Kerry staff enforces be-positive mandate for Democratic Convention speaker

[never cry wolf]

Maybe this will explain a bit on Obama today:

Kerry staff enforces be-positive mandate for Democratic Convention speakers

RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
Sunday, July 25, 2004

(07-25) 14:01 PDT BOSTON (AP) --

In a windowless room beneath the podium, a team of speechwriters is imposing John Kerry's will on the words of the other speakers at the Democratic National Convention. Their orders: Go easy on the Bush bashing.

Each speech is read and re-read, heavily edited and rehearsed as part of a tightly controlled process designed to impress independent voters who are tired of negative politics. Mindful of polls showing voters say they need more information about Kerry, the team also is ensuring that speeches are laced with the candidate's biography and policies.

snip---------------

One speaker submitted a text that accused Bush of "failing to fund No Child Left Behind," his education initiative. The line was softened by the speechwriting staff to say, "We can do better. We need to fund No Child Left Behind."

A congressman's claim that Bush has "deceived Americans" about Iraq was watered down in a revised draft to promise that Kerry will never go to war without ample reason.

The speechwriters kept intact about 75 percent of keynote speaker Barack Obama's speech, adding references to Kerry policy and rephrasing some points to echo the language used by Kerry.

snip---------------

The Kerry strategy is based on polls showing more than 90 percent of voters firmly aligned with one party or another, with as little as 5 percent up for grabs. Kerry's polling shows that those "persuadable" voters don't like negative politics. They give Bush poor approval ratings, but they still aren't comfortable enough with Kerry to vote against the incumbent.

"Swing and independent voters are very much up for grabs. Kerry has to make the sale, and he has a long way to go to make the sale," said Harold Ickes, who helped run President Clinton's re-election convention in 1996.

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