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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (3437)	2/20/2004 9:50:15 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Bush Puts Conservative on Court, Bypasses Congress reuters.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (3437)	2/21/2004 11:23:13 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

CHOOSING A CANDIDATE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY in the United States had hoped to settle on its candidate for the November 2004 presidential election by the end of the primaries held in Wisconsin earlier this week. The front-runner, John F. Kerry, did maintain his winning streak by defeating his closest rival, John Edwards, by a fair margin. However, Mr. Edwards' better-than-expected performance in Wisconsin and Howard Dean's withdrawal have ensured that the intra-party contest will remain alive at least until "Super Tuesday," March 2, when voters in ten States register their preferences. While two other contestants, Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich, have not withdrawn from the race, their prospects are so dismal that the Democratic nomination process has turned into a Kerry vs Edwards final. This development is touted as a vindication of Mr. Edwards' electoral strategy. His thesis was that the nomination struggle would really begin only after the rest of the field was winnowed out; that the advantage Mr. Kerry enjoyed by surging to the front after the first few rounds of the primaries would peter out as the party faithful got more time to assess the competitors; and that he possessed the personality, political skills and policy formulations to prevail in a head-to-head clash. Mr. Edwards and the pundits who subscribe to this thesis appear to have overstated the case. The fact is that Mr. Kerry has handily won 15 of the 17 primaries and caucuses held thus far while Mr. Edwards has prevailed in just one. Unlike his rival, who has not campaigned actively in many States including delegate-rich California, Mr. Kerry has registered victories in every region. While labour leaders and other stalwarts of the Democratic establishment have urged the party faithful to unite behind one candidate, the prolongation of the contest appears to be a blessing in disguise. It forces the contestants to hone their messages and their styles of presentation and combat. Dr. Dean, to whom must go solid credit for galvanising the party's base and expanding its appeal, has sworn that he will continue to raise the issues he believes in. He might have been worsted at the hustings by Messrs Kerry and Edwards but their campaigns gathered momentum only after they followed Dr. Dean's lead on issues that matter. However, the two main competitors now have to readjust their positions and each has to demonstrate that he is capable of attracting support from beyond the party's rank and file. Democratic voters believe that they have a real chance of throwing President George W. Bush out of the White House since he has alienated a mass of middle ground voters. They appear set to pick as their nominee the person who can convince them that he has an appeal that cuts across party lines. With the party as a whole getting on the right side of a majority of Americans who apparently oppose the Bush administration's Iraq policy, the intra-party debate is now focussed on another issue of major concern. Each leading contestant is currently attempting to convince the public that he is the most capable of correcting trade policies that are perceived to have resulted in a loss of jobs. Mr. Bush has been pushed on to the back foot by the unexpected vigour of the Democrats' campaign and the intelligent fashion in which they have attacked his appalling policies and performance in office. However, it is too early to write off his prospects even if opinion polls show that at this point he will be comfortably beaten by either Mr. Kerry or Mr. Edwards. Team Bush has not yet moved into campaign mode. Nor has it begun to dip into the $ 150 million-war chest that the U.S. President has set aside for his re-election bid. hindu.com