QandO

May 03, 2004

Themeless in Seattle
Posted by McQ

John Kerry's just having a hell of a time:

For many Democrats, Mr. Kerry's single biggest difficulty was what they described as his continuing search for a defining theme for his candidacy — typically one of the most urgent tasks of any presidential candidate.

Last week, after completing the most in-depth poll of his campaign, Mr. Kerry unveiled yet another theme for his candidacy: "Together, we can build a stronger America." It was, by the count of one aide, the sixth message Mr. Kerry has rolled out since he announced his candidacy nearly 18 months ago.

Just can't find the right chord. Vietnam isn't working out too well. The economy's rebounding. Bush took the best shots the partisan 9/11 commission could salvo and then smiled at them. What's a candidate to do.

Well so far, nothing. But I did find this statement to be freakin' hillarious:

"We need to be honest with ourselves: Our candidate is not one who's good with a 30-second sound bite," said Representative Harold E. Ford Jr. of Tennessee, co-chairman of Mr. Kerry's campaign. "He is very thoughtful and it takes him a while to say things."

Yeah ... like "I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it".

I can tell you that may have taken a lot of time, but I'm not sure about a lot of thought.

Kerry has a real problem, though. To this point he's allowed the Republicans to define him and the campaign.

The question is, is it too late for him to change that?

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