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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve dietrich who wrote (3753)	2/24/2004 12:19:53 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 173976

Bush 47% Kerry 45% Election 2004 Presidential Ballot Bush 47% Kerry 45% Other 3% Not Sure 5% RasmussenReports.com

To: steve dietrich who wrote (3753)	2/25/2004 12:14:21 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 173976

LOL email from repub org to repubs looks like they're freaking and geeking: Barring a major surprise, a week from now John F. Kerry (D-MA) will have virtually locked up the Democratic nomination for president. At that point, the real fight begins. The Democrats and the media are beaming now that polls show Kerry has ascended to a statistical tie with Bush, were the election held today. Some in the Democratic party now believe they finally have Bush on the ropes, and that Kerry’s popularity will continue to rise. The Republicans, on the other hand, are growing restless and nervous. Privately, many Republicans are worried that the November election will be another nail-biter, or worse that Kerry could win. Just a year ago, their president looked bulletproof; now they see him tied with a liberal Senator from Massachusetts. Bush has remained largely silent over the last couple of months while the Democrats decided who will be their man. Bush refrained from counterattacking the Democratic wannabes despite their constant barrage of criticism and very personal attacks. To many, it has seemed as if Bush was on the defensive. Yet all that is starting to change. Bush made his first campaign speech on Monday night. Bush’s re-election team is quietly pulling from his record-breaking war chest, and the gloves are about to come off. Ads will begin running as soon as the Democratic opponent is known. John Kerry, assuming he’s the nominee, is about to have a target painted on his back. Bush’s attack, by the way, begins precisely at the time when Kerry is relatively short on cash, and while he is still a new face to many voters. One might wonder, then, if Kerry’s latest climb to a statistical dead heat with Bush is as good as it gets. Bob Dole, you might recall, was actually ahead of Clinton at this point in the 1996 campaign, and we know how that one turned out. This week, we look at the political landscape, what the strategies will be, what will go on behind the scenes and what are some of the wildcards, including who Kerry might tap for his VP and the latest entrance to the race by Ralph Nader. Bush’s Strategy – Identify Kerry As A Liberal In the big picture, Kerry is a near ideal opponent for Bush. He is a northeastern liberal with a 30-year voting record in Congress to match. To maximize his chances of being re-elected, President Bush must identify Kerry as an ultra-liberal, and not let Kerry position himself as a moderate. Bush will argue that Kerry is weak on national security, defense and opposes the war in Iraq, even though he voted for military action. Bush will identify Kerry’s other vulnerable positions such as his opposition to tax cuts and capital punishment (which 70% of Americans support), and his position on same-sex marriage (Kerry was one of only 14 senators who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act.). These are just a sampling of issues on which Bush should be able to paint Kerry as a liberal and a dove. In addition to attacking Kerry’s voting record, Bush can show that Kerry is a “waffler” on numerous issues. In fact, Bush made references to Kerry’s changing positions on the issues since he entered the race for president in his initial campaign “stump speech” before the nation’s governors on Monday night. At the same time, Bush will have to be successful in championing his own successes. Recent polls have shown that Americans now consider the economy to be the most important issue. National security and the War On Terror have moved well down the list of priorities, which suggests that Americans now take for granted the fact that we have not had another terror attack on our soil. Bush will have to elevate this issue once again, as discussed below. Bush will also have to be successful in convincing Americans that the US economy has indeed turned around strongly, that unemployment is falling (even if modestly) and that he and his tax cuts are largely responsible for this. This will prove to be a tall order.