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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (43619)	4/24/2004 1:41:54 AM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 89467

Bush Campaign Smears Against Kerry Hypocritical: The campaign to portray Kerry as culturally out of touch because of his privileged youth and current wealth is replete with ironies. Bush, a son of one of America's most successful political dynasties, and Vice President Cheney are both multimillionaires. Republicans, on policy grounds, have no objection to vacation houses or inherited wealth; Bush has led an effort to eliminate the estate tax, which is paid mostly by the wealthy. But the competition over which candidate will score better on one of the most common questions asked by pollsters -- who "understands the problems of people like you" -- is influenced by many factors. Some are economic, others more impressionistic. For now, Kerry is winning the contest. A Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier this month found that 51 percent of the people surveyed agreed that Kerry understands their problems, while 40 percent said he does not. Forty-one percent said Bush understands their problems, while 57 percent said he does not. The latter sentiment, part of a larger perception that Bush's policies favor the rich, has been one of his biggest vulnerabilities in polls throughout his presidency. Some Democratic strategists believe the effort to infuse Kerry's reputation with a certain hauteur -- and to turn him into an absurd figure -- is designed to blunt this advantage. Republicans do not exactly deny it. "We've certainly had some fun with the Scaramouche," Kerry's 42-foot-long powerboat, said Christine Iverson, the RNC spokeswoman. "But John Kerry's biggest problem is not that he owns a yacht and five homes. His biggest problem is his voting record." A Democratic strategist who has seen polling data in battleground states worried that the main attack on Kerry, as an equivocating politician who would raise taxes, is being reinforced by attacks on his purported jet-set values. Cumulatively, this Democrat said, the criticism has done damage -- but not irreparable damage -- to Kerry's image. "Voters still want to hear from him" before accepting the Republican definition of Kerry and his values, the strategist said. "May is a big month for them [the Kerry campaign]. They should be spending like drunken sailors" on advertising to present a more appealing portrait of the candidate. The campaign has just launched ads presenting Kerry's biography. Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter professed little concern about the effort to lampoon her candidate as pampered and privileged. She said most voters know "the Republican Party is historically the party of wealth. . . . The better question is who you are, what you fight for, what you stand for." Stan Greenberg, a Democratic pollster who for years has studied the ways the GOP often beats his party on cultural issues, said he is not so worried this time around. The mockery of Kerry is "playing in the conservative conversation" where it is "motivating for their people to have a diminished view of Kerry," Greenberg said. But, he added, this theme is not likely to be important in moving independent voters. "There are big things going on in this election: the Iraq (news - web sites) war, taxes. . . . It's hard to make [cultural elitism] a powerful issue."