To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (10323 ) 8/7/2004 10:58:48 PM From: mishedlo Read Replies (3) | Respond to The Election and The Stock MarketSince then, Kerry has united the Democratic Party to a degree it hasn't seen since the Roosevelt era, and he has pulled to a lead in the polls. His ascent has meant investors have had to reconsider a whole range of investment topics they thought were closed—including dividends and drug stocks. That re-examination has come during a time when news from Iraq was discouraging for Americans in general—not just Republicans or investors. That Kerry is, in effect, the beneficiary of all that bad news abroad and all that Bush hatred abroad is no reason to demean Kerry (Basic Points routinely praised Clinton as a serious President who will be respected by historians, because he used his formidable powers of persuasion to move the Democratic Party into a modernist position on trade and welfare, freeing it from some of its more reactionary vested interests.) Kerry talks of how to ensure that employers can continue to provide health care for employees, his policies on Iraq now sound almost indistinguishable from what Bush is actually trying to do, and his comments on trade are now, as we say, nuanced. Kerry, a highly intelligent man who was a college debating champion, sounds more and more like a credible President. (Indeed, his vocal fluency contrasts sharply with the President's notorious verbal clumsiness.) Kerry's night at the conclusion of the Convention was a brilliantly-scripted presentation of the candidate as the ideal Commander in Chief. The bio film setting the stage for his appearance, supervised by the master—Spielberg— had dazzling footage of war in Vietnam. Then Kerry's "Band of Brothers" who had served in his swift boats, appeared to praise him as a cool, gutsy hero who fearlessly risked his life to protect his men. His own speech began with a military salute—the scene now on front pages across the land. He came across as a man who really knows what war is about, a man who chose to serve in an unpopular war because of family values of national service. (The unstated subtext was that Bush, another patrician, had arranged to serve in air national guard, exempting himself from joining the fighting.) He looked like a leader comfortable in his own skin, the kind the nation can trust at a time of national crisis. It could well prove to have been the speech that sends him to the White House, because he had until then been facing doubts about his ability to manage in crisis. Watching from his ranch in Texas, Bush must have had a rough evening. Sadly, Bush is so verbally-challenged that it is improbable that he will really take the case to Edwards and his wealthy allies. corporate.bmo.com
