Democrats have to end their addiction to the KERRY Alibi - EJ Dionne

[liberalpragmatist]

Kerried Away
By EJ Dionne

Friday, June 10, 2005; Page A23

Democrats have to end their addiction to the Kerry alibi.

They may be publicly castigating their national chairman, Howard Dean. But wherever two or more Democrats are gathered privately, their instinct is to blame John Kerry first. I am fed up (to borrow Bill Safire's coinage) with the nattering nabobs of negativism who make themselves feel good by trashing Kerry.

This habit is dangerous because dissing Kerry is an easy way for Democrats to evade discussion of what the party needs to do to right itself. By focusing on the past, the Kerry alibi allows Democrats to avoid engaging the future. In 2008, the Democrats could nominate a candidate who combines Harry Truman's toughness, JFK's charm and FDR's gifts of leadership -- and still face many of the problems Kerry confronted. Blaming everything on Kerry as a supposedly elitist, stiff and indecisive Massachusetts liberal is the Democrats' version of cheap grace.

Please understand: I didn't think Kerry was the ideal Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and don't think he'd be ideal for 2008. I still cringe when the part of my brain prone to nightmares brings back his talk about voting for the $87 billion to finance the Iraq war before he voted against it. Kerry didn't find a clear voice on Iraq until too late and didn't respond quickly enough to the scurrilous attacks of the partisan Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

But saying that Kerry was the Democrats' one and only problem is both an evasion and unfair. The three debates were the only moments in the campaign in which Kerry's fate was entirely in his own hands, and he used them well. Kerry trounced Bush the first time and, I'd argue, beat him in the other two encounters.

(continued)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060901727.html?nav=mb

(Alternate posting: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/3219242 )

[Ksec]

1. here here

I agree.

[derby378]

2. True, Kerry performed well in the debates

But he had to be coached in his style extensively. And even during the debates, he still found himself echoing *'s argument that Saddam Hussein was "a threat" to America, which history has proven is not true.

I think Kerry's biggest mistake was underestimating Karl Rove. That, more than anything else, is probably why we lost.

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. So in other words

you still are using the Kerry alibi. So sorry John Kerry is not God. :sarcasm:

And who was our Karl Rove ? One other thing COACHED, oh please the man won every debate he has ever been in, get real.

[derby378]

4. You should talk to Kerry's advisors

They're the ones who prepped him for the Presidential debates. They know what it took to make Kerry trouce * every time.

Besides, I'm using the "Karl Rove Alibi." Kerry underestimated Rove. Never cut Rove off at the knees. The result was the Ohio fiasco and anti-gay legislation throughout America. And you and I have Rove to thank for that.

[Warpy]

5. His big mistake was the Democratic Party's big mistake

and that was in underestimating how much this bunch wants to win and how far they will go to do so, how many laws they'd break, how much of this country they were willing to destroy.

The Democratic Party had been ignoring the warnings of Black Box Voting for four years. They're still ignoring the problem. It's not going to fix itself, fellas. You'd better wake up.

The party has also been clueless on how to manipulate the media. They still are. They need to be taking their cues from Dean, not trying tu chop him off at the knees.

Kerry got incredibly bad party advice on the Smear Boat guys. Think what would have happened had the sued them for libel the day that book came out. Winning wasn't important. What was important was tying up their resources and gaining subpoena power. Think of where the latter might have led! We might see Rove behind bars even now! We'd certainly have a better idea of all the convoluted machinations of the Texas mafia.

Kerry wasn't that bad a candidate. Too bad his party had set him up for defeat.

[FreedomAngel82]

7. I agree

I read an article last December or early January where someone interviewed Kerry's wife. I wish I could find it but I don't remember who it was by. She told how Kerry wanted to attack the SBV guys but for whatever reason people told him not to. I guess they figured it would've been bad press. They were also told they couldn't bash Bush at the convention. Of course the republicans didn't stop themselves from bashing Kerry and his military record. Support the troops my ass. I think in 2008 whoever is the nominee has to come out harder fighting whether it's Kerry or whoever. No more playing nice with these people. They don't us and we'll never move forward if we play nice.

[blm]

9. Guys like Dionne won't point the finger at GOPcontrol of the media or BBV.

Those are the two key issues for ALL Dem candidates, not just for the presidency.

I am waiting for a full court press on those two issues from the DNC.

[flyarm]

10. i was at the convention and i will say this...

i don't know who it came from kerry's campaign or the dem party but and a big but.......the word was don't go negative on the * administration...it was verboten to go negative..the only one who did was sharpton and he came on early ..not prime time as they say..and he went off script..to a huge round of cheers from those of us there...this was a huge mistake and all of us there knew it..the dems should have been pointing out the * failures and the lies and deciet...we got it when we paid and went to caucuses with joe wilson and gary hart and the rest of the gang..but when it was on national tv the talking points were just not there..it was not inspiring at all..no differences were pointed out to the point of sticking in the publics mind...it seemed like we were at a religous gathering and not a presidential race..it was too careful ..too programed , too nice..way too nice..and as a dem ..i say it is way past time to take the nice gloves off and stop the catering to the middle and get down to brass tactics...or boxing gloves so to speak..we need to counter with a fierceness that will not abate..i was screaming it all through the convention and all the way through the election..stop being so dang nice..we need a pit bull..and i see that in howard dean..i was not a dean person until he ran for dnc chair..but i can tell you he has my undying support now!! and i spent each day this week calling senators and congress people in the dem party telling them they will not get a dime from me if they continue to bash dean..i will cut them off and leave the party if it continues!!
and i pointed out all the things they could and should be discussing besides dean..like the memo and the deficit , and the patriot act and the enviornment ..and the lies and lies of this administration...

and i am back to painting pennies red with nail polish and sending them to dems when i get a request for money..and i include the red penny and i tell them not one more red cent until they take off the gloves and fight like hell for our democracy..and against the evil * regime!
we all need to call their offices and raise holy hell..

my calls monday will be that all dems walk out in a show of unity to what sensenbrenner did..they need to stand united ..or this truely is the end of democracy..but they need to hear from all of us..call call by the thousands and shut the answering board down..call ...get mad as hell and demand they walk out ..both congress and the senate...and immediately ./.and stop being so damn nice!!

[dansolo]

6. As long as Kerry insists on focusing on a 2008 run

Then I will continue to blame him. He should forget about his presidential aspirions. Perhaps I'm just a cynic, but evrything he does over the next few years is going to be viewed by me as merely an attempt to position himself as the candidate again. I questioned his motives going into 2004, and unless he says with certainty that he will not be running in 2008, I will doubt that anything he does is nothing more than political calculations (like his IWR vote)

[blm]

8. Yeh, cuz we know Kerry only exposed IranContra and BCCI for political gain

He gained that nice big target that covers his back and the back of his family.

[wisteria]

11. I don't agree with his personal assessment of Kerry at all, but

I do think the democratic party has deep rooted problems that need to be acknowledged and taken care of. IMO we have been losing our connection with the average person and their values. We need to reach them on issues that matter to them. We are suppose to be the party of the people.We should start acting the part. The republicans have been trying to take that mantra away from us by paying lip service to certain values average Americans are drawn to. They don't actually follow through in providing these values, they just talk them up enough to convince people they are the good guys. Or they "throw them a bone" and give the corporations the steak, then talk up how great the bone is. In other words-Bush sh*t.