad money will be wasted defending Kerry instead of attacking Bush or promoting Kerry's agenda.

Is now the time to strike? Events such as hurricane Francis, the storming of the school in Russia and now Bill Clinton's surgery, have conspired to take Bush and the convention out of the headlines.

Kerry needs to accomplish a few things. One is to get out of the trap of responding to false charges. They will never end. But Kerry also needs to frame the GOP in a way the Democrats have always seem reluctant to do. For example the Right has for the past 24 years been trying to strangle government by sabotaging revenues. The Dems have never exposed this agenda or countered the Right's Big Lies on tax cuts or the benefits they allegedly bring. Now we have an economy that's limping along. Bush got his wish list and as most economists predicted a few years back, the Bush tax cuts were NOT a stimulus package.

I think Kerry could accomplish a few goals by hitting this issue head on. The first is to counter Bush's constant claims that "the tax cuts are working". The evidence that they have EVER helped much is anecdotal. It might help deflate the appeal of tax cuts if voters understand that ALL the money for these cuts is being borrowed from future tax payers. After all. it's one thing to have tax cuts if there's no debt... but a surplus was NEVER proof as Bush claimed in 2000 "that the government is taxing too much." The debt at the time was 5.6 Trillion. I think the Reagan record should also be included. The Right would react in a knee-jerk manner and throw them off their game. Just some thoughts.

[sangh0]

1. R U Kidding?

The first is to counter Bush's constant claims that "the tax cuts are working".

Kerry's been talking about this for months.

[ulTRAX]

4. are YOU kidding?

And how much billing did this issue get at the Dem Convention?

I'm not talking about a scatter-shot approach of mentioning this issue but of a full scale attack that exposes the Right's real agenda and the lies they have been spreading since the Reagan days. Aside from ideologically inoculating voters against the Right's lies and distortions, there's a chance for Kerry to hit a soft spot with true fiscal conservatives. Don't you think? Or don't you?

[sangh0]

7. r u kidding?

Bush* tax cuts were mentioned dozens of times at the Dem convention.

Aside from ideologically inoculating voters against the Right's lies and distortions, there's a chance for Kerry to hit a soft spot with true fiscal conservatives. Don't you think?

Yes, I do, but I can make that point without repeating the RNC lie that Kerry hasn't been talking about the issues.

[ulTRAX]

10. you DO intend to back up your claims... right?

sangh0/sanghA wrote: "Bush* tax cuts were mentioned dozens of times at the Dem convention."

Taxes may very well have been mentioned at the convention in a scatter-shot manner... that X,Y & Z can be accomplished if we raise taxes on the wealthy. But that's NOT what I was suggesting and you know it. Looking at transcripts of key speeches... here's relevant excerpts. Don't cry foul Fluffy, it's VERY easy to do a search for the keywords "tax" "taxes" in these speeches and I've provided the links to the official transcripts.

JOHN KERRY:
"And let me tell you what we won't do: we won't raise taxes on the middle class. You've heard a lot of false charges about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will do as President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, health care and education." Source: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0729.html

JOHN EDWARDS:
"So now you ask how are we going to pay for this? Well, here’s how we’re going to pay for it. Let me be very clear, for 98 percent of Americans, you will keep your tax cut—that’s 98 percent. But we’ll roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, close corporate loopholes, and cut government contractors and wasteful spending. We can move our country forward without passing the bill and the burden on to our children and grandchildren."
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0727.html

Feel free to look at Barak Obama's speech:
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0727.html

Now I didn't listen to every speech. But what I did listen to as confirmed by the transcripts, no one at the Dem convention tried to counter the Right's Big Lies on tax cuts. I've seen NO Democrat systematically explain deficits/debt or on-budget/off-budget issues. Hell, Dean was on TV a few weeks back and wasn't even using the correct FY04 deficit numbers. No Democrat I know... OK, MoveOn has, has tried to drive home that tax cuts when we have a debt is all money borrowed from future taxpayers. The Dems seem to have collapsed on this issue and the best strategy they can ever seem to muster is we want to raise taxes on the wealthy but will keep all of Bush's other irresponsible tax cuts.

If you have some REAL evidence that Democrats have taken a HARD line on this issue as suggested in my first post... post it.

[sangh0]

11. So if you haven't seen it, it hasn't happened?

Thanks, I was wondering how you were going to back that up.

Maybe you should visit the threads where posters complain that Kerry and Edwards are spending too much time on domestic issues, like taxes

[ulTRAX]

13. running away from another claim?

sangh0 "So if you haven't seen it, it hasn't happened? Thanks, I was wondering how you were going to back that up.

Maybe you should visit the threads where posters complain that Kerry and Edwards are spending too much time on domestic issues, like taxes"

Nice try... but you, predictably, failed to backup your own claims. If the Democrats had a message that struck deep at the heart of the Orwellian Right's Big Lies on tax cuts... or tried to educate the voters on deficits/debt... I'm sure I would have noticed. It's a key reason I'm so disgusted at the Dems. I can admit I didn't listen to every speech at the Convention. But YOUR claim was that this issue was mentioned continuously. So where's your evidence?

The key speeches of the Democratic Convention failed to play hard ball on this issue.

But I am more interested in truth than any personal disgust I feel toward you. So I await proof of your claim that the Dems DID play hardball on this tax cut issues. Informal observations made here at DU do not constitute proof. Analysis of official transcripts does. Don't you think? Or don't you?

[sangh0]

16. You're sure you would have noticed?

Well, with evidence like that, who am I to quibble?

Informal observations made here at DU do not constitute proof. Analysis of official transcripts does.

Informal observations? You mean like "I'm sure I would have noticed"?

Or is it OK when you do it?

[sangh0]

17. *yawn*

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0831.html

President Bush has finally admitted that he miscalculated on Iraq, so will he next admit that he has miscalculated on the economy?” asked Edwards. “Will we next hear that his economic plan was a catastrophic success? His policies certainly have been catastrophic for the middle class, and successful for the very wealthy.”

While George Bush has remained silent on job loss and the squeeze on middle class families, 2.7 million manufacturing jobs and 1.8 million private sector jobs have disappeared. With these numbers, Bush is on track to be the first president since Herbert Hoover to have a net negative jobs record going into the election.

And while jobs are being lost, health care costs are spiraling out of control. The President has given millions away to HMOs and pharmaceutical companies, leaving families to struggle with rising premiums and unable to pay for the prescription drugs they desperately need. In West Virginia, the total family premium for health insurance has increased by $2,806 to a whopping $9,650 and the average annual health care premium increase has more than doubled under Bush...

“Four years ago, George Bush claimed to be a compassionate conservative,” said Edwards. “But there is nothing compassionate about leaving millions of hard working families behind. And there is nothing conservative about a fiscal policy that turns record surpluses into record deficits by combining an ill-planned war with reckless tax cuts for the wealthy. The American people will not be fooled by slogans.”

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0821b.html

George Bush’s policies have failed to create a single job for America’s workers, and he has yet to lay out any plan for how to fix the economy. Virginia, Edwards’s first stop Saturday, has lost 60,000 manufacturing jobs under Bush’s watch. The President has also shown his willingness to sacrifice the interests of America’s workers in order to benefit a select few. The most recent example goes into effect Monday, when the Bush Administration’s overtime rule change will strip over six million American workers of their right to overtime pay.

As Edwards discussed today, he and John Kerry have a plan outlined in their new book, “Our Plan for America: Stronger at Home, Respected in the World,” to grow the economy but not the deficit and help hardworking families struggling to make ends meet.

The Kerry-Edwards economic plan includes a comprehensive package to help rural and small town America. All Americans are struggling with declining wages and rising costs, but these problems are often more acute in rural America, as rural communities are smaller and more dispersed. With programs like the Greater Rural Opportunity and Work (GROW) Initiative to bring venture capital and management expertise to small town America, Kerry and Edwards will build an economy that lifts up all Americans, including those living in rural America.

“We do not have to settle for what we have now. We can do better,” said Edwards. “With the right kind of policies and the right kind of president, we will.”

Middle-class families, already working harder than ever before and finding it nearly impossible to get ahead, are also being saddled with soaring health care costs. In the last three and a half years, health premiums have increased more than $2,600, raising the costs families pay by 49 percent. This has not just hurt families’ pocketbooks, it has also directly contributed to job losses, wage shortfalls, and the shift to lower-quality jobs.

John Edwards and John Kerry have a comprehensive plan to heal the economy, by reducing health costs with $1,000 in health care premium relief, and by creating more and better paying jobs with tax breaks for the middle-class and investing in the jobs of the future.

“It’s not complicated. So much of this health care crisis and economic uncertainty is about priorities,” said Edwards. “We need a president who will work overtime to lower your health care costs, and build an economy that lets hard-working Americans get ahead.”

Edwards’s trip to Virginia and West Virginia was part of the two-week "A Stronger America Begins at Home: The Path to Prosperity" focus on the Kerry-Edwards plan to build a stronger economy by Kerry, Edwards, and supporters across the nation.

[sangh0]

20. *yawn*

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/economy/fiscal_responsibility.html

A Plan To Restore Fiscal Responsibility
In the 1990s, fiscal responsibility created confidence in the economy, encouraged investment, and led to nearly 23 million new jobs. By sticking to common-sense budget rules like "Pay-As-You-Go" provisions, Republicans and Democrats helped limit spending to fit within existing constraints. Even as they battled over other issues, everyone from Bill Clinton to Newt Gingrich agreed that new initiatives should be funded by finding new ways to save.

Over the last three years, record surpluses have turned into record deficits, with more deficits stretching into our children's future. Today, we face unsustainable foreign borrowing, rising interest rates, and sinking consumer confidence.

John Kerry and John Edwards know how to spend responsibly, and they believe that Americans deserve to expect more than record deficits and reckless spending. In their first term, they will cut the deficit in half and cut taxes for middle-class Americans and small businesses while funding better, more affordable health care for all Americans, improving our schools, and securing our country. The Kerry-Edwards plan will keep interest rates from rising, give America's businesses the confidence to start hiring, and avert the looming crisis posed by our ballooning deficit.


Cut the Deficit In Half While Investing In Health Care And Education
The Kerry-Edwards plan will cut the deficit in half while making health care more affordable and improving our schools. The four principles of the Kerry-Edwards approach are:

Middle Class Tax Cuts: The Kerry-Edwards plan will cut taxes for 98 percent of Americans and 99 percent of businesses while making health care and education more affordable.

Restore PAYGO: Roll Back Bush Tax Cuts for Wealthy to Pay for Health and Education: The Kerry-Edwards plan will make health care affordable and accessible for all Americans and invest in education by rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy, those making over $200,000 annually.

Restrain Discretionary Spending: The Kerry-Edwards plan will restore the discretionary spending caps of the 1990s to ensure that spending - outside of education and security - does not grow faster than inflation.

Cut Corporate Welfare to Reduce the Deficit: The Kerry-Edwards plan will push the McCain-Kerry Corporate Welfare Commission to eliminate unnecessary corporate welfare and use the savings to reduce the deficit...

...Restore Fiscal Discipline To Washington

Pay For New Initiatives By Rolling Back The Bush Tax Cut For The Very Wealthy. As president, John Kerry will bring fiscal responsibility back to Washington by ensuring that new initiatives are paid for without increasing the deficit - something George Bush has never done with any policy he has ever passed or proposed. John Kerry will roll back only Bush's tax cuts for those making over $200,000 a year, and invest those resources in affordable health care and better schools. Specifically, the Kerry-Edwards plan will:

Provide an immediate tax break for small businesses and family farms by raising the estate tax exemption to $4 million per couple and $10 million per couple for a family-owned business or farm. The estate tax would be maintained for the largest estates.
Restore the top two tax brackets to their levels under President Clinton.
Restore the capital gains and dividend rates for families making over $200,000 on income earned above $200,000 to their levels under President Clinton.
Maintain the phase-out of personal exemptions and itemized deductions (PEP and PEASE)

[sangh0]

24. A Contract with America’s Middle Class

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0423.html

The second priority in my contract with the middle class is this: I will put the economy and government back in line with our values.

The middle class is the moral and economic backbone of this nation. Franklin Roosevelt realized that and he set in motion programs that helped people go to college, buy a house, and build their wealth. The country prospered: we created nearly 11 million new jobs and homeownership increased by 13 percent from 1950-1960.

President Clinton saw the same thing. His plans invested in people and we created 23 million new jobs, 7 million Americans were lifted out of poverty, and more Americans went to college. The middle class built this country. They work hard, pay their bills, and do right by their families and their country. This country ought to do right by them.

For too long, this Administration hasn't honored those values, and it certainly hasn't lived up to them. They've put wealth ahead of work, something-for-nothing ahead of responsibility, and special privilege for the few ahead of what's right for the nation.

My plan will create 10 million jobs with a proven strategy built on a simple principle: We should reward work, make sure Americans have a chance to work, and get ahead when they do.

That's why we can cut taxes for businesses that do right by America and reward companies for creating jobs here instead of for moving jobs overseas. If a company is torn between creating jobs here or overseas, we now have a tax code that tells you to go overseas. That's wrong. And if I am President, it will end.

We'll put the federal government back in line with our values as well, by capping spending and getting rid of programs that don't work. I believe the private sector is the engine of economic growth, and that instead of being a burden to business, government has a duty to help business succeed.

Responsibility must begin in Washington, not end there. When I first came to the Senate in 1985, the federal deficit was soaring, as it is today. I stood up to others in my party to join reformers like Warren Rudman and Fritz Hollings to push for a deficit reduction plan with real teeth. In 1993, and again in 1997, I joined President Clinton to put the nation's house in order and balance the budget for the first time since Vietnam.

Now, our budget is a mess again and we must fix it to keep our country strong. My plan calls for no new spending without cutbacks to pay for that spending. My plan will end corporate welfare as we know it, roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and impose a real cap on spending. When I put forward a new idea, I'll tell you how I'm going to pay for it. As I have already shown in this campaign, I won't just hold everyone else's proposals to that tough standard; I will apply it to my own.

Third, I will say to America's middle class, and all who wish to join its ranks: I have a plan to raise your income and a commitment to cut your taxes.

On this President's watch, Americans are working harder, earning less, and paying more for health care and college and taxes. The average American family is making $1,400 less a year; we've lost 2.6 million private sector jobs; and the industries that are expanding pay an average of $9,000 less than ones that are contracting. Families are paying $800 more a year for health care, and $1,000 more to send their children to college.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has engineered the greatest tax shift in American history. Middle-class Americans are now paying more of the national budget; wealthy Americans are paying less. The middle class burden has gone up, while incomes have gone down. That's why to build a strong economy, I'll cut middle-class taxes, so middle-class incomes go up.

Throughout this campaign, I have disagreed with those in my own party who would take away the middle class tax cuts many of us fought for. My economic plan cuts middle-class taxes by three times as much as George Bush. My plan makes it easier for millions of families to pay for health care, and gives families a tax credit on up to $4,000 in college tuition. Under my plan, 98% of Americans and 99% of American businesses will get a tax cut.

[ulTRAX]

31. ROTF

I believe you claimed there was abundant mention of irresponsible tax cuts during the Convention. You ran from that claim now present something else as "proof".

This position statement only proves what I've been saying... Kerry and the Dems have played softball on the Right's irresponsible tax cuts. The Dems are operating within the Right's tax cut agenda rather than challenging it.

Let's not forget just how difficult it was to get to a budget surplus. It took all the Reagan, Bush1, and Clinton tax hikes... plus the spending cuts made by those three... PLUS the record economic boom and the speculative stock bubble to get us to the break even point. Even then in 2000 We the People were 5.6 TRILLION in debt. So after 20 years of work to get to a balanced budget... where virtually none of the debt is paid down, Bush RUSHES to have tax cuts even though he promises to strengthen SS by paying down the national debt with budget surpluses.

Please show me ANY evidence of the Dems have been playing hardball and educating voters on this issue.

[sangh0]

32. You claimed Kerry wasn't talking about taxes and the deficit

And I've proved he has been. Funny how you forgot to mention that.

[sangh0]

43. You still there?

.

[ulTRAX]

55. as I said

sangh0 wrote "You claimed Kerry wasn't talking about taxes and the deficit And I've proved he has been. Funny how you forgot to mention that."

If you can't make a point without gross distortions, you really haven't made a point... have you Chuckles?

I've NEVER said Kerry and the Dems don't mention the Bush tax cuts. I've said it's a timid scatter shot approach. Dems have conceded on this issue and they operate WITHIN the Right's tax cut agenda. The best the Dems do is play softball the issue talking about how they will PRESERVE the tax cuts for most people. I understand that dealing with this issue head on will be tough... but the Dems haven't effectively countered the Right's Big Lies nor have the educated the American People on budget issues. Hell, back in APRIL I was blasting the Kerry site for not even having a forum on budget issues nor giving
budget issues a prominent place at his site. http://forum.johnkerry.com/index.php?showtopic=23176

As I said in my first post "For example the Right has for the past 24 years been trying to strangle government by sabotaging revenues. The Dems have never exposed this agenda or countered the Right's Big Lies on tax cuts or the benefits they allegedly bring." You claimed this was dealt with at the convention. The transcripts of 3 key speeches show nothing of the sort. You glossed over your failure to prove your point. In fact everything you have presented as "evidence" supports my contention not yours. I see the obvious. It's unfortunate you can't.

[ulTRAX]

21. TRANSLATION

You can't actually back up your claims but don't have the intergity to admit it.

Why didn't you just say so!

[sangh0]

25. I guess you don't read the posts

I've posted several links, and it only took me a few minutes to do it.

But, you've never seen them, so I guess they don't really exist.

[ulTRAX]

19. BTW... I have NO idea what you're talking about

ulTRAX: Aside from ideologically inoculating voters against the Right's lies and distortions, there's a chance for Kerry to hit a soft spot with true fiscal conservatives. Don't you think?

sangh0: Yes, I do, but I can make that point without repeating the RNC lie that Kerry hasn't been talking about the issues.

WTF? My critique of Kerry's campaign is from the Progressive end of the political spectrum. I have no idea why you'd equate my observations on the weaknesses of the Kerry campaign with any lies from RNC. Why would THEY want the Dems to launch a concerted attack on the Right's Big Lie: that tax cuts are a free lunch?

Again I await some proof of your claims. But I won't hold my breath.

[sangh0]

22. Your argument is "Kerry isn't talking about issues" when it's not true

Kerry has been talking about taxes and the deficits, as the links I posted prove

[BootinUp]

2. Kerry needs to talk more about his voting record

The smears on his voting record are starting to hurt. This is something that can be refuted and must!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. He's got 50 million worth of ads this month..I think he knows

but thanks for sharing

[ulTRAX]

5. you're welcome

But since I've yet to see the Dems go all out to expose the Right's plans to strangle government by sabotaging revenues.... I doubt they'll do it this time either.

[OneBlueSky]

6. he also needs to put Bush on the defensive by raising NEW issues . . .

that BushCo doesn't see coming . . . here's a few they could start with; there are many, many more . . .

http://www.sfbg.com/38/49/cover_censored.html

48. I agree and many thanks for link laden article

I agree and am waiting for more of these issues to be raised more widely. Thanks for the article with so many great links within it.

But I also agree with the person who says these complex issues don't make the kind of soap opera the TV news and chat shows like to toss around these days.

[sendero]

8. My belief...

... is not that Kerry does not make these points, but that he does not make them with the kind of pointed, sharp and yes strident language that the media will see fit to give attention to. THE MEDIA DOES NOT WANT TO AIR REASONED DIALOG, THEY WANT SOAP OPERA. The right has this down, but the left seems to have lost the art 20 years ago.

[AlinPA]

9. You are right about "One is to get out of the trap of responding to

false charges. They will never end." But, they are going to get worse and we can't let them pile up like the things that happened to Gore (saying he was serial liar, etc)

Here's what worries me the most: When late night comedy paints a negative picture of Kerry and it turns to "the truth" or conventional wisdom. You can't fight back once that's been done. So far they haven't done this.

[sangh0]

12. But you don't escape that trap

by responding to every false charge.

[ulTRAX]

14. gee

Wasn't that my one of my original points?

"If all Kerry does is respond to the bogus issues Rove is concocting, he'll never be able to frame the debate. Ad money will be wasted defending Kerry instead of attacking Bush or promoting Kerry's agenda."

"Kerry needs to accomplish a few things. One is to get out of the trap of responding to false charges. They will never end. But Kerry also needs to frame the GOP in a way the Democrats have always seem reluctant to do."

I suggested that the Kerry campaign try to outflank Rove by launching its own attacks. Yet you've claimed that the Dem's attempts to counter the Right's Big Lies on tax cuts has been obvious and sufficient. Proof? You've so far provided none.

[sangh0]

27. You must be feeling awfully defensive

That post wasn't addressed to you, or even the poster I was responding to.

[ulTRAX]

58. So what are you proposing? Anything?

As I wrote: I suggested that the Kerry campaign try to outflank Rove by launching its own attacks. Yet you've claimed that the Dem's attempts to counter the Right's Big Lies on tax cuts has been obvious and sufficient. Proof? You've so far provided none."

Your problem is that you MAY see the bind that Kerry is in, but you're too much of a loyal partisan to be critical of the direction of the Kerry campaign. So what are you proposing Kerry do to break out of this cycle of defending himself against endless personal attacks? Anything?

[TheRovingGourmet]

15. Has Kerry responded to the charges? I mean answering the

specific charges with a specific answer relating to those charges. I asked this once and all I got were links to where someone else is saying what Kerry would say or where he is just attacking Bush by way of response.

[sangh0]

28. Which charge?

The tax charge?

If so, the answer is yes

[TheRovingGourmet]

29. The charges by the SwiftVets.

[sangh0]

33. Yes

Kerry has responded. He accused Bush* of being complicit with SBVT

[TheRovingGourmet]

35. That is not much of a response.

[sangh0]

36. Awww

Maybe you should tell us about the campaigns you've won

[TheRovingGourmet]

38. Dodge

[sangh0]

40. "He should address and move on" and "He should keep talking about it"

Yeah, *I'm* dodging

[TheRovingGourmet]

42. Then answer the questions by using the information at Kerry's

website. Good luck.

[sangh0]

44. Giving orders?

Good luck to you.

[TheRovingGourmet]

46. Nope. Just showing someone something.

[ulTRAX]

59. dodging

Dodging is what the user in question does best.

[ulTRAX]

57. which is why it's best to launch a counterattack

The Orwellian Right would be falling all over itself trying to defend the failed supply-side record of Reagan and Bush. It's not just a plausible strategy to break out of the box Rove is trying to force Kerry into, it's necessary to take on the Right's Big Lies because the Right strategy to strangle government by sabotaging revenues hits at the core of the New Deal and Great Society programs and any future Democratic agenda such as national health care.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AuntPatsy]

23. Were have you been? He already has....

perhaps you werent watching? You can go to his web site and he will tell you there, to keep having to defend himself against those unpatriotic traitors is just wasting time, he has more important things to worry about, like health care, education, the ecomonmy, etc..dont ya think?

[TheRovingGourmet]

26. The information at Kerry's website will not answer the questions

that are making the rounds now.

[sangh0]

34. So "answer the questions and get over it" means "keep talking about it"

That makes sense

[TheRovingGourmet]

37. They will keep talking about it as long as he does not respond

personally with irrefutable proof that they are lying.

[sangh0]

39. Already done

and it's on the Kerry website. I have trouble taking someone seriously when they advise contradictory actions in the same thread, followed by a request that Kerry do something he already did.

[TheRovingGourmet]

41. I saw the information on Kerry's website. My statement still stands.

[sangh0]

45. Who cares?

You act as though you were the final authority

[TheRovingGourmet]

47. The undecided voters may care. They are the relevant voters

at this point.

[sangh0]

49. They don't

Polls have stayed steady throughout the lies.

[TheRovingGourmet]

50. They are the only ones that matter. Democrats will generally

vote for Democrats; Republicans will generally vote for Republicans. Neither will be swayed much by anything that happens in this campaign. It is the undecideds that need to shift on way or the other to win this election. They are the ones that all the money is being spent on. Kind of funny in a way.

[Kool Kitty]

51. How many undecided voters do you think are

out there? I honestly don't think there are too many left that haven't made up their minds yet.

[TheRovingGourmet]

52. I have heard numbers as low as five percent to as high as

twenty seven percent. I'm guessing it is around fifteen percent at this point but that guess is biased by living around so many that are still not sure who they are going to vote against. Each one of them is very important and they are proving difficult to convince.

[Kool Kitty]

53. The people you live around haven't decided

who they are voting AGAINST yet? Sounds like a really positive, uplifting group.

[TheRovingGourmet]

54. That is my description of their behavior. :)

[Zen Democrat]

30. Kerry has to hit the terror issue HARD. Hit Bush on exploitation of 9/11.

The convention was a disgraceful whoring on the backs of the innocent dead of 9/ll. Why didn't Bush mention the 9/ll Commission? The Abu Graib tortures?

[ulTRAX]

56. it's unfortunate Kerry's position on Iraq is incoherent

It's unfortunate that Kerry's position on Iraq is seemingly incoherent. Now he's saying that he would have voted for war authorization even knowing that there were no WMDs? WTF!!!! Sometimes I want to give this guy a dope slap.

Why can't Kerry have a more coherent explanation? Saddam had to be confronted. There were loose ends in the Gulf War concerning WMD. While it SHOULD have waited for another time, the only way to get UN inspectors back in was with a credible threat of force. Bush broke trust with Congress and the American People by sabotaging the UN inspections and launching an illegal war. This action was a dangerous diversion of resources away from the war on terror and will result in increased instability in the mid-east and anti-American hatred. But once this insane war was started, the US had to back its troops and insure a stable government.