Democratic Convention Message

[Lunar]

Basically, strategically thinking, what do you guys think John Kerry's "message" should be at the convention?  What simple concept do they want the average person to get and why?  Remember that if you can't print the message on a T-shirt, it's probably too complicated.

I think it should be that Kerry and Edwards are willing to be hard-asses on terror.  Even if they WILL be "softer" than George Bush, they should absolutely say that they will be tigers.

John Kerry redid his website, and I notice the John Kerry section now has four links which may hint towards the topics for the convention.  The four are biography, vision, family, and service (military).  My prediction is that those are the four things he'll stress, with vision being a generic, warm, fuzzy feeling that he has a defined vision for the country.

[MarkDel]

I agree. If I were working for Kerry, I would come up with a slogan about a "tough foreign policy that actually works..."

Something along those lines. But he has to be careful, because a significant portion of his base either doesn't support the War on Terror, or don't think a War actually exists.

[agcatter]

I'm going on vacation next week for the sole purpose of getting away from John Kerry.  No televisions or computers.

[CARLHAYDEN]

Basically, strategically thinking, what do you guys think John Kerry's "message" should be at the convention?  What simple concept do they want the average person to get and why?  Remember that if you can't print the message on a T-shirt, it's probably too complicated.

I think it should be that Kerry and Edwards are willing to be hard-asses on terror.  Even if they WILL be "softer" than George Bush, they should absolutely say that they will be tigers.

John Kerry redid his website, and I notice the John Kerry section now has four links which may hint towards the topics for the convention.  The four are biography, vision, family, and service (military).  My prediction is that those are the four things he'll stress, with vision being a generic, warm, fuzzy feeling that he has a defined vision for the country.

Kerry is going to have a problem with his record.

He's the guy who tried to REDUCE the intelligence budget AFTER the bombing of the World Trade Center in the nineties, to cite just one example.

[Keystone Phil]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...this convention will take the Dems pretty far left and it will turn off many undecided voters. Bush's numbers are going to go up after the Dems turn to left.

[CARLHAYDEN]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...this convention will take the Dems pretty far left and it will turn off many undecided voters. Bush's numbers are going to go up after the Dems turn to left.

According to inside sources, Kerry is trying to tamp down the extreme Bush bashing, but it will be interesting to see what Gore has to say, and what the reaction of the delegates will be to his speech.

[Lunar]

Richardson, taking control of the convention, is really trying to crack down on the Bush bashing.  They are distributing cards to all the Dems with the "message" for the day to try and control it as well.

It'd be stupid to use the opportunity to attack Bush, I'd be surprised if that's what Kerry does.

[Keystone Phil]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...this convention will take the Dems pretty far left and it will turn off many undecided voters. Bush's numbers are going to go up after the Dems turn to left.

According to inside sources, Kerry is trying to tamp down the extreme Bush bashing, but it will be interesting to see what Gore has to say, and what the reaction of the delegates will be to his speech.

You're going to hear from the far left delegates and people like Gore and Dean. It's going to get too liberal for mainstream America.

[MarkDel]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...this convention will take the Dems pretty far left and it will turn off many undecided voters. Bush's numbers are going to go up after the Dems turn to left.

According to inside sources, Kerry is trying to tamp down the extreme Bush bashing, but it will be interesting to see what Gore has to say, and what the reaction of the delegates will be to his speech.

You're going to hear from the far left delegates and people like Gore and Dean. It's going to get too liberal for mainstream America.

Yes, but believe me, the speeches of both Gore and Dean are being submitted to the Kerry camp BEFORE they can speak for approval and full censorship. I got this on really good word from someone at the DNC. They are more worried about Gore than Dean, but both of them are actually being required to submit copies of their speech to Kerry in advance before they'll be allowed to speak.

Kerry is a lot of things, but idiot isn't one of them...

[??????????]

From what I hear one of the messages they are going to be speaking on is, "How big media is a threat to democracy". Yeah that's good. I can't wait to watch this liberal love fest.

[Blue Rectangle]

From what I hear one of the messages they are going to be speaking on is, "How big media is a threat to democracy". Yeah that's good. I can't wait to watch this liberal love fest.

Oh please, oh please, I so hope you're right.  This anti-big media message is NOT a winning issue.  First of all, it's based on a false generalization: "Fox News is conservatively biased, hence all media is right-wing biased."  Second, it ties into the Florida 2000 issue, which hurts Dems if overplayed.  As seen on the House floor recently, many Dems are itching to rant about Florida.  The media investigations into the Flordia vote soon after the election essentially validated Bush.  Soon after, former journalist Al Gore began his rant about the "Republican-controlled media."  Sorry, Al, but a large majority of Americans consider the media to be liberally biased.

The effect of all this is to present the Democratic party as the party of bitterness, anger and hatred.  Anyone who has heard Terry speak for more than 30 seconds knows this.  This doesn't play well with most swing voters, but the DNC leadership is too blinded by hatred to know or care.

[??????????]

Paul Harvey said it was so.

[Keystone Phil]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...this convention will take the Dems pretty far left and it will turn off many undecided voters. Bush's numbers are going to go up after the Dems turn to left.

According to inside sources, Kerry is trying to tamp down the extreme Bush bashing, but it will be interesting to see what Gore has to say, and what the reaction of the delegates will be to his speech.

You're going to hear from the far left delegates and people like Gore and Dean. It's going to get too liberal for mainstream America.

Yes, but believe me, the speeches of both Gore and Dean are being submitted to the Kerry camp BEFORE they can speak for approval and full censorship. I got this on really good word from someone at the DNC. They are more worried about Gore than Dean, but both of them are actually being required to submit copies of their speech to Kerry in advance before they'll be allowed to speak.

Kerry is a lot of things, but idiot isn't one of them...

Submitting speeches will help prevent an outburst but does anyone remember January 19th? Remember Howard Dean's little speech is Iowa? I don't think that part of his speech was submitted to his speech writers. Now the chances of a Howard Dean Scream speech is very rare at the convention but could it happen? I mean this is Howard Dean we are talking about.

[MarkDel]

From what I hear one of the messages they are going to be speaking on is, "How big media is a threat to democracy". Yeah that's good. I can't wait to watch this liberal love fest.

Oh please, oh please, I so hope you're right.  This anti-big media message is NOT a winning issue.  First of all, it's based on a false generalization: "Fox News is conservatively biased, hence all media is right-wing biased."  Second, it ties into the Florida 2000 issue, which hurts Dems if overplayed.  As seen on the House floor recently, many Dems are itching to rant about Florida.  The media investigations into the Flordia vote soon after the election essentially validated Bush.  Soon after, former journalist Al Gore began his rant about the "Republican-controlled media."  Sorry, Al, but a large majority of Americans consider the media to be liberally biased.

The effect of all this is to present the Democratic party as the party of bitterness, anger and hatred.  Anyone who has heard Terry speak for more than 30 seconds knows this.  This doesn't play well with most swing voters, but the DNC leadership is too blinded by hatred to know or care.

Blue Rectangle,

I know, we should be so lucky, but I can't believe the Kerry camp would be that stupid.

In fact, I just spoke to my Washington, DC contact on his cell phone (he's actually at the convention) and he told me that Al Gore was forced to submit his speech to the Kerry camp this morning...and Kerry and his crew handed it back to Gore and said REWRITE THE WHOLE THING we are not interested in a tone that negative...

[Blue Rectangle]

According to Drudge:
"Kerry operatives are editing convention speeches, sources say, with only Al Gore and Ted Kennedy believed to be off-limits."

I dearly hope your contact is wrong and Drudge is right, but your info sounds way too believable.  We'll find out soon, won't we?

[Blue Rectangle]

Well, at least no one has quieted Moore.

quotes:
"We need you [the media] to do your job. Your children aren't there [in Iraq]."

That's right, attack the media.  Real smart.

"A lot of our kids are dead because those f---ers [Bush and Cheney] haven't done their job."

Please, give this man more airtime!

Edit:
I attributed "f---ers" to Bush and Cheney, but the article leaves that unclear.  It is very possible that the media are the "f---ers" that didn't do their job.  That would be even crazier for Moore to claim.

[Blue Rectangle]

Apparently Dems have been given new hope by recent polls that show a slightly greater number of voters now think that the war in Iraq was a mistake.  I've seen Gore and Carter speak so far.  PBS had a fairly long interview with Carter shortly after his speach.  His message included brief words of support for Kerry, but mostly blasted Bush over Iraq, suggesting that the decision to go to war was made "long before Bush took office" and that Bush has lied to justify the war.   Looks like party handlers spent too much time drugging Gore and forgot about Carter.

References to terror, throughout all speaches have been brief and vague.  The biggest disaster America has faced in the last four years seems to be that France doesn't like us.

[??????????]

Apparently Dems have been given new hope by recent polls that show a slightly greater number of voters now think that the war in Iraq was a mistake.  I've seen Gore and Carter speak so far.  PBS had a fairly long interview with Carter shortly after his speach.  His message included brief words of support for Kerry, but mostly blasted Bush over Iraq, suggesting that the decision to go to war was made "long before Bush took office" and that Bush has lied to justify the war.   Looks like party handlers spent too much time drugging Gore and forgot about Carter.

References to terror, throughout all speaches have been brief and vague.  The biggest disaster America has faced in the last four years seems to be that France doesn't like us.

I find it ironic that Carter was blasting Bush on mistakes in fighting terrorism. I guess the American POWs in Iran have been forgotten.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Apparently Dems have been given new hope by recent polls that show a slightly greater number of voters now think that the war in Iraq was a mistake.  I've seen Gore and Carter speak so far.  PBS had a fairly long interview with Carter shortly after his speach.  His message included brief words of support for Kerry, but mostly blasted Bush over Iraq, suggesting that the decision to go to war was made "long before Bush took office" and that Bush has lied to justify the war.   Looks like party handlers spent too much time drugging Gore and forgot about Carter.

References to terror, throughout all speaches have been brief and vague.  The biggest disaster America has faced in the last four years seems to be that France doesn't like us.

I find it ironic that Carter was blasting Bush on mistakes in fighting terrorism. I guess the American POWs in Iran have been forgotten.

Iran-Contras?
You do not want to start this conversation.

[??????????]

Apparently Dems have been given new hope by recent polls that show a slightly greater number of voters now think that the war in Iraq was a mistake.  I've seen Gore and Carter speak so far.  PBS had a fairly long interview with Carter shortly after his speach.  His message included brief words of support for Kerry, but mostly blasted Bush over Iraq, suggesting that the decision to go to war was made "long before Bush took office" and that Bush has lied to justify the war.   Looks like party handlers spent too much time drugging Gore and forgot about Carter.

References to terror, throughout all speaches have been brief and vague.  The biggest disaster America has faced in the last four years seems to be that France doesn't like us.

I find it ironic that Carter was blasting Bush on mistakes in fighting terrorism. I guess the American POWs in Iran have been forgotten.

Iran-Contras?
You do not want to start this conversation.

Democrats are weak on terror. Show me evidence to the contrary.

[Mort from NewYawk]

Basically, strategically thinking, what do you guys think John Kerry's "message" should be at the convention?  What simple concept do they want the average person to get and why?  Remember that if you can't print the message on a T-shirt, it's probably too complicated.

I think it should be that Kerry and Edwards are willing to be hard-asses on terror.  Even if they WILL be "softer" than George Bush, they should absolutely say that they will be tigers.

An MSNBC commentator summed it up last night: Kerry as courageous, steady captain.

We're going to hear so much about Kerry during the Vietnam era that "Coming Home"and "Apocalypse Now" will be all over the cable channels.

Kerry, Swift Boat, Mekong Delta = JFK, PT 109, WW II Pacific.

The Democratic strategists are smart - they know that this is the pivotal moment in which Kerry gets a little serious consideration.

If middle American swing voters can be convinced that they could rest easy at night knowing Kerry is Commander in Chief, he gets the 3-5% shift he needs to win.

I don't think the Republicans will let him get away with it, but can they prevent the Missouri and Ohio voter from being swayed?

[Blue Rectangle]

One important thing was missing from the first night:
I don't recall hearing a single mention of Kerry ever casting a vote in the Senate.  I'm pretty sure the Republicans will bring up his voting record, shouldn't the Dems address it first?

[12th Doctor]

There message can be summed up in two sentances:

"George Bush is evil.  We are not George Bush.

[Lunar]

I didn't get that impression at all Super, did you watch it?

Anyway, an Onion Infographic: