THE SICKENING thud heard by the American electorate a few days ago was the sound of John Kerry plummeting to the ground in the most recent national public opinion polls. On Friday, a TIME poll showed President Bush with an 11-point lead (52 percent-41 percent) over his Democratic rival among likely voters. A day later, as almost a cruel silencer to the naysayers and Kerry supporters, a Newsweek poll revealed a duplicate 11-point lead for the Bush-Cheney ticket, this time among registered voters.While some of the gains by Bush can be attributed to the post-convention "bounce," the numbers demonstrate a clear gravitation among voters toward President Bush's positive message for America, and away from Kerry's flip-flopping and policy-less agenda.
The trouble for Kerry and his campaign started, ironically enough, in July at the Democratic National Convention. For all the media attention the convention and Kerry's speech received, instead of detailing policy initiatives and issue stances to millions of eager (yet clueless on Kerry) Americans, the Kerry campaign instead chose to highlight the candidate's life as a soldier, senator and statesman. As RNC chairman Ed Gillespie said recently in the New York Times, "If you give me a hundred dollars, I couldn't tell you a single policy thing they talked about."
Unfortunately for the Kerry campaign, it's a catch-22 when it comes to taking a stand on any issue. Stay silent, and thus avoid the flip-flop stereotype but fall liable to the "stance-less" candidate critique; or take an issue stance and pray Kerry hasn't opposed his own position sometime during the past 30 years. Currently, with politically devastating one-liners such as "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it" still fresh in the minds of the public, it might be wiser for Kerry to choose option one.
John Kerry and his campaign's own foibles coupled with the continued fall-out and controversy from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads haven't necessarily done in the Democratic nominee. The main problem facing Kerry is the juggernaut running against him: President George W. Bush.
The two central issues of the 2004 presidential election, the war on terror and the economy, have both buoyed the Bush campaign in recent weeks. A fragile cease-fire order from the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr renewed hopes for democracy in Iraq and might induce U.S. media outlets to actually start covering all the positive news coming out of the region. On Friday, new employment numbers revealed continued strong job growth; the economy added 144,000 jobs in August and unemployment dipped to 5.4 percent, the lowest level since September 2001.
More important than positive news out of Iraq or upbeat economic numbers is the quantifiable changes in public perception of both President Bush and Sen. Kerry. The new polling numbers clearly demonstrate that the Bush-Cheney campaign is doing a superior job of exporting their message to the public. The campaign's consistent "steady leadership in times of change" message resonates with voters; in the aforementioned TIME poll, voters favored Bush over Kerry on "providing strong leadership" by a nearly 20-point margin. The Bush campaign's other main message, that of John Kerry as a flip-flopper is also hitting home; the Newsweek poll showed only 42 percent of those asked said Kerry says what he believes and not just what people want to hear, compared to 62 percent for Bush.
Democrats are not oblivious to the slow sinking of the S.S. Kerry and, even with the traditional Labor Day campaign kick-off one day old, are already glancing at the panic button. Gov. Ed Rendell, D
Read More
PARTING SHOT: When it comes to art, it pays to pay attention
By Delaney Hammond | 4 hours agoEven among people who value the arts, carving out space for critical engagement with — rather than just passive consumption of — art has been an endeavor I have treasured.
PARTING SHOT: You only get what you give
By Delores Cyrus | 23 hours agoThe people at this place have taught me that letting others in, while not always easy, is always worth it.
PARTING SHOT: Life lessons
By Miriella Jiffar | YesterdayThroughout my time on the Life Desk, I’ve wondered what breathes life into this University.
