the rix mix

The direction of the Bush re-election campaign is obvious. It devotes enormous resources toward misrepresenting Kerry's voting record & positions. 75% of the Bush ads are "negative" compared to 27% of Kerry's. Bush has to do this to negate Kerry's military service & long experience as a Senator. In his speeches, Bush repeats the magic mantra, "War on Terrorism," over & over, as he attempts (with much success, I think) to plant a connection between Saddam & 9-11 in the minds of Americans. The truth is that Saddam engaged in terrorism against his own people, not against us, & we weren't fighting a "War Against Terrorism" that involved Iraq until we invaded & occupied it. Kerry will have a difficult time separating the Iraq war & the "War on Terrorism," & making a case that Iraq is draining resources not only from our battle against terrorism, but also from domestic programs, both of which are suffering from heavy cutbacks & indifference on the part of the Bush/Cheney Junta.

This election is more Bush's to lose than it is Kerry's to win. If Kerry can avoid the mistakes of the Dukakis & Gore campaigns, & not allow his patriotism to be questioned (as bomber pilot Mondale did by Operation Hollywood Reagan), he'll pick up every vote Bush can't keep. Maybe those will be enough for Kerry to win the White House. This election is a bit like how former Orioles manager Earl Weaver assessed a baseball season; every team wins 1/3 of the games & loses 1/3 of the games; it's that other 3rd you gotta worry about.


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