On Good Morning America, Kerry continued his recent stream of good moments by clarifying his "I voted for the $87B before I voted against it." He noted that it was an inartful moment during a long campaign, and the basic point was that he thought a tax on the rich should have been used to pay the bill. [During the Clinton Years, we had a "pay as we go" system ... now, we have a credit card system.] Since this was not done, it was one of those moments that a senator had to stand up and be counted. Therefore, Sen. Kerry voted against it as a protest vote.
This is what people are talking about -- it is not that his positions are necessarily wrong; it is that Sen. Kerry failed to put forth a message that the general public can comfortably grasp. Helped by a skillful smear campaign by the other side, the public is wary about the guy. It is asking a bit to begin with to say that an incumbent is doing such a lousy job that he has to be voted out of office. Combine this with the fact that many actually like the guy (or want to), you need to do a good job to sell yourself.
Sen. Robert Byrd's book Losing America is an important addition to the anti-Bush (and yes, he definitely doesn't like the guy) library because it spells out how the administration threatens the separation of powers. Sen. Byrd is like the guardian of the realm, the Senate, and be it fiscal policy or the power to go to war, he explains how not only did Bush and company sneer at the role of Congress (and the courts), but Congress generally let him do it.
Well, in a democratic republic, the people themselves also have an essential role, the importance of our leadership notwithstanding. Are we letting the administration and their allies seize control while we look the other way? How many are ignoring the dangers of leaving these people in office for ultimately shallow reasons? Ill advised choices of a man that we should have known was inferior in 2000 (liking to have a drink with someone is not generally a qualification for the presidency) were as much to blame as hanging chads.
And the Bushies are taking advantage of the people's laziness by giving them a Chinese Menu of excuses why they can vote for the guy:
There's the Bush message, which is that everything is fine; there's the Cheney message, which is that everything is fine other than that the Democrats are giving aid and comfort to the enemy by criticizing the president; there's the Powell 'tough but principled and optimistic' message; the Rumsfeld "we can take 'em and who cares about their freakin' election" message; and the Senatorial tough love message: "We think the president is making some serious mistakes and we're concerned, but we still support him and you folks are savvy enough to know that he'll take our advice once the politicking is over and he's won the election."
With the exception of the Bush Stepford voters message, it's an ala carte menu for voters who aren't happy with Bush and aren't comfortable with Kerry; just pick the one that sounds best and buy it. And it's clever, because with Kerry you only get the one choice, not four or five. So when Chuck Hagel or Lindsey Graham or John McCain says that the president has to be straightforward with the American people about the tough road ahead, well, he already is. It's just he's doing it through the people that are asking him to do it.
Of course the plot falls apart if anyone pays attention to more than one of the entrees, but a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest, li la li.
Yes, it helps when Kerry/Edwards is able to adequately show why drinking the kool aid is the road to ruin. But, the people themselves have some responsibility too. For instance, one person (Kerry supporter, though hard to tell at times) made me so angry recently by criticizing those who are upset at the civil liberties record of the administration. "It's not Nazi Germany." Yes, Virginia, Bush isn't killing six million Jews ... all is well! Bloody insane.
The election shouldn't be so close. We let this situation occur. And, a democracy means the people themselves have some responsibility on the outcome. If we are fooled or if we in fact welcome it, ultimately some of the blame falls on us. American voters, the ultimate masochists.