Pollsters: Kerry is fucked

[Master of Ossus]

This site has already been posted, but it's really good. It updates daily with the newest polls out from across the country. According to the latest polls, if the election were held today, then GW would probably win 331 electoral votes, and Kerry would take only 207.

Over the past two weeks on that site, I've watched Kerry lose such states as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada. He's taking himself out of contention in states like Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Even New York, which selected Gore over GW by an astounding 25% margin now favors Kerry by less than 10%. While Kerry seems to have secured Michigan, and won in Minnesota, these are but paltry consolations given his massive recent losses and the fact that GW had enough states four years ago to win and hasn't lost any of them since then.

It is panic time for Kerry. It's clear that his election strategy, as he is playing right now, has been completely ineffective. So the question is, what SHOULD he do, and what do you think he WILL do in response to this? Is it time for him to just concentrate on winning every congressional seat possible for the democrats while folding in the Presidential campaign (like Bob Dole, only backwards and over a month in advance)? Is it just time for him to lay it all on the line and win or go down in a blaze of glory? Is it time for him to FIRE HIS FUCKING ELECTION STAFF?

[Falkenhayn]

"Well, his resignation and suicide would seem the obvious choice."
-Captain Edmund Blackadder

[Illuminatus Primus]

Fuck the DNC. They are responsible for this.

[Col. Crackpot]

if he can't run a competant campaign, what makes him think he can run a country?

[Pu-239]

[tinfoilhat nutcase] It was obviously a scheme by the conservative owned media to bring about the downfall of Dean and replace him with Kerry to ensure Bush's victory [/tinfoilhat nutcase]

[Joe]

Actually, I don't think that really matters. One of the biggest problems with democracy, and especially American democracy, is that you don't really have to be good at public service to be elected or appointed; you simply have to be good at getting elected or appointed.

[Glocksman]

Charles Krauthammer pointed out recently that one of Kerry's biggest problems is that he can't really hammer Bush on Iraq because Kerry himself has been all over the map on the subject.

Column

Kerry learned his political lesson. Or thought he did. So when the Iraq War came around, he did not want to be caught on the wrong side of another success. He voted yes.

But then things went wrong both for the war and for him. What did he do? With Howard Dean rocketing to the Democratic nomination, Kerry played to his deeply antiwar party by voting against the $87 billion to fund the occupation.

Two months later, with Saddam caught and the war looking better, Kerry maneuvered again, slamming Dean with: ``Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president.''

Kerry is now back to the ``wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time,'' a line lifted from Dean himself. So we are not better off with Saddam deposed after all.

Ol' Howard would be beating the pants off of Dubya right now.
The election is Kerry's to lose and so far he seems to be doing a good job of losing it.

When Kerry went off windsurfing during the Republican convention, Jay Leno noted that even Kerry's hobbies depend on wind direction.

[Stormbringer]

What do I think Kerry should do?

Commit seppeku in shame. The fact is he shoould have one easily if he had run even a half way intelligent campaign. He hasn't.

What do I think Kerry will do?

Sputter along and let Bush take the White House.

[CJvR]

Well Kerry seems to have lost the war on war-records and Islamists. Time to cut his losses and try for the domestic agenda instead of foregin policy where he seems to have struck out. Alternately he can try to go completly mideval on the war issue and try to outcrusade the crusaders. Shifting the campaign focus around now however will be hard, particulary with CBS, terrorists and Sudan providing fresh headlines to keep the public's attention.

It is however extremely hard to get elected in wartimes if you do not have credibility on the war issues.

[J]

Unless a miracle happens, the only hope Kerry has of winning is to challenge Bush to a public duel to the death.

[Wicked Pilot]

Fuck the DNC. They are responsible for this.

Fuck'em hard. They're throwing this game so they can have their liberal wet dream in '08 after Bush fucks over the rest of us for another four years. I for one am ready for the Democratic party to either about face or dissappear.

[MKSheppard]

Fuck'em hard. They're throwing this game so they can have their liberal wet dream in '08 after Bush fucks over the rest of us for another four years.

Don't you mean Hillary in '08? The Clintons DO run the DNC after
pretty much staffing it with their people for the last 12 years.

[Guardsman Bass]

Fuck the DNC. They are responsible for this.

Fuck'em hard. They're throwing this game so they can have their liberal wet dream in '08 after Bush fucks over the rest of us for another four years. I for one am ready for the Democratic party to either about face or dissappear.

Take it easy- we still have nearly a month and half, and that's enough time for Kerry to do some hardass campaigning.

Probably the only thing he could do now is simply push on as hard as he can- the chances of the Democrats taking back anything near a majority in either House or Senate is looking forlorn.

Anything else would just be bad publicity and weakness showing for him.[/quote]

[Edi]

Kerry is living in fantasyland. Last week's Time Magazine had an interview of him where he blithely blathered on about how he is in no trouble and everything is going just great and he was answering questions as if he is entitled to the presidency, something that Frigidmagi's post about his argument with Democratic pollsters reminded me of in retrospect. Fucking up all the golden opportunities he has given takes incompetence almost as big as Bush demonstrated in the handling of the occupation in Iraq.

Edi

[Talon Karrde]

Kerry is living in fantasyland. Last week's Time Magazine had an interview of him where he blithely blathered on about how he is in no trouble and everything is going just great and he was answering questions as if he is entitled to the presidency, something that Frigidmagi's post about his argument with Democratic pollsters reminded me of in retrospect. Fucking up all the golden opportunities he has given takes incompetence almost as big as Bush demonstrated in the handling of the occupation in Iraq.

Edi

I think most candidates act like they are doing well though. Even when a candidate is facing horrible odds, they usually get up and say, "Oh yeah, I think we are in a great position."

[Wicked Pilot]

Take it easy- we still have nearly a month and half, and that's enough time for Kerry to do some hardass campaigning.

If he wants to be president he had better reach deep into his ass and pull his head out, but I don't see that happening. For godsakes people, HE'S RUNNING AGAINST GEORGE W BUSH! He's getting curb stomped by a man who probably couldn't tell you the capitol of Nebraska. Of all the Democrats that could have been nominated... it's the goddamn Super Bowl and the third string has been put on the field.

[Talon Karrde]

Take it easy- we still have nearly a month and half, and that's enough time for Kerry to do some hardass campaigning.

If he wants to be president he had better reach deep into his ass and pull his head out, but I don't see that happening. For godsakes people, HE'S RUNNING AGAINST GEORGE W BUSH! He's getting curb stomped by a man who probably couldn't tell you the capitol of Nebraska. Of all the Democrats that could have been nominated... it's the goddamn Super Bowl and the third string has been put on the field.

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

[SirNitram]

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

The fact this is true is yet one more argument for improved education in the United States.

[Edi]

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

Actually, he has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he is a fucking incompetent moron and an asshole to boot, the only problem is that Kerry is turning out to be almost as incompetent, and he refuses to play as dirty as Bush does.

Edi

[Talon Karrde]

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

Actually, he has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he is a fucking incompetent moron and an asshole to boot, the only problem is that Kerry is turning out to be almost as incompetent, and he refuses to play as dirty as Bush does.

Edi

Well sure, when you don't agree with his policies, you tend to think he's a moron. I tend to think many conservatives would have said the same thing of Bill Clinton.

[SirNitram]

Well sure, when you don't agree with his policies, you tend to think he's a moron. I tend to think many conservatives would have said the same thing of Bill Clinton.

Again you just try and prescribe this to partisanship. Are you ever going to back up this moronic assertion? Or just keep reciting from the Neocon Handbook: It's All Opinion, There Is No Truth But Ours.

[RedImperator]

Take it easy- we still have nearly a month and half, and that's enough time for Kerry to do some hardass campaigning.

If he wants to be president he had better reach deep into his ass and pull his head out, but I don't see that happening. For godsakes people, HE'S RUNNING AGAINST GEORGE W BUSH! He's getting curb stomped by a man who probably couldn't tell you the capitol of Nebraska. Of all the Democrats that could have been nominated... it's the goddamn Super Bowl and the third string has been put on the field.

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

Yes they do. Even people who plan on voting for him think he's dumb. I don't think he's AS stupid as the cartoonists make him out to be, but he's not book smart the way Clinton was or Kerry is. Bush has an excellent feel for people and is charismatic, in a down home regular guy way (which is quite a feat, considering his family), but nobody thinks Bush knows the policy details the way Clinton did, or even an average polisci undergrad would.

By the way, in Kerry's defense, it's not him who's driven this campaign into the ground. That particular honor is reserved for Robert Schrum, Kerry's media director. Dwelling on Vietnam at the convention? Schrum's idea. No single coherent theme to the campaign? Schrum's fault. Not immediately responding to the Swift Boat Vets? Schrum again. Not mercilessly pounding Bush on Iraq? Take a wild guess.

Not putting Kerry's own vote on Iraq to bed once and for all? Well, that might be Kerry, but any media strategist worth a damn should know to tell him, "Look, quit trying to explain the intracacies of parliamentary procedure to the voters and tell them you were believed Bush's justification because you had no idea they were cherry picking for intelligence that supported their position, and you regret your vote, and as part of your atonement you're going to clean up Bush's mess." "I voted for it, and then I didn't vote for it" might be true and it might even have been the right move in the Senate, but it's going to make you look like a waffler to the voters.

Kerry's biggest flaw is that he seems unwilling to fire advisors who aren't getting the job done. He's bringing former Clinton people on board now, including Carville, so we'll see what he does between now and November.

[Bugsby]

I think everyone here underestimates Bush. He misspeaks every once in a while in front of the camera and he is a drunken fool. But when it comes to politics, the guy is SMART. That's something that we in the opposition need to come to grips with. If Bush were the complete moron I'd like to think he is, he couldn't have had as much success with everything he's done over the last 4 years (including winning two national elections). Some might say it's all his staff pushing him through, but Bush hired that staff and in the hend, he is the one who directs them.

This isn't to say he's intelligent at ALL in terms of policy. Look at the way he's fucking up the country. But he's very good at putting a good face on bad policy and maneuvering the public into thinking he is necessary to the survival of the country. Until Dems start to take Bush seriously, we are going to keep playing under him and he will ride the political road to victory for another 4 years.

[Edi]

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

Actually, he has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he is a fucking incompetent moron and an asshole to boot, the only problem is that Kerry is turning out to be almost as incompetent, and he refuses to play as dirty as Bush does.

Edi

Well sure, when you don't agree with his policies, you tend to think he's a moron. I tend to think many conservatives would have said the same thing of Bill Clinton.

I don't agree with his policies, which is why I wouldn't have done the same things in his place, but if I had been forced to do the same broad things, I'd have done them differently. Case in point Iraq: I'd not have disbanded their army, I'd not have de-Baathified the country, and I'd have given most of the reconstruction work that could be done by locals to the locals to begin with. I'd not have ignored al-Sistani and the other politically influential Shi'ite clerics and I'd not have turned Muqtada al-Sadr from a nonentity to a powerful political figure. Just to begin with. Bush made these decisions, or had people make thm in his stead, with his approval, hence he is objectively a fucking idiot.

Edi

[RedImperator]

Unlike you, most people in this country don't think he is as dumb as liberals try to portray him.

Actually, he has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he is a fucking incompetent moron and an asshole to boot, the only problem is that Kerry is turning out to be almost as incompetent, and he refuses to play as dirty as Bush does.

Edi

Well sure, when you don't agree with his policies, you tend to think he's a moron. I tend to think many conservatives would have said the same thing of Bill Clinton.

No, they didn't. Clinton was a Rhodes scholar and everybody knew he was deeply involved in the day to day details of his policies, and did his best to learn as much as he could before making decisions. And he was a political genius who stole half the Republican Party's agenda when they took over Congress in 1994 and defeated them on the other half. He took credit for their wins and made them look like assholes on their losses, and for getting a blowjob, he let the Republicans turn him into a national damn hero. Clinton was many things, but stupid was not, and even his most virulent enemies never called him stupid. If he was stupid, he wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful as he was.

Jesus, do you pay the slightest bit of attention to the real world or do the most basic homework before you try to argue your point, or do you just fire up the Rove-o-Matic quote machine and think your job is done? You're an embarassment, you know that? Every thread you touch turns into a train wreck.