Paul Krugman on Kerry Campaign

[Smarmie Doofus]

The unfailingly perceptive Mr. Krugman in yesterday's NY Times (Taking on the Myth, p.23):

"If Senator Kerry really has advisers telling him not to attack Mr. Bush on national security, he should dump them. When Dick Cheney is saying vote Bush or die, responding with speeches about jobs and health care doesn't cut it."

Pretty much confirms my feeling that the Dem brain trust is on automatic... running the same campaign they have run every four years since Mondale. (Note this strategy has failed in EVERY instance except Clinton... and Clinton's election was freakish: 44% plurality in a three way race against an incumbent presiding over a MISERABLE economy.)

Krugman again: "Can Mr. Kerry, who voted to authorize the war, criticize it? Yes, by pointing out that he voted only top give Mr. Bush a big stick. Once that stick had forced Saddam to let WMD inspectors back in, there was no need to invade."


Well put, I think.

Paul

[NightOwwl]

1. He is absolutely right.

Enough with "The Plan" already. I hope the Kerry campaign is listening.

[unblock]

2. terribly put

instead of criticizing kerry's campaign for not attacking cheney's "vote bush or die" comment, the kerry critics should simply attack cheney's "vote bush or die" comment themselves.

the republican campaigns do well not because the campaign itself does such great political things, but because they have a vast, loud noise machine to support the campaign's daily message.

democrats have a campaign whose message is routinely drowned out by a vast, loud chorus of critics and armchair quarterbacks.


kerry's campaign is doing nothing wrong.

WE are.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. It stands to reason...

that if the dem's message is "routinely drowned out" then they are, by definition, doing SOMETHING wrong.

I thought the idea, at least in part, was to "win" the election. How about finding a way to not be "routinely drowned out"? Replaying the '84,'88,92,and 2000 strategy does not seem promising in this respect.

Also, bristling at... and tuning out... constructive criticism is an absolute, 100% sure-fire way to lose this election.

No one wants Kerry to win more than Krugman. Except maybe me.

Paul