Should Kerry take advantage of the OBLtape and use it against Bush ?

[kentuck]

Since Bush and Co. did not want the video to be made public and had requested al Jazeera not to make it public, obviously they did not think it wa going ot benefit them. They are scared to death of anything Osama.

And today, Bush makes a request to Kerry to not make it a "political" issue. Why? Because he knows it could hurt him very badly, in my opinion. So the question is, should Kerry use this against the Boy King?

[PaDem]

1. I think Kerry should tactfully.........

be reminding voters that Bush had a chance to reel in Bin Laden at Tora Bora and that Bush said OBL was marginalized. Kerry should remind voters that the president cares about our security just like he does, but that he has dropped the ball here.

[T Roosevelt]

2. I think there's opportunity for a side group

don't think the campaign should directly attack. But I do think that *'s previous comments about not thinking about bin Laden should definitely be in an ad.

[Beetwasher]

3. Kerry's Whole Campaign Has Been a PREEMPTIVE STRIKE Already

in regard to this tape. Everyone knows what he's said about OBL getting away and Chimpy taking his eye off the ball. Today proved he was right.

His statement today was enough.

Bush is already changing the subject because he wants people to forget about this tape as quickly as possible. Bush failed and it's now glaringly obvious to everyone.

[bettyellen]

4. shouldn't jump on it, stay w/ what he's been sayin osama's still out there

nobody's used the "not thinking about osama too much" in an ad yet?
it has to be out there already.

[rndmprsn]

5. yes...but very carefully, but the point needs to be made...

that the reason why OBL is still out there and able to threaten us is becuase of W's bad decisions...tora bora, iraq, etc...

[aden_nak]

6. Don't use the tape, but DO use bin Laden.

Point out that he is still at large, and clearly is comfortable enough to start sending out messages again. Leave the CONTENT of the tape alone, since it really could influence people either way.

Let Bush explain why he hasn't caught bin Laden. Other than the fact that he's "really not that concerned about him".

[Lorien]

7. The best defense

is a good offense. If Kerry doesn't point out the obvious, BushCo will take advantage and put Kerry on the defense.

[DemocracyInaction]

8. Now that I finally located and read the thing-----------

I would suggest that NONE of the Dems get into this. Osama has his points--right at Bush. But, if we even remotely REMOTELY agree, Kerry will lose this election 98% to 1 (the other 1 going to Nader). Don't touch this with a 10,000 foot pole. No comment. No frickin nothing. Let it just stand. Any hint that Kerry thinks "okay bin-baby" is the end of Kerry.

[Walt Starr]

9. No, Kerry should remain positive for the rest of the campaign

Kerry's surrogates should attack Bush over the bin Laden tape.

[The Magistrate]

10. The Thing Should Certainly Be Used, My Friend

It cuttingly re-emphasizes the failures of the criminals of the '00 Coup in prosecuting the war against the Islamic fundamentalist radicals who atacked our country. It gives new edge and further sustains the line that the criminals missed a golden opportunity to catch this wretch by "outsourcing" the job at Tora Bora, and to the colossal distraction from this vital effort the invasion of Iraq reoresents. It drives home to the people that for all the bluster of the Andover cheerleader, all his "Dead or alive" and "We'll smoke 'em out" and his "You can run but you can't hide" posturings, the fact is that Bin Ladin has indeed evaded the might of the United States, as this has been directed by this criminally incompetent administration, and is still in operation and doing quite well for himself. It is an excellent and sovereign reminder of the failures of this administration in what most people consider a vital matter, and gives the lie entirely to the Andover cheerleader's pretense that he is up to the job of protecting the nation. For that, better to turn to someone who has actually closed with an armed enemy, and shot him dead.

These are things that might be best addressed through independent group advertisements, that could bundle the statements by the cowboy, including the "I'm not too worried about him anymore" statement he denied in the final debate, and run these in association with the specter of Bin Laden behind the lectern, closing perhaps with: "The terrorists aren't too worried about HIM either..." or some such.

A thing like this, of course, would excite tremendous press interest, and put the question to many campaign surrogates, and even to the candidates themselves, on numerous occassions. Thus it would be out, with all its bite, but hands at the top could remain clean as necessary in such a circumstance....

"Always kick a man when he's down."

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[hansolsen]

11. Two possible avenues of attack for right now.

1. Bush tried to hush this tape up -- at least the State Dept did. Still covering up bad news. Didn't want American people to know OBL still alive -- wanted that to be held until after election. That's not good, IMO.

2. Bush's formal statemnt simple said, "I'm sure John Kerry agrees with me"

Wehn I initially heard that I did not think it meant he and Kerry had met and agreed on a united front in their response. Bush should have acknowledged in his speech, that Kerry had, in fact, agreed to support bush in his statement.

Bush made it sound like he was demanding agreement, or expecting agreement, rather than that he already had agreement. That's not nice, IMO.

[gardenista]

12. Surrogates on full offensive. Kerry nothing but positive.

This is tailor made for Dean and Clark. But they MUST be very steady. No going off the message.

[Mr_Spock]

13. Kerry should smash it over Bush's head like a brick

Kick the shit out of the Boy-King!

[Gyre]

14. absolutely not.

Res ipsa locquitur means The thing speaks for itself as evidence.

Kerry, speaking to it directly is fraught w/ danger while leaving it alone, or only making oblique references to it, is the way to go if the momentum is really with him. There's no way for the chimp to make hay with it. It's only hurt him more. Chickens coming home to roost. Accountability; ain't it great! Just my 2 centavos.:)

Gyre

[Davis_X_Machina]

15. The tape is simply reinforcing what Kerry has said for months.

The absolute perversity, the sheer stupidity of Bush's policy WRT Iraq is only highlighted by the tape.

Here's OBL calling out the President.

This is what 'safer, because we removed Saddam' looks like?

This is what 'our victory in Iraq, the most important front in the War on Terror' gets us?

Bush *is* the war in Iraq, fought by his choice, at a time of his choosing, against his chosen enemy.

Iraq is the centerpiece of this administration's terrorist policy.

And the mind-numbing irrelevance of the whole fiasco is thrown into even starker relief by the reappearence of OBL.

Hell, if I were the GOP, I'd file an FEC complaint against Al Qaeda.

[Kellis]

17. I agree.

The fact that OBL has shown up again is bad news for *.It reminds people that OBL was the one responsible for 9/11 and brings up the fact that Iraq didn't have WMDs and now the explosives missing and still unsecured in Iraq and our men are dying and OBL is healthy and alive making videos.
And don't forget the famous quote "Im not concerned about him"


INCOMPETANCE at its finest.
:kick:

[RafterMan]

16. Third-tier surrogates and Dem pundits

should attack with it.

Kerry can keep his hands clean.

[KC21304]

18. He doesn't need to mention the tape but should keep pounding

on the idea of Bush's poor judgement of taking resources from the hunt for bin Laden to go after Saddam. This point should be emphasized because the people have just been reminded big time that it was bin Laden who plannned 9/11.

And I wish Clark and others would start really hitting on the fact that this chickenshit has the nerve to say Kerry does not have what it takes to be Commander in Chief. And it is time to talk about Kerry's Senate record. Way past time I think. The BCCI investigations that shut down terrorists funding etc.

[tableturner]

19. Bush just attacked Kerry on Tora Bora issue....

The first speech by Bush after his somewhat middle of the road statement on the tarmac, was maybe the harshest attack yet on Kerry. Bush slammed Kerry's criticism of his Tora Bora strategy. And he slammed him hard!

Every time during this campaign when people have told Democrats not to attack, not to be partisan, to be totally positive, and to stick to the issues, ad infinitum, EVERYTIME the Democrats complied, all that happened was that they got ravaged by Bush's people (and his surrogate scorch and burn commandos). Not only that, but they got ravaged while lying down and taking it.

And what was the result? Rising poll numbers for Bush, and lower numbers for Kerry.

Once Kerry faught back hard, the tables were being turned. So what are we going to do now? Are we going to act like we did when we put on our Pollyanna convention, a convention followed by the full bore all out attack dog mentality of the GOP convention? Are we going to take the high road, blithely thinking that the public will reject the attacks, only to find out the opposite (Swift Boats)?

Are we going to roll over yet again, and do what the whores and our opponents admonish us to do, while being steamrolled to oblivion? Remember "Al Gore better not use Bill Clinton, otherwise he may get burned by the association with Clinton's scandals"? Remember "Al Gore better not use Bill Clinton because Clinton will outshine him and make him look bad"? How stupid was it for the Gore campaign to be talked into that BY THEIR POLITICAL ENEMIES, especially when Clinton's approval ratings were at or near all time highs!

The whores and the Bush people are putting this meme out so that Kerry allows himself to be steamrolled. Why do what your opponents want you to do?

The incompetence of Bush's handling of terrorism, letting bin Laden get away, shifting our military and intelligence resources to a country that did not attack us, and shifting them away from those who DID attack us, that is a cornerstone of the Kerry attack on Bush's competence. We must continue to use it. Bush and his crew will attack, and HAVE attacked, non-stop, and if Kerry waits a day or two to respond in kind, he will have been snookered into giving away the election, because it will then be too late.

While the GOP constantly attacks with lies, Kerry should truthfully attack, and he should attack not only now, he should continue attacking all the way to the end. The attack? He should point out that Bush's incompetence in Afghanistan, and his incompetence in shifting resources to iraq, is WHY bin Laden appeared on TV screens around the nation today.

Look....when WE attack, we actually ARE taking the high road, because we are telling the TRUTH! Think about THAT. I say it again: attack, attack, and attack!

[calmblueocean]

22. Well said.

Presentation is important. How we attack is important. But we need to attack. Bush is vulnerable here, and he knows it. The American people are waiting to see who will come out the strongest. Now is Kerry's opportunity.

I think a good way to start the ball rolling is to wait for a reporter to ask about Osama, and say, "The American people saw the difference between President Bush and myself regarding Osama bin Laden during the debates. They know how I feel."

Let the press dredge up the debate footage of Kerry articulating clearly how the president has botched the war on terror by focusing on Iraq, not Osama and al Qaeda. And then, they'll have to replay Bush's "ex-agg-er-ation" remark, which of course, must be followed by the "I'm not concerned" quote.

I think Kerry's laid the groundwork here. All he needs to do is call attention to it.

[delete_bush]

20. No can do. Just heard that O'Reilly acquired

all rights to the tapes.

[sampsonblk]

21. He should maybe add "Osama is now taunting us"

It adds to Kerry's point.

[billyoc]

23. I don't think Kerry should alter his endgame

He's already eviscerated * on national security anyway, coincidentally by mentioning Osama non Grata often(ironic, eh?). So I don't think he's really got to alter his message now.

[DinahMoeHum]

24. Absolutely. He should bash Bush with it. Bush and the GOP

can't win any so-called "war on terrorism" because their own mythologies and ideologies about government, the free market, religion, etc. come crashing against the stone wall of the real world.

:kick:

[ciaobox]

25. It's not a matter of "taking advantage" of the tape...

This issue transcends politics. It IS, however, about the truth. And the truth hurts Bush. Kerry has been speaking the truth about this issue for months and this tape is just another piece of evidence that Bush is a miserable failure.