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Edited on Sat Jan-20-07 03:17 PM by k j
Trust me, as a math dolt, I wouldn't have noticed the discrepancy in the number of reasons stated v listed. ;-) I enjoyed your comments and reasonings above and should probably digest them before replying, but want to flesh out some thinking and ask you a question before I head out of the house. (More snow coming.)
Could you, if you know, tell me what the debate structure is look like? I haven't followed along in that level of detail and what you said above sounds extremely promising... especially since I was worried about how to counteract the shortened primary season. I DO think that selling "Experience * Experience * Experience" will highlight Kerry as a cut above the rest of the pack. To stay with the "cut" thought, the fat's been trimmed off Kerry, as you showed above. He's lean, both with his words and his actions, black and white. That has to count in this field and I want to think of ways to express that idea in the shortest possible way. (Sigh, there's never enough time to counter perception in the line at the grocery store. Also, I don't have access to a regular newspaper column anymore and will need to refine LTEs instead.) And part of what I want to sell is the idea that we DON'T have "time" to, for lack of a better word, coddle a relative newcomer. We DON'T have the luxury of the time it took Clinton to find his sea legs. We DON'T have the innocence to vote with stars in our eyes and soaring hope in our hearts. Time has sped up and we need to catch up. It isn't enough to be disgusted at GWB or disgusted with what he's done, we need to FIX what he's done. We need to hit the ground running, period, end of story. Even with that not-exactly well-thought out and abstract criteria, nobody but Kerry comes near the mark. That's a plain as day, no matter how much a cult of personality or cult of whatever adds to the scale.
Okay, probably not making much sense. ;-)
I know Kerry's not going to have the time he needs to change perceptions, so I want to know just what kind of time he does have, and then work on the leverage issues. Hone the spade, dig quick and deep.
And yes, watching Dr. Ron's conversion was a fantastic example of how facts 'n figures trumped personality and promise(s). There are plenty of potential old Dr. Rons about and I wanna reel them in. BTW, Dr. Ron's blog is getting picked up and linked all the time now. Very cool!
Thanks in advance!
ps. I hold out hope that Al Gore would, this time, endorse John Kerry. If for no other reason that a belated realization than Kerry just might have helped, not hindered, his ticket in 2000. One of Al's biggest mistakes in that run, imo, at the time and now.
pss. What I was trying to say in the ramble above was: I think experience is going to be the factor that weighs in with nerdies, techies, swing-voters and long-time activists (who don't have a personal stake in another candidate). I think focusing on experience, if we have the time and message(s) at the ready, will trump hope and idealism, because there isn't a soul around who doesn't realize this country is in a hellva mess. Even my die-hard Republican siblings will admit to that much. I want to cultivate an edge of urgency and clipped speech, because truly, we're in deep. Also repetition, repetition, repetition, because repetition works.
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