June 03, 2004

Kerry's House of Ketchup #14

Kerry speaks.

Welcome to the latest edition of Kerry's House of Ketchup mildly admonished by Glenn Reynolds.

Memorial Day is the unoffical start of summer. The weather gets warmer, school's out, and outdoor activities and vacations are scheduled. Conventional wisdom says people will turn off from watching the election battle. That's only partially true. When you're at the beach working on your tan, wizzing through Disney World with your kids, or contemplating the proper tactic in landing a lunker walleye the last thing you'll want to think about is what Sen. John Kerry or President George W. Bush thinks about the Patriot Act. However, I don't think that many people have been turned onto the election even before the summer started. The President's poll numbers have been sinking due to events in Iraq. Kerry hasn't taken advantage of those faltering numbers. He has a lead in most polls and a bigger lead in the more important electoral vote count. It is interesting to note traders in the Iowa Electronic Markets aren't sold on Kerry yet.

More importantly, Kerry is having trouble with important parts of his base. Some anti-warriors haven't committed to him. Instead, they're with Ralph Nader. There is tension with minority groups because Kerry's staff isn't diverse enough. With the election close, energizing one's core supporters will be the key to victory.

Ex-editor of the NY Times Howell Raines comes to rescue with an op-ed that denigrates all who have voted for President Bush. They're "greedy" and "deluded." Raines' advice is to get a message even if it's "disinformation" then "say it over and over again."

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson went for the ketchup humor (that Glenn Reynolds is tired of) with this from last week's Wisconsin GOP convention:

"I know one thing about this man -- he knows who he is," Thompson said of Bush. "He is one tough dude." Bush's vision "stands in stark contrast to the 57 varieties of John Kerry."

Finally, a publisher's note. During the week of 06.20, I will be on vacation in an undisclosed location far away from Dick Cheney. No Net access means I won't be able to publish a KHoK. If some intrepid weblogger wants to fill in for me, I'd really appreciate it. Just leave a comment or send off an e-mail.

Now, onto the posts.

• On the above mentioned Raines piece Captain Ed lets loose.
  

• By giving Kerry some advice on gun control, Matthew Yglesias ends up insulting rural pro-gun types.

• Joanne Jacobs finds Kerry may be giving in to teachers union pressure on pay-for-performance.
  

• Democrat Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley wasn't pleased with Kerry's "training wheels" remark.
  

• Steve Verdon isn't impressed with Kerry's energy plan.

• Kerry doesn't see the spread of democracy (I'd call it regimes of liberty) as an American priority. James Joyner notes that Bush isn't shoving freer governments down the throats of Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. The California Yankee rebuts Kerry's view.
  

• Daniel Drezner points out that to help Kerry flesh out his foreign policy bigger is better.
  

• Hindrocket at Power Line looks at Kerry's possible move to Bush's right on the Islamist War.

• For the wonks among us here's a post on a Kerry health insurance idea.

• Kerry's says, "We rushed off to war." LisaS replies, "A rush to war he says. How many times did they try to enforce resolutions on Saddam's Iraq and for how many years? Here's a hint: You [need] more than two hands to count them."

• "Let America Be America Again" is the Kerry campaign's slogan. It's from a Langston Hughes poem. The line looks mildly bland out of context, but the poem as a whole is quite an angry, depressing read.
  

• Ryan Lizza of The New Republic points out that a "senior Kerry advisor" hasn't been paying attention to what the candidate has been saying.
  

• Kerry's calling in the Democrats' big gun, Bill Clinton. [via Viking Pundit]
  

• This past weekend, Rolling Thunder, Harley-riding Vietnam vets roared into Washington, D.C. and endorsed President Bush.
  

• Ralph Nader is pulling more voters from Kerry than Bush. Who, other than Nader, thought otherwise?
  

• Note the source, but Kerry flipped off a jackass Vietnam vet.

• Kerry appears to have the strip club vote.
  

• Gather the family and play a wholesome game of Kerryopoly. [via Betsy's Page]

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[Thanks go to the John F. Kerry Media Relations Center for the Sen. Zoop's "voice."]