Did MTP prove a Rove decision has been made between

[John_H]

Clark and Kerry.

Warning: The observations below assume that Tim Russert is worthy of his runaway victory in MWO's Whore of the Year honors and that he is a GOP shill who takes his orders from the White House spin machine as most DUers have charged for three years. If you believe that Russert and his panelists are objective Journalists worthy of trust, please disgard everything that follows.

1) Apparently Wes Clark is still the candidate the WH fears the most--as evidenced by Timmy's badgering of the Deserter meme and the smirk on his face when he mocked the General's upcoming endorsement.

2) The Russert-Brokaw Kerry love fest that ensued during the panel discussion, featuring the Kerry-is-inevitable meme, is another indicator that Kerry is the new GOP favorite.

3) Remember the Dean-is-inevitable meme that Russert was so fond of? Well, instructions from on high have created a new one.

[democratreformed]

1. I believe Clark is the one they fear most, not only

as result of the media, but also from personal conversations with "real" people. I have to admit that I was really surprised to have that put out there by a person I have known for quite a while whom, I thought, was wavering in his support of *Bush.

[Clark Can WIN]

2. I think the plan has ALWAYS been do what they can

to take Clark down. We WILL KEEP GOING.

[Cocoa]

3. Fox News was also very anti-Clark today

they simply avoided talking about him, except to summarily eliminate him from the running in NH. I totally agree they fear Clark.

But I disagree about Kerry, it was not a love fest at all, imo. They barely acknowledged Kerry's role in winning Iowa, instead preferred to say he lucked out because Dean blew it.

The most amazing thing I saw was on MSNBC. They had footage of Dean speaking, with poll numbers on the crawl. But the poll numbers didn't show Kerry at all. They just had from Dean down. They eliminated the guy at #1, I coulnd't believe it.

[tishaLA]

7. They didn't only summarily eliminate Clark from NH...

they spat on his corpse and attempted to defile it. It was the most outrageous, revolting dismissal of someone running in third I have ever seen. Bill Kristol practically wet himself when he preeningly offered his sagacious opinion that Clark would come in fifth.

[For PaisAn]

4. Wes Clark

is their worst nightmare. It's obvious that they do not want him to get the nomination. Will they be successful in manipulating the results they want? I hope not because Clark is our best chance to beat Bush and yes, he is a gift to the Democratic Party.

[AP]

5. I think Clark is the one they feared the most, and have talked him down

and, unfortunately, becacuse Clark isn't a great communicator, he hasn't been able to fight back.

If you had given Clark Clark's biography, but Edwards's skills (or even Kerry's skills), Clark would be president in Nov.

Because Clark isn't really showing his ability to command the debate or the presentation of his persona, he's having real problems in NH. We'll see if it carries over to the south.

[democratreformed]

8. Not a great communicator?

Isn't it sad that Clark seems to speak too intelligently for the mainstream? Isn't it sad that the "dumbing down" of Americans helps contribute to his struggle?

[For PaisAn]

11. Not just sad

It's also frightening that the media has so much influence and affect on voters. Lazy people listening to the talking heads and not researching the candidates themselves. But yes, I am starting to think he is too intelligent for mainstream. They just want snappy one- liners and mantras. It will be our loss.

[cryofan]

18. Clark is an excellent communicator, but Kerry is an old pro at this, and

Kerry has entered a zone of zen-like perfection right now. His patter, and that of Edwards', is beyond Clark's skills. Kerry has been doing this for years.

Yes, if you look at that tax plan of Clark's and his maverick history in the Army, this is the guy we want and need in the White House. Not that Edwards is not good--I think he could be. And Kerry would be OK, too, probably.

[cryofan]

17. You nailed it, bud! You NAILED it!

Yes, if Clark had Edwards' skills, it would all be over except the shouting of the talking heads. Clark, as shown by comparison of his improved performance on MTP today with Kerry's performance on the talkshows this morning, comes up short when compared to kerry.

Clark will probably get better, but is he running out of time?

And yes, that progressive tax plan of Clark's, along with his outsider maverick history, scares the SHIT out of CorpGovMedia.

Edwards will probably win, and I now hope Kerry does not win, as CorpGovMedia's congenial attitude and interaction with him tells me that they favor him. And I know that their interests are directly opposed to my own.

Disclaimer: Clark is my # and Edwards my #2.

[emulatorloo]

6. The message I came away w from chatting heads was long hard slog

to nomination.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. The election is now

out of our hands. Our ONLY hope is the NH voters. Do they listen to what the media says? If they do, Clark's finished. :cry:

[democratreformed]

10. I hope you're kidding b/c no way is Clark over

No way. We have a long way to go. It's not over until it's over. The past couple of weeks have shown how quickly things can turn around.

[TheStateChief]

12. The Kerry Lovefest On MTP...

was indeed quite difficult to stomach. The media simply have no clue what is going on. If Kerry wins on Tuesday he will be "invincible" in their eyes (never mind the fact tha the has no money and almost no presence anywhere else in the country). Maybe it's just me but I have problems with candidates that shape their beliefs to fit the polls and Kerry has been one of the worst offenders in this regard. Not meaning to bad-mouth the guy, but on how many important positions does he have multiple positions? You can only carry that kind of campaign so far IMO.

[BuelahWitch]

13. Oh, the media "has a clue" as to what's going on

the dirty mo-fo's are trying to pick our candidate for us. :grr: It's the average John Doe who I fear has no clue as to what's going on...

[T Bone]

14. Kerry has no money ? Do you want KETCHUP with your fries?

eom

[TheStateChief]

16. Kerry Can't Touch the Ketchup Money

and last I heard he was still $6 million in the hole from his home mortgage.

[robbedvoter]

15. Clue from Moderate independent:

The RNC forces at work: http://moderateindependent.com/v2i2mediawatch.htm
Make no mistake.  Certain people are happy about Kerry's fortunes at the moment.  They see how he is being treated now and are beginning to believe - as they are being fed - that he is really even "ahead of Bush," and that the media, who for year before never mentioned his name without including the words "aloof" or "Northeast liberal," are really not so bad after all.
People are also getting the idea that they should be considering Edwards, but not too seriously just yet - not until after New Hampshire.  But right after that, Edwards, they are being told in reports like the above one from CBS, might just become the frontrunner" more