(09/24/04)
Since January or so, I've been ranting to anyone who would listen that Kerry was the worst candidate with a reasonable chance of winning the Democratic nomination. I had no big problem with Dean, and really liked Edwards. Kerry, in my opinion, totally sucked.
I started to come around in August when I finally conceded that I would have preferred no war in Iraq over a Bush-run war in Iraq. Kerry promised changes in spending and taxes, indicating that he would at least TRY to reduce the budget deficit. Ashcroft and Cheney managed to upset me more every day. The war in Iraq got uglier and uglier, and I was convinced that Bush had so insulted other leaders that someone else would need to stand in his place to get support from allies.
Then Allawi came to talk to Congress and told them that he would stand resolute and that he was confident that elections could be held on time. And Kerry blasted him, essentially calling him a liar:
"I think the prime minister is, obviously, contradicting his own statement of a few days ago, where he said the terrorists are pouring into the country," Kerry said. "The prime minister and the president are here obviously to put their best face on the policy, but the fact is that the CIA estimates, the reporting, the ground operations and the troops all tell a different story."
How does Kerry expect to work with this man when he becomes president? Does he expect to install a new Iraqi government, with more Kerry-friendly personalities, or what?
The fact is that there is no easy solution. It may be too late for a broad coalition to help. Iraq is a mess. And Kerry does not have a real solution to the problem.
Which brings me to another point - How can a man who runs such an incompetent campaign be expected to deal with actual problems in our government? He didn't respond to the Swift Boat lies for weeks, and his fans (Dan Rather et al.) are making him look bad. He didn't hold a single press conference between August 9 and September 21. When Kerry appears on shows with hosts who love him, he STILL fails to impress.
Kerry overplayed his involvement in Vietnam, which has nothing to do with his abilities as chief executive. I mean, he should've realized that the country didn't care about war heroes when Bush beat McCain and when Clinton beat Dole and when Clinton beat Bush Sr. In fact, all this talk of his service in Vietnam and his swift boat buddies in Boston totally set him up for the devastating effects of the Swift Boat Vets ads. Meanwhile, Bush's shady military service doesn't harm him at all and only serves to further ruin CBS News, already the least respected of the network news offices.
It's not too late. Bush may lose my vote again. I'm going to look into this Libertarian candidate, Michael Badnarik, and see what he's about. Maybe Kerry can give me what I want to hear about Iraq, and I'll once again jump on that bandwagon. Until then, I'll be firmly in the UNDECIDED column.
Update (09/24/04): I just stumbled across this article in the Washington Post doubting Kerry's ability to gain allies.
