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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (35134)	3/17/2004 3:18:56 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793670

I always enjoyed watching Kate O'Beirne on Crossfire in the old days. Before they went to the present cast. March 17, 2004, 8:39 a.m. Kate’s Take: Preemptive Campaigning Kate O'Beirne - NRO Last weekend, the Bush-Cheney campaign learned that John Kerry would be visiting West Virginia on Tuesday where he planned to celebrate capturing enough delegates for his party's nomination. They anticipated that he would again be showcasing his military-veteran supporters and so planned a special welcome for him; it's all part of their strategy to ensure that slams on his record bracket Kerry on his campaign stops. West Virginia voters woke up to a Bush TV ad declaring: "Few votes in Congress are as important as funding our troops at war. Though John Kerry voted in October 2002 for military action in Iraq, he later voted against funding our soldiers." The ad details Kerry "no" votes last October against body armor for combat troops, against higher combat pay, and against improved health care for reservists. (The record backing up the ad's assertions is available under "Ad Facts" on GeorgeWBush.com; Kerry's position was rejected by a lopsided 87-12 vote). The ad ran as Kerry was hosting a town-hall meeting with veterans. "John Kerry Wrong on Defense" is the tagline. This kind of preemptive (if you will) strike should be welcome news to the president's supporters, disheartened by months of unanswered assaults against him and his policies. Earlier in the week, Kerry was criticizing Bush for dragging his feet on protecting the home front, when the senator voted against the Department of Homeland Security six times, delaying its creation by 112 days, according to the Bush campaign's count. The expectation is that when he talks in West Virginia about supporting our troops, he'll now be asked about those votes against equipping and paying them. "So he'll be answering questions rather than making charges," explains Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman. The offensive tactic centered on West Virginia Tuesday tracks with a larger strategy of the campaign. Mehlman notes that most people get their news from local media and explains, "This election is about more than what is said inside the Beltway." Every morning, Mehlman reviews the front pages of major newspapers in the campaign's targeted states. Since December, about a half-dozen regional press aides have been working on identifying local surrogates to hook up with local reporters. The aim is to have the campaign's message consistently reflected in state and local media. West Virginia voters will wake up Wednesday morning to news stories about John Kerry's votes against funding troops in the field. With the Bush campaign on offense, similar ads are no doubt headed your way — right ahead of John Kerry. There's certainly plenty of ad material. In 19 years, Senator Kerry has cast about 6,500 votes. nationalreview.com