John Kerry was a good candidate

He got more popular votes than Al Gore and came within 18 EV of the White House. Sure, his campaign made mistakes, but I don't feel they completely fumbled the ball.

The problem isn't John Kerry. The problem is that the party has lost its voice, and the center-left message that we've been running on for the last 12 years just isn't a winner.

The only guy who was able to sell it to the people was Bill Clinton, and that mostly due to his incredible charisma.

So please, don't pile on John Kerry. The problem wasn't the messenger, it was the message.

He was a mighty warrior!

I will say it again and again.

I do wish we could be more like Republicans in one manner.

They would never be bashing Bush all day long, even if he lost.

They never would say he was dumb or anything else.
Why are we doing this shit?

Welfare reform.

He and Sidney Blumenthal claim that they had to do it because it was an issue with which the Repubs had been beating us over the head for 30 years.

As I see it, we really have two parties here - the Democratic Party, which is centerist, and some other party which is left. It used to be the Greens, but I'm not sure who they are now.

I'm rambling. Sorry.

I think he did an awful thing there, but he says it was what got him re-elected. That's what I was getting at.

n/t

>> The problem is that the party has lost its voice, and the center-left message that we've been running on for the last 12 years just isn't a winner. <<

That center-left message IS our voice. It's not lost, it's been drowned out by the voices of people who hate diversity, hate debate, hate the Other.

The problem is n't the messenger, it isn't the message.

The problem is the American people.

many of us were just giving him the benefit of the doubt because he was not Bush.

Republicans have one advantage on us. They truly believe.

He was a great candidate. On balance, do you expect any other candidate to have matched Kerry's performance?

There are some elections that can't be won. Based on the heavy turnout for Bush (which I think is probably what won him the election), this may have been an impossible race from the beginning.

they made people hate kerry

Isn't the presidential candidate of a party supposed to have the party's voice?

What is he if he doesn't have the people to stand strong behind him?

I feel the same about him as I did yesterday morning when I pulled the lever to vote for him with great hope. I am, however, sickened by the people who are too ignorant, blind, irrational, greedy, self righteous or just plain stupid to not realize that this administration is not for the people. We reap what we sow and sometimes that means hatred. I don't want to hear any whining if we are attacked again. People will only take so much bullying and killing before they fight back.

There will be a lot of second-guessing here and in punditworld, but I think on balance that Kerry is best the possible guy we could have put up. I honestly think he ran a fine campaign. He was a seasoned enough candidate to withstand the fire of the Bush campaign (for they're a touch crowd). He was a strong enough debater to convincingly trounce Bush in a way that no other candidate would have. He had authority and credibility.

Why did we lose? Because Bush's supporters were as motivated as we were. We weren't the only people mobilizing the base, and in the end, Bush came out ahead. Also, we started out with more of a disadvantage than we thought, since Gore's wins in states such as New Mexico and Iowa were precarious at best.

I don't know what else you could ask for. Someone with the charisma and intelligence of a Bill Clinton only comes around once in a generation. John Kerry was a much stronger candidate than Gore.

If he hadn't been shackled by his original group of campaign advisors, who told him not to fire back at the Swiftboat Vets, he might well have cruised into election day with a 5-6 point lead.

-MR

the fix was in . . . in Florida and Ohio, and probably elsewhere . . . any Democratic candidate would have lost . . . Kerry probably did better than most would have . . .

choice for VP candidate. All that came out of his mouth at every campaign stop, TV interviews was slogans, slogans, not reasoned points. See how Cheney cleaned his clock at the debate. I never understood his appeal.

Under the serious circumstances of this election an old pro like Gephjardt would have been a good choice, or Vilsack to put the midwest in play, not a pretty face.

Flame if you want. I am really depressed about 4 more years of that buffoon in the White House.

I supported another in the primaries and thought Kerry would do better as a mortician. As I got to know him I got to like him and in the end I feel he was a far better candidate than Al Gore.

I didn't think we needed we needed a perfect candidate to beat the man who has established himself as the worst President in our history.