The Importance of Being Kerry-Dukakis

For all the talk of newness, change and history-making, haven't we seen this presidential race before?

The Democrats hierarchy is once again perceived by middle America as elites, unpatriotic, and inconsistent. The Republicans as 'men of the people', strong patriots and above the fray not to mention faux' compassionate conservatives'

During the Primary battle the Democrats had a clear position on vitally important issues of the day-Tax, Abortion, and Iraq, somehow that message has become redundant and it’s hurting the party with voters.

In March 08 it was clear –the Democrats stood for raising taxes on those relatively few persons with extreme high incomes. After all, these wealthy elite reaped inordinate personal benefits from the across-the-board. Now Obama says he may not immediately let those high-income tax cuts expire, owing to the troubled economy and all. The Democrats message on tax becomes blurred. A Michael Dukakis turkey sandwich anyone?

During the entire Democratic primary battle the one thing the Democrats stood for was ending was the war in Iraq. Now Obama says the surge is working and has retracted on his initial plans to remove all troops immediately -once again blurred message. A John Kerry I can’t believe it’s not butter sandwich anyone?

During the Democrat primary one thing Democrats stood for over everything social issue-- or so we thought -- was a well-articulated position to protect a woman's right to choose abortion. So now Obama says the morality of the abortion issue is "above my pay grade." Once again the message is not only amazingly blurred but subordinated. He doesnt want to touch it.

Why oh why Obama doesn’t proclaim the lines of a winning Democrat nominee ‘Rare, Safe and Legal’ I guess we will never know.

That is the only the beginning of Obamas problems, his message of hope and change was severely dented by his VP pick of Joe Biden. Biden, an admirable and respectable politician with tons of experience is not the sort of attack dog you need in a VP pick. He is a nice guy but nice guys do not make good attack dogs, ask Sarah Palin.

Likewise, John Kerry picked a lame duck VP in John Edwards, a man who failed to make an impression on anyone outside of South Carolina, the only primary he won. Al Gore choose Joe Liberman, once again a highly inconsistent politician who did Al Gore no favors in his 2000 elections, only to register as a cheerleading Republican 8 years later in all but name.

McCain is in the lead because of one horrible decision by the Obama team and one huge gamble by the McCain team. Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Obamas choice was predicated on weakness.

He was chosen for his foreign policy expertise, but the big problem is that the pick was an admission of weakness by Obama. He was telling the U.S. people that he wasn't confident dealing with foreign policy. He needed help. So the Biden pick hurt him.

Then by picking a woman with executive experience, but no foreign policy experience, he laid a trap for the Democrats. McCain knew that the Dems would attack her on foreign policy experience, but every time a voter reads one of those attacks they are reminded that Obama also has no experience.

McCain gets to enjoy a week’s long debate on whether Palin or Obama are weaker on foreign policy. Sure the Republicans are weak on foreign policy on the bottom of their ticket, but the Democrats are more at the top of their ticket.

The true genius of the Sarah Palin pick, for now was her inexperience. The whole Sarah Palin frenzy can still dissapear rather quickly and be turned to a disadvantage but thats depends on how Obama conducts the last 2 months fo this race.

In order to turn things around Obama has to attack John McCain and not Sarah Palin. He must leave the attacking of Sarah Palin to surrogates. He must change his line of attack on John McCain from ‘4 more years of the same’. McCain has convinced Middle America and independents he is not 4 more years of Bush, that battle is lost for Obama. To waist anymore time on it is to lose even more ground. It took John Kerry a long time to adapt his message and it is what ultimately lost him the election. Kerry was steadfast and slow at changing his message, the Republicans so it as such soeed it would give you wiplash.

Obama must promote why 'his' change is what the country needs, what his big ideas are for the country and why McCain’s voting record in Washington may be maverick and admirable but his party is not and at the end of the day a McCain Presidency is a Republican presidency.