OK, I have the TV on FoxNews, a 12 pack of beer, and a cyanide capsule just in case I need it. I think I’m ready.
First, before the snark-fest begins, some serious analysis. This needs to be a homerun for John Kerry. His pick of Edwards didn’t give him much of a bounce. If he’s not up by at least 10 point at the end of the convention, considering that Bush has the airwaves all to himself throughout all of August, he’s going to be in trouble. This is a make-or-break speech, and if it doesn’t work, Kerry could see himself in serious trouble just as the election begins to truly heat up.
Kerry has to tell the swing voters why they should vote for him, not against George W. Bush. The Bush-haters are going to vote for him regardless – but they can’t carry him to victory. Kerry has to find a message, and after four days of contradictions, he’s going to have a tough time of it. Barack Obama’s quite brilliant speech said we’re one America – John Edwards says there are two. The Democrats are trying to paint themselves as optimists, yet they’re also trying to argue that America has never been more troubled. Kerry will emphasize the idea that character is made of actions, not words – yet he is notorious for being on both sides of any given issue.
Kerry has to wow everyone. He has to set the tone for the campaign and create the right message. It’s going to be a tough job for anyone – but it’s critical not to underestimate Kerry. This is going to be a close election, and Kerry could indeed strike one out of the park. The campaign could turn on this speech, which is why it’s the only part of this convention that really matters.
O’Reilly has already obtained a copy of the speech and says it’s nothing new…the same old campaign stuff…
I think the speech will just be filled with vague platitudes…like the one CNN is reporting: “We need to make America once again a beacon in the world.”
Wow…whooptee doo…
Interesting that Kerry will say that particular remark, since as reported by the WaPo “Sen. John F. Kerry indicated that as president he would play down the promotion of democracy as a leading goal…”
Of course, this is the same guy who told us we couldn’t defeat communism or even should try:
“W]e cannot fight communism all over the world, and I think we should have learned that lesson by now…”
That’s Kerry…just vague platitudes to try to conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings…but no record on which to base that. Interesting that for Kerry he keeps going back 35 years to Vietnam, but says very little about his record since then. If I were interviewing someone for a job and all they could do is point to what they did 35 years ago, I would not be impressed and of course, would wonder why the person had to go back that far to come up with an accomplishment.
All Kerry needs is a ground-rule double. If he solidifies another 10% of the independent vote which he’s already dominating, he wins in November. Al Gore got a 20-point poll bounce from what I considered an uninspired speech. Kerry won’t get nearly that….but he doesn’t need nearly that given that he’s already of Bush, which Gore wasn’t at this point.
AT, the difference between Jay, myself and you is that he and I can admit to a successful speech by an opponent if we hear one, even if we don’t agree it. You’ve convinced yourself all week that Kerry’s nomination speech is gonna be awful, so how could it possibly fail to live up to your impossibly low expectations. People who are so blinded by partisanship that they can’t acknowledge any level of effectiveness by the opposition are the ultimately the easiest to defeat. If I’m ever a candidate running for office, I hope to have an opponent as arrogant and unjustifiably self-assured as you.
Mark: I laugh at the way you lower the bar for Kerry…all the pundits are saying he has to hit a home run…nice to know you’ll settle for a ground rule double…