I have no doubt that Kerry possesses courage....

[virtualobserver]

but calling it the "American Courage" tour and saying that he has the "courage" to do this or that feels a little strange to me.

If I was running his campaign I would have been highlighting his courageous acts, his tours of duty, etc but I would not be stating it in a "look how courageous I am" manner.

Am I the only one who feels that way?

[Cha]

1. I guess they feel the need to do that!

This is the first I've heard of it so I'll think about it!

Glad he's getting out there and talking about the Democratic Principles, though! And having the "courage" to stick it to bush!

[vi5]

2. All slogans are silly...it's no worse than Dean for America....

WHich implies that the other candidates are....what?....for Uganda?

People need this shit to latch on to and make it easier for people. All candidates do it and it's silly to most critical thinkers. But most people aren't critical thinkers and need such things.

[Cha]

4. No! It "implies" that we want "Dean for America" More than we

want the other candidates!

[Larkspur]

5. Dean for America has 3 major goals

1) Bring people, the average Jane and John Q Public, back into the political process

2) Restore our role as a moral force in the world, and

3) Build a new American Community

Dean's Campaign is not about himself, per se, but about restoring America to it's ideals. As Dana Blankehorn said, Dean's campaign is a contemporary live version of Frank Capra's movie "Meet John Doe" and Dean's supporters are the "Meet John Doe" members.


What are Kerry's Campaign goals?

[DrFunkenstein]

6. Could You Be A Little More, Uh, Specific?

That's like saying he supports Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Sounds great, but what the hell does it really mean?

"Dean's Campaign is not about himself, per se, but about restoring America to it's ideals."

I'm sorry, but that's just a wee bit fallacious, don't ya think? How many times have we heard, "I don't agree with him on all the issues, but I like the way he gets in Bush's face?" Dean has built a cult of personality, which cannot be underestimated politically, but let's not pretend it's the message and not the messenger.

Go check out the "Dean is a Rock Star" thread.

[Cha]

10. I thought Larkspur stated it very well what the Dean campaign is

all about!

There were 100 million people who did Not vote in the last Prez election! Bringing People in to the election process is no small feat!

"Restoring our role as a moral force in the World" will be no small task, either. After what the buswa has done to our status as a World Leader...it will take someone with Dean's vision to bring us back from the brink of disaster and on the straight and narrow, again.


And "building a New American Community" that will take a blooming miracle after the "uniter" has destroyed America! And Dean has many ideas and a proven record in Vermont to make this happen.

So I can see from your response that you didn't really think about what Larkspur wrote...you were just quick to dismiss People who have a candidate who they believe will be the best for beating bush and getting our Country Back! :kick:

[Larkspur]

13. The themes are in Dean's formal annoucement speech

The Great American Restoration

Purpose of Dean For America Campaign
Over a year ago I began to travel the country in the usual way one does when seeking the Presidency.

I believed that, by running for President, I could raise the issues of health care for every American and the need to focus on early childhood development. I wanted to bring those issues to the forefront of the national debate. And I wanted to balance the budget to bring financial stability and jobs back to America.

Most importantly, I have wanted my party to stand up for what we believe in again.

But something changed along the way as I listened to Americans around this country. On my first trip to Iowa I heard people speak of a profound fear and distrust of multi-national corporations. From New Hampshire to Texas I met Americans doubting the words of our leaders and our government in Washington. Every where I go people are asking fundamental questions: Who can we trust? Is the media reporting the truth? What is happening to our country?

The Americans I have met love their country. They believe deeply in its promise, our values and our principles. But they know something is wrong and they want to take action. They want to do something to right our path. But they feel Washington isn't listening. And as individuals, they lack the power to change the course those in Washington have put us on.


Goal: building a new American Community
This campaign is about more than issue differences on health care, tax cuts, national security, jobs, the environment and our economy. It is about something as important as our children. It's about who we are as Americans.

Here are the words of John Winthrop: "We shall be as one. We must delight in each other, make other's conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always living before our eyes our Commission and Community in our work."

It is that ideal, the ideal of the American community, that we seek to restore.
<SNIP>

Goal: restoring our role as a moral force in the world
We must rejoin the world community. America is far stronger as the moral and military leader of the world than we will ever be by relying solely on military power. We destroyed repressive communist regimes without firing a shot, not simply by having a strong military, but because we had a better ideal to show the world.

Every American President must and will take up arms in the defense of our nation. It is a solemn oath that cannot -- and will not -- be compromised.

But there is a fundamental difference between the defense of our nation and the doctrine of preemptive war espoused by this administration. The President's group of narrow-minded ideological advisors are undermining our nation's greatness in the world. They have embraced a form of unilateralism that is even more dangerous than isolationism.

This administration has shown disdain for allies, treaties, and international organizations alike.

Goal: bringing people back into the political process
How is it that our leaders have abandoned our communities and repudiated our idealism and principles?

When confronted with a dedicated band of right wing ideologues, too many Americans have stopped participating, stopped voting, and stopped believing that they can change America.

And we in politics have not given our people a reason to vote or a reason to participate. We have slavishly spewed sound bites, copying each other while saying little. We raise millions of dollars and each year make lofty promises, while every year the struggles of ordinary Americans increase and fewer Americans vote. Our politicians, many of them good people, have been paralyzed by their fear of losing office. Our leaders have developed a vocabulary which has become meaningless to the American people...

The history of our nation is clear: At every turn when there has been an imbalance of power, the truth questioned, or our beliefs and values distorted, the change required to restore our nation has always come from the bottom up from our people.

[DrFunkenstein]

14. I've Got A Bridge To The 21st Century I'd Like To Sell You

Dean has always been a little heavy on the sloganeering, but that doesn't mean you have to take him seriously.

"We have slavishly spewed sound bites." Now there's a slogan I can rally behind!

[Cha]

19. Dean has a way with words and his words mean something

unlike the empty words of the bushwa!

And Dean's words are remembered! So what if they sound good in a sound byte? It's what's behind them that's really important and Dean has the goods to back it up!

[JohnKleeb]

16. If its about ideals then why I am told by many of you all

and I am in no mood for missionary work, thats not my job as a Kucinich supporter my job is to help others share his vision. Now as I was to the Dean supporters, I respect your choice but I noticed a lot of you are being pragamatic in your choice. At least thats your reason for not being in Kucinich for president. That we dont have an official slogan to my knowledge. We do have a nice little motto that "this is the moment" and a little saying that we must dispel the myth that war is inevitful. Best of luck to both the Kerry campaign and Dean campaign. I meant no harm in what I said I was just making observations and you all can be pragamatic if you like.

[vi5]

7. Oh brother.....

You know, my fellow Dean supporters can turn even the most innocuous statement into caus for a defensive posture. I'm not a Kerry supporter so I don't know what his "goals" are. I'm a Dean supporter.

I personally think campaign slogans or names are silly. Saying "Dean for America" ultimately means no more than Kerry saying "American Courage" or Bush saying "Compassionate Conservatism". And to be honest with you any person on any side of the aisle who repeats this shit ad nauseum, whether they are on the same side as I am or not, or supporting the same candidate as I am or not, is in my personal opinion taking things a little too seriously.

But what else is new.

[Cha]

8. This is some Serious Shit ...getting bush out of that White House!

[AWD]

3. For the most part...

...people will not question the message behind what you say. Most people rarely read beyond the headline, hear beyond the sound bite, explore beyond the initial thought.

And if Kerry can recapture the word "courage" and re-associate it with his party and his campaign, good for him.

[vi5]

9. I agree good for him....It wasn't a Kerry dig...

My main post was stating my personal opinion using both Kerry and Dean as examples. An overly defensive Dean poster then felt compelled to state why Dean's silly slogan is clearly of much more gravity and importance than Kerry's silly slogan.

On edit: Should be above.

[genius]

11. It's a good name

Personally I think he has a lot of courage.

[virtualobserver]

12. I do too...

I just think that it's a lot like naming your car lot "Honest John's Used Cars".......I think that it is fine to talk about events in your life that illustrate your courage, but telling them that you are a thing is setting yourself up for a fall.

[JohnKleeb]

17. I agree too

You have to have a lot of it to get on Tricky Dick's enemy list and fight in a war.

[George_Bonanza]

15. What else is he going to call it?

The American Harley Tour? The American Windsurfing Tour?

Kerry's launchpad is the 'Nam experience, which is a big card in a time of war against terrorism. It's spreading awareness and making it the focal point as an introduction to Kerry.

[DrFunkenstein]

18. I'd Go With "Kicking Ass And Chewing Bubblegum Tour"

And Kerry's all out of bubblegum!

<>

Powers of darkness, I summon thee!

[blm]

20. It's for Americans to show THEIR courage to change this nation

for the better. To stand up and be contributing citizens. To have the courage to change their dependency from oil and move to alternative and renewable fuels.

It's also to show Americans that the Democrats ARE the party of courage. This is a big slap in the face to the chickenhawks who tried to destroy Max Cleland and other Democrats who know more about courage than the entire GOP party.

They'll change the media-conditioned mindset of the American people in this regard. Be grateful.