February 24, 2004
Bush already attacking Kerry as a "waffler"
Will this resonate?
"The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The candidates are an interesting group with diverse opinions," Bush said. "They're for tax cuts and against them. They're for NAFTA and against NAFTA. They're for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. They're in favor of liberating Iraq, and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts."
i fear it *will*, and that's yet another reason why i don't support JK in the primaries.
one thing that is really going to smart is watching JK hem and haw about why he voted for NCLB, the tax cuts, the war, etc. basically, all bush has to do is go, "you voted for it."
JK is such a poor speaker. i fear he won't be able to defend himself.
This reminds me a lot of how the GOP vilified liberals back in the 80s. "They'll raise your taxes! They'll raise your taxes!"
I think the rapidly growing distrust of Bush could make these attacks backfire on him. His negatives are already moving upwards and attacking the opposition usually hurts both sides, as we saw with the Dean/Gephardt skirmish in Iowa.
Anna, it is unfortunately true that the characterization is somewhat accurate, but Kerry's been staying on the offensive so far which should help defuse some of the criticisms. Defense doesn't work very well for politicians. Maybe they appear weak or something... I dunno...
The real question, I think, is whether the GOP will succeed in "goring" Kerry as a liar/phony/etc. Just 'waffling' won't be enough, especially when so many Americans have waffled on the war themselves.
I have no idea how vulnerable Kerry is, myself. Sometimes I think his voice, bearing, and relatively honest message will save him. On the other hand it's possible that the public will tire of him and seek a reason to reject him.
The proper term is "[Gg]oreing". You have to mispell it for effect. :)
Oh, and [Gg] means either 'G' or 'g' is acceptable.