If you were Kerry's campaign advisor, what would you do?

[RedImperator]

So if you were in charge of Kerry's moribund campaign, what would you do?

Resign in disgrace.

[Stormbringer]

So if you were in charge of Kerry's moribund campaign, what would you do?

Resign in disgrace.

Wow, an optomist.

[JME2]

Nader a thing to say about Kerry's advisors following his crashing of the GOP (Here:

Nader said he prefers Democrat John F. Kerry to the president -- and focused most of his fire on Bush. But he mocked Kerry's political consultants, calling them "losers" who are making the candidate too cautious.

[Master of Ossus]

Nader a thing to say about Kerry's advisors following his crashing of the GOP (Here:

Nader said he prefers Democrat John F. Kerry to the president -- and focused most of his fire on Bush. But he mocked Kerry's political consultants, calling them "losers" who are making the candidate too cautious.

Alright, when RALPH NADER is ripping on you, you know that you've fucked up.

[JME2]

Nader a thing to say about Kerry's advisors following his crashing of the GOP (Here:

Nader said he prefers Democrat John F. Kerry to the president -- and focused most of his fire on Bush. But he mocked Kerry's political consultants, calling them "losers" who are making the candidate too cautious.

Alright, when RALPH NADER is ripping on you, you know that you've fucked up.

Agreed.

[Patrick Degan]

Simple question. It's easy to see that the Kerry campaign is not doing well. The Republican "talking points" are having an impact with the public, regardless of whether they are true, untrue, or massively distorted. And like it or not, the Democrats are doing a shitty job of getting counter-points out there.

The problem isn't that the Kerry campaign has been doing a shitty job of getting counterpoints to GOP propaganda out to the public, the problem is that they haven't been doing any sort of job in that area at all. From day one, they should have had their own Truth Squad pouncing upon every Republican whopper the moment it made the rounds, and Bush should have been made to eat every obviously idiotic, untrue, and unsupported-by-current-events statement of his every damn day. There should have been operatives dedicated to digging through Dick Cheney's past, his business records for any shady dealings, and of course for his hidden crypt. Above all else, Kerry and his people needed to have somebody shouting in their ears with a fucking bullhorn that you can't win playing Marquis of Queensbury rules in a knife-fight.

That is certainly the approach I'd have taken. That and maybe slipping Kerry some crack so that maybe he'd start showing some indication that he's got balls and a heartbeat.

[Alex Moon]

The first thing I would do would be to have Kerry go on national television and give a short speech apologizing to Veterans. Something like: "When I returned from Vietnam I was young, angry and foolish. None of us can deny that things happened over there which morally wrong; however, in my anger and desire to end the war I insulted every soldier who served in Vietnam, both honorably and not. This is a wound which has not healed, even to this day, and one for which I am deeply sorry. Unfortunatly, my service in Vietnam has become a central issue in this election. I want to focus on the issues of today, not the battles of yesteryear. To this end, I am asking the Navy to release all my records to the public. I will let the American people decide if they would have actions of a man's youth overshadow the wisdom and maturity that comes with age. To the American people, I ask for your understanding. To the soldiers and sailors who were my brothers in arms: I ask for your forgiveness."

A properly humble address combined with a release of his records would cut off any more swift-vet style attacks. It would also win him points with the veteran crowd, many of whom I've talked with are angry more about his testimony than any medal controversy.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

I'd say that he needs to clear himself of the allegations made by Republicans, and then start attacking. A problem for Kerry seems to be that although the Bush Administration is up to it's balls in scandal and corruption that would make them a walk in the park to defeat, many people don't seem to care.

What he needs to do is focus on the issues most important to the average American, point out what Bush is doing wrong with it, and offer a clear-cut solution people can agree on.

[18-Till-I-Die]

First i'd get Michael Moore and some of his minons to turn the Republican mudslining back on them. I would rip every scandal, every drunken escapade, every molecule of coke snorted by Bush from his past and plaster it across movies, TV, the internet, radio...fuck, telegraph if i have to. Cast ineuendo, claims, doubt. Go after his patriotism, call him a coward, show the people he's a pebrained twit in every way i can and hold NOTHING back, i mean go straight down into the mud and start hurling. Show his stupidity, his biggotry, his lack of even the vaguest moral fiber to the American people. Ad more importantly, show people that Kerry is nothing like Bush and that "Im Not Bush" is a viable campagin when your opponent is a walking cluster fuck.

So...in short, i'd run a Democratic campaign like a Republican campagin, only i'd tell the truth.

[JME2]

First i'd get Michael Moore and some of his minons to turn the Republican mudslining back on them. I would rip every scandal, every drunken escapade, every molecule of coke snorted by Bush from his past and plaster it across movies, TV, the internet, radio...fuck, telegraph if i have to. Cast ineuendo, claims, doubt. Go after his patriotism, call him a coward, show the people he's a pebrained twit in every way i can and hold NOTHING back, i mean go straight down into the mud and start hurling. Show his stupidity, his biggotry, his lack of even the vaguest moral fiber to the American people. Ad more importantly, show people that Kerry is nothing like Bush and that "Im Not Bush" is a viable campagin when your opponent is a walking cluster fuck.

So...in short, i'd run a Democratic campaign like a Republican campagin, only i'd tell the truth.

Well, now that the RNC is over, he might very well. But then again, who knows?

[CaptainChewbacca]

Above all else, Kerry and his people needed to have somebody shouting in their ears with a fucking bullhorn that you can't win playing Marquis of Queensbury rules in a knife-fight.

Where does that phrase come from? I've heard it before, but I know not where.

[Lord of the Farce]

-snip

So...in short, i'd run a Democratic campaign like a Republican campagin, only i'd tell the truth.

Don't forget the need for plausible deniability. You'll only get the entire campaign marred down if you are seen as being directly connected with people (like Michael Moore) who would be quickly dismissed as "Leftist Loonies" by your opponents.

[Darth Wong]

If I were him, I'd construct TV ads consisting of clips from George Bush making promises, followed by proof that those promises were lies. Attacking George Bush for being a dummy is late-night sitcom material. Attacking George Bush for being a warmonger is Michael Moore material. Both have been done. But attacking him for being a liar on issues of national policy is something they haven't done enough of. "Broken promises" is a pretty good theme for an attack ad.

[Illuminatus Primus]

How about that "tort reform" promise?

How about "no more nation building"?

[Joe]

How about that "tort reform" promise?

Kerry doesn't want tort reform and Edwards sure as fuck doesn't, so why would they make an ad lambasting Bush for not following up on his promise?

And in his defense, he DID try to get some medical malpractice reform through, but it failed in Congress.

[Glocksman]

Attack ads aren't enough if you're a challenger who has let himself be defined by his opponent. Besides, the Democrat-affiliated 527's are handling the attack ads against Bush on issues such as health care costs. Why waste your limited campaign funds on them?

Kerry needs to take the high road and and not merely outline what he'd do different from Bush, but give specifics on how and why his plans would work. In other words, give voters a reason to support him, as opposed to merely being against GWB.

[Darth Wong]

How about not firing a million-dollar missile into a tent and hitting a camel when going after Bin-Laden? So far he's sunk more than a hundred billion dollars into Iraq and Bin Laden isn't even in the whole fucking country. How about "compassionate conservatism"? How about the "No Child Left Behind Act", which he touts as proof of his compassion yet has not actually provided funding for? And why not go after him on tort reform? The Republicans control the government to such an extent that if they were serious about tort reform, it would have gotten through regardless of what the Democrats wanted. It's still another broken promise, and attacking people for things you do yourself still works politically, as evidenced by George W. Bush committing various Mother-of-all-FlipFlop gaffes and still going after Kerry for flip-flopping.

[Darth Wong]

"Taking the high road" only works if the voters have shown themselves to be turned off by negative campaigning, and like it or not, they haven't.

But it's also true that Kerry has been fearful of really putting his foot down on issues because the Democrats are terrified of offending anyone and losing any potential "swing voters". This election should be about the anger of the disenfranchised, but as I said a looooong time ago, Kerry is not the best candidate for that because of his own massive personal wealth. Nevertheless, he has to tap into some of that anger for his campaign, and promise to help those people, even if it pisses off some of the swing voters. Because quite frankly, as others have said, anyone who hasn't made up his mind by now is a lost cause anyway.

[Glocksman]

I'd let the 527's handle the attack ads. That way you benefit from them while not being directly tied to them. Just like GWB used the SBVfT.

Kerry's big problem is that he hasn't given voters a reason to vote for him instead of merely against Bush.

I don't like Bush and I'm not voting for him. But this doesn't translate into a vote for Kerry because IMHO, he's just as slimy as Bush.

[Stravo]

We need to see more of what we saw from Kerry last night. He listed a promise Bush made then Kerry gave NUMBERS, FACTS that showed Bush did not deliver. Republicans have issues with providing those little nuggets called facts. The record right now is on Kerry's side for failed Bush promises. Keep hitting them with numbers and bullshit hand waving claims like "Kerry will only go to war at UN behest" will start to look and stink like the bullshit that it is.

[Sam Or I]

First off, I am most likely going to vote for Bush.

Heres the big problem with Kerrys tactics in my view. First he needs to take a stand on what issues he wants, and point out why it is better than Bushes plan. He has not shown WHY I should vote for him. Show me who John Kerry is, and what he really stands for. I have not seen that from him.

Second, stop him from whinning, complaining and taking legal action against the Attacks. Its unfair to attack my military record, too fucking bad, its American Politics. Open the records and show the damn public. Refute the attacks, then counter-attack. Don't whine about it. People do not like whiners.

Show everything Negative Bush has done to the country. Make his unwarvering convictions a liability. (Like the admendment to band gay marriage). Limiting civilrights in the patriot act. Make Bush the Anti-Freedom President.

[RedImperator]

And why not go after him on tort reform? The Republicans control the government to such an extent that if they were serious about tort reform, it would have gotten through regardless of what the Democrats wanted.

Going after Bush over tort reform would be a bad mistake for Kerry. First, his running mate is John Edwards. Second, Bush could easily--and correctly--blame Senate Democrats for holding up malpractice reform. Third, the largest single contributor to the Democratic party (at least before McCain-Feingold) is the Trial Lawyers of America. Kerry would be smart to not mention tort reform and hope it stays off the political radar until after the election.

[Master of Ossus]

Kerry is apparently trying to win voters by claiming that Bush's work is "all hat, no cattle." WTF is that? Who the hell wrote that shit? Was he trying to be funny? Kerry is, once again, painting himself as a retard while the Republicans run away with the election. If this keeps up, the fact that guys like me are voting third-party won't matter worth a damn, since Kerry won't have enough votes, anyway. That is, quite simply, the worst analogy I have ever fucking seen. It is VASTLY stupider than Arnie's "Hummer" analogy was funny--and that's about the limit of political analogies I've seen, so far.

Not only is Kerry a bad candidate, he's managed to assemble what must undoubtedly be the worst presidential campaign in decades. I am utterly astounded by the ineptitude responsible for such a creation. Not only does this latest monstrosity make intellectual voters cringe in disgust, but it also alienates moronic voters. Further, it prevents Kerry from really taking the "high moral ground," but doesn't do ANY damage to a Republican platform with a rotting foundation.

I don't care if Kerry earned every academic honor there is to be won at Yale, Harvard... hell, the whole damn Ivy League. He's plainly a moron, and this latest incident proves it.

[Patrick Degan]

Kerry is apparently trying to win voters by claiming that Bush's work is "all hat, no cattle." WTF is that? Who the hell wrote that shit? Was he trying to be funny? Kerry is, once again, painting himself as a retard while the Republicans run away with the election. If this keeps up, the fact that guys like me are voting third-party won't matter worth a damn, since Kerry won't have enough votes, anyway. That is, quite simply, the worst analogy I have ever fucking seen. It is VASTLY stupider than Arnie's "Hummer" analogy was funny--and that's about the limit of political analogies I've seen, so far.

It's a Texas saying. Molly Ivins has used it and she can use it with impunity. LBJ could have used it. But it just sounds wrong coming out of Kerry; it doesn't suit his personality at all, and it gives the impression he's deliberately trying to dumb-down his own campaign for the little people. Bad move all around.

Not only is Kerry a bad candidate, he's managed to assemble what must undoubtedly be the worst presidential campaign in decades.

I dunno... He's yet to take the opportunity to look truly stupid like the way Michael Dukakis did riding that tank in '88. First second I saw that, I knew he was sunk.

I don't care if Kerry earned every academic honor there is to be won at Yale, Harvard... hell, the whole damn Ivy League. He's plainly a moron, and this latest incident proves it.

First sign of that was when he boldly proclaimed the greatness of the Ohio St. football team —to a Michigan crowd. One of those moments where you hear about it, throw up your hands and go "Oh fuck..."

[Iceberg]

It's a Texas saying. Molly Ivins has used it and she can use it with impunity. LBJ could have used it. But it just sounds wrong coming out of Kerry; it doesn't suit his personality at all, and it gives the impression he's deliberately trying to dumb-down his own campaign for the little people. Bad move all around.

Howard Dean used it during his campaign, and it was a major cheer line in his stump speech. But Dean had a personality such that he could use it without it sounding INCREDIBLY out of place coming from his mouth. Hearing Kerry say it sounds more like "He's trying to be Howard Dean."