Powerline - He Can't Help Himself
It seems obvious to me that in order to get his campaign back on track, John Kerry has to get off the Vietnam theme and start talking about the future. A consensus exists, I think, that the Democrats' preoccupation with Vietnam during their convention, culminating in Kerry's "reporting for duty," was a horrible tactical blunder. Every time Kerry brings up Vietnam, he opens himself to further body blows by the Swift Boat Vets.
But Kerry seemingly can't help himself. The photo below shows him saluting as he is introduced to an audience in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he spoke on Medicare and Social Security. Click to enlarge:
Needless to say, I'm not advising the Kerry campaign, but if I were, the first thing I would tell him is to stop saluting.
UPDATE: It gets worse and worse. ABC reports that during the West Palm Beach appearance, Kerry propogated the absurd lie that, if President Bush is re-elected, the military draft may be re-instituted:
Answering a question about the draft that had been posed at a forum with voters, Kerry said: "If George Bush were to be re-elected, given the way he has gone about this war and given his avoidance of responsibility in North Korea and Iran and other places, is it possible? I can't tell you."
ABC says that Kerry also "said he would not bring back the draft and questioned how fairly it was administered in the past." Great, another stroll down Vietnam-memory lane.
The Dems' polls must be looking even worse than we thought. This is a deeply contemptible move by Kerry, and he can't possibly be under any illusions about what he is doing. |
