What is everyone's take on this?

Basically, whomever gets the nomionation I support 100%. I have my favorites like everyone else but I am ABB all the way. I dont see the need for everyone to trash everyone else's candidates.

I am going with the model of Dean getting the nomination simply because he is the frontrunner right now.

So how does Dean deal with the smears and lies that are going to come at him if he gets the nod?

I have thought about this long and hard and come to the conclusion that Dean needs to strike first in a BIG way, and basically warn the American people of the garbage Bush is going to spew.

He needs to sow seeds of massive doubt in Bush's ethics regarding his desire to win at any costs. It has to be a ruthless first strike aimed right at Bush's heart to knock him off balance and put him on the defensive right from the start or we will all watch the "AL Gore internet lies" come pouring in unchalleged.


I've come up with a couple ways of doing this, and I would like to hear everyone's suggestions.

1) Frame the debate right from the start as Bush not wanting to lose like his daddy did. Hammer this point mercilessly. Play clips of his dad back to back with Bush junior, and draw parallels with both one-termers. Call Bush a one-term loser at evey oppurtunity. Make that a FACT in the average voter's mind.

2) Create an easily repeatable point that will stick. I dont know what this is, but it has to preempt any Bush lie about Dean and has to get America talking.

Ideas? Thoughts?

Feel free to use your favorite candidate as the model, it doesn't have to be Dean.

What is the Bush label that will stick with the average American?

Personally, I think it is one term loser and comparing him with his daddy. Basically sell it as a foregone conclusion that he will lose.

That and a whole lotta luck...

You can call me naive, but I think that will only create a negative impression of Dean as arrogant and dismissive. Too many people on this list think that Dean's only appeal is his status as frontrunner, and this kind of attitude toward Bush will only reinforce that image.

I think the strategy has to be attacking lies with the truth. Every ad should use footage of Bush contradicting himself, footage of the administration getting caught in lies, attacks on every phrase that has ever slipped out from Bush's lying mouth, from "compassionate conservative" to "no child left behind" to "bring em on."

How many times do I have to say it: People are not stupid!!! They are lazy as hell, overly proud, and have the attention span of a goldfish with ADD, but they can recognize bullshit when it is shown to them. The media has not done their job of showing it to them, but in a presidential campaign we have a largely captive audience. Don't waste time inventing petty taglines... just show them the truth.

in the Dean model thats a stretch.

He starts by directly addressing each and every gaff, flip flop or other stumbling block we all know about. Appologize or whataver it takes to have it cease to be an issue. In short, show the humility that he is not strong on. Had Clinton done this there would not have been all the Ken Starr shit.

Then once you've cleared the slate, use that list the kucinich guy made up and say it so often comics start making jokes about it and people recite it out of memory.

You can expand on that in a number of ways:

he sold out our allies
he sold out our budget surplus
he sold out our seniors, troops, vets
he sold out our children
our environment
our trust
our unity
our sense of security
our middle class
our working Americans

sold it to the big corporations for a song

Borrow and spend Republicans. Borrow and spend Republicans.

This is the one issue that will take some of their base away from Bush*. It's the one issue that conservatives are angry with him about.

This the best postI've seen - the best defence is an offence - repbs do that all the time and if dems want to win- they had better get with the program and start to do this too.

The idea that he is a forgone loser like his father is the very best idea and the one that will give the hardest psychological (sp) punch. It doesn't have to come from the dem candidate himself - just any pundit, news anchors, gossip, call-ins to c-span and so forth.