To Supersoulty and John Ford

[The Duke]

Defeat is never inevitable.  In the war and here at home, we have already won.  The enemy just doesn't know it yet.

Don't be fooled by their attempts to seem invincible.  They are like the Wizard of Oz.  Nothing but small people hiding behind curtains.

[The Duke]

I think the pro-America democrats like Nym and a lot of others here want to beleive that their party hasn't been taken over by crazies.  I don't know how to tell them this, but that just isn't so.

[The Duke]

M and Soulty,

The American people aren't losing heart because what Bush says is hard to hear.  They're losing heart because we aren't making progress for the lives we're losing.  They know something's wrong but can't pinpoint it.  Kerry also says he thinks something is wrong, and people want to believe that he knows what the problem is and can fix it.  They're wrong of course, but its Bush's responsibility to get that hangdog look off his face and get the job done.

Classic "Charismatic Leadership" model.  Bush's popularity is based on success of his military policies.  Victory on the field equals victory in elections.