Kerry Campaign's Political Malpractice

The current electoral college count looks like Kerry 312 to Bush 226.

Checking with the Political Wire and the Hedgehog Report shows a more detailed picture.

Jeb's Florida is looking like a tossup again, but Bush gets an edge of a point when Nader is thrown in. Same exact story in New Mexico. Nader may be able to deliver Oregon, Ohio, and Pennsylvania for Bush.

Together, this shows the problem Kerry is having securing the support of the loony-left. While Bush's problem with his base has been getting plenty of play as of late, if the conservatives show up at the polls they won't have an alternative.

But Kerry has a real problem with Nader for three reasons: the war, Kerry's pathetic campaign, and the WAR.

For many liberals, Kerry's vote for the war appeared to be a vote of convenience over conscience. Kerry is smart and has a strong command of foreign policy -- in other words he should have know that the war in Iraq was a mistake.

His campaign has also been a source of disappointment for many liberals. Take this weekend for example, liberals are suffering through non-stop Reagan hero-worship while the only news on Kerry is this headline: Kerry Lauds Reagan; Suspends Campaigning. Seriously.

Without a doubt, this is the worst mistake the Kerry campaign has made. Period. This goes beyond mistake, this is a train-wreck. Political malpractice. People should be fired and forever banned from interfering with Democratic politics.

Since Kerry is sitting around losing ground, maybe he should take some time to read the Reagan obits. While people disagreed with Reagan, they respected the fact that he stood up for what he believed in. The same with Bush. Yet how can you respect somebody after a move like this?

Tactically, this is a disaster. If Kerry showed some spine, westerners would give their support. Both Arizona and Colorado are states that can be won by a Democrat with convictions and Kerry canceling appearances is only going to force-feed stories to the local press of how the campaign is flaking.

If the bad local press isn't enough, the only national press on Kerry will be about his slutty daughter's graduation.

Taken together, this is going to be a rough week for liberals. With his past support, Kerry can't find traction on Iraq even though violence is worsening. Kerry's campaign is being run like he has a huge lead and is just running out the clock. There doesn't seem to be any hustle, any urgency and whatever there was will be gone after closing shop for a week. I have a really bad gut feeling that if Kerry loses, somebody in his HQ will mutter, "If we only had one more week..."

- Bob Brigham
Bob Brigham Politics: Bay to the Beltway
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