Kerry's Surge Could Prompt Shift at Bush Campaign

[cthrumatrix]

Kerry's Surge Could Prompt Shift at Bush Campaign
1 hour, 36 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Kerry (news - web sites)'s resurgence in the Democratic race for the White House could force President Bush (news - web sites)'s campaign to reassess its strategy to face a potential challenge by the war hero on national security, Republican strategists and analysts said.

After months of preparing for a likely match-up with leading anti-Iraq (news - web sites) war candidate Howard Dean (news - web sites) in the November U.S. election, Republican strategists say the focus of the Bush campaign's opposition research may shift more to Kerry, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.


Kerry's victory in Monday's Iowa's caucuses, the first test in the state-by-state process to pick a Democratic challenger, knocked Dean off stride after he had long enjoyed the mantle of front-runner.


Bush's Republican allies have been poring over Kerry's nearly 20-year voting record in the Senate and say they are prepared to step up the attack if asked by campaign managers. But until a clear Democratic challenger emerges, aides say, Bush will try to stay out of the political fray.


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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&ncid=2043&e=12&u=/nm/20040120/pl_nm/campaign_bush_dc

[lancdem]

1. One of the good side effects

of this is it keeps the Bush campaign guessing, at least for now.

[cthrumatrix]

3. he should be preparing for the front runner -- Kerry

[KittyWampus]

6. Kerry Is In Single Digits In Most Of The Country

is he running anywheres besides Iowa and NH?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

2. "Kerry's voting record will be thoroughly examined.....

"They'll look for flaws and vulnerabilities, and try to take him down a peg any way they can," said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan, a longtime Bush watcher."

O.K. I know Kerry's taken a number of apparently contradictory positions, such as voting against the '91 Gulf War resolution, but I understand that was because he was also looking for a diplomatic solution- again- postponing armed conflict for as long as possible.

Also, I know he voted against certain defense systems, but that was because he was concerned with wasteful Pentagon spending- not to weaken the military.

[KittyWampus]

8. Kerry Didn't Even Make The Medicare Vote In November

Too busy campaigning to do the JOB the people of Mass. elected him to do.

Kerry has missed about 60% of his votes....

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. He filibustered to kill the vote

he was against it but you have got a good GOP smear point developed.

[Valjean]

12. It doesn't matter

If they can't find a weakness, they'll invent one. They will like like the assholes they are to get whatever they want. You need only look at the hatchet job they did on Gore in 2000.

[lucidmadman]

4. I think it would be good if...

...a clear Democratic candidate didn't emerge too soon. Keep the 'Scaifean' attack dogs guessing and scattering their focus.

[hatrack]

5. "It's easy, Karl! We'll smear him as an unpatriotic soft-on-defense . . .

. . . Oh. Never mind."

[ShaneGR]

7. So basically if we nominate Edwards they'll have nothing?

Except he used to be a lawyer, which will ring hollow when people hear what kind of cases he won. And oh yeah, they can't attack him on Iraq either.

[QuidditchFan]

9. The difference this time is that they are picking a fight with a bad-*ass

Sorry for sounding WWFish, but I think that the Bush adminstration is not going to know what hits them once Kerry hits back. Of all the candidates, I think that Kerry is the one who is liable to punch Bush square the mouth. You saw the beginnings of it last night, where on national television on a "victory speech" being broadcast by all the cable news networks, Kerry went on the offensive.

In Kerry, the Democrats have a warrior. Dean and Clark, too...

[sangha]

11. You got that right!

Kerry knows how to fight and how to win