The following commentary originally appeared in the March 25, 2005, edition of the Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times.
The 2008 presidential campaign has begun. Dozens of prospective candidates are already plotting strategy, raising money and traveling to Iowa and New Hampshire.
 I have a message for the national Democratic Party: If you intend to win the 2008 election, do not give your presidential nomination to John Kerry. The junior senator from Massachusetts comes across as an aloof, condescending rich guy with a slim legislative record and a tempestuous wife. And he's threatening to run again.
John Kerry turned a perfectly winnable 2004 race into another Democratic defeat. Kerry faced an incumbent president with marginal public approval ratings, a relatively weak economy and a fairly unpopular war. A Harris Poll a few weeks before the election showed that 51 percent of the electorate did not believe that President Bush deserved re-election.
Kerry's biggest mistake was to run as a Vietnam War hero, "reporting for duty." Kerry continually harped on the supposed unfitness of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to serve. At a midnight rally in Springfield, Ohio, immediately following the Republican convention, Kerry's central theme was that Dick Cheney's five student deferments somehow made him unfit to be vice president.
However, there is little evidence that the public cares. The country voted for Bill Clinton, a draft dodger, over Sen. Bob Dole, a genuine war hero. President Reagan met his military obligation by hanging out in Hollywood studios.
Kerry's "war hero" campaign strategy wasted the Democratic national convention. Kerry seemed to believe that the only thing standing between him and the Oval Office was persuading voters that he was a credible commander in chief. Therefore, he prohibited Bush-bashing at the convention. Kerry seemed not to realize that opposition to Bush is what strongly unites Democrats, and that the central purpose of a national political convention is to secure the base and fire up the troops.
Kerry's biographically-based campaign hindered the development of a coherent message. Kerry was identified with no positive theme, idea or proposal. "It's the economy, stupid," he was not. David Letterman joked, "John Kerry says that the 'W' in George W. Bush stands for 'Wrong.' But can John Kerry tell us what 'John Kerry' stands for?"
Late in the campaign, Kerry decided on his theme: "all Iraq, all the time." He virtually ignored the kitchen table issues of education, taxes, Social Security, jobs and health care.
Kerry also has a tin ear. He reportedly told confidantes that he couldn't believe the American public would be interested in the advertisements of "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." In addition, Kerry never offered any meaningful response to the Republican drumbeat that he is a "flip-flopper." (This is reminiscent of Michael Dukakis, who refused to believe that voters care about the Pledge of Allegiance or weekend furloughs for convicted killers.)
Also, Kerry does not relate well to ordinary citizens. He grew up in Switzerland, speaks fluent French, has married two extremely wealthy women,  and has five mansions and a butler. Instead of bowling or softball or clearing brush, his hobbies are windsurfing, snowboarding and stunt flying.
Then, there is the matter of his wife, Teresa Heinz, who famously told a reporter to "Shove it!" The Mozambique-born billionaire heiress also stated that "only an idiot" wouldn't like Kerry's health-care plan. When hecklers started chanting "Four more years!" she cracked, "They want four more years of hell." She also stated that hurricane victims should "run around naked for awhile."
To win in 2008, the Democratic Party needs a presidential candidate who is likable and pleasant, with a solid record of accomplishment. It needs a candidate who can relate to average voters. It needs a candidate who will focus on the issues that people care about.
And that candidate is not John Kerry. |
