The most important moment of John Kerry's life

Joe Klein's column this week gets it all precisely right.

McClellan began to read from talking points. The "pessimists and naysayers" had been wrong, he said, about the Iraqi people's ability to establish a transitional government, a national council and a transitional law.[...]

My second thought was pretty wicked: Scott McClellan is beginning to sound like Baghdad Bob, the infamous spokesman for Saddam who announced hallucinatory Iraqi victories as the American troops closed in on Baghdad.

That's funny, but the stuff that the Kerry campaign needs to hear is at the end:

The Republicans, with a strong assist from Kerry, have successfully painted the Democrat as a flip-flopping incompetent when it comes to national security. It will be hard for Kerry to change that impression. In fact, he has only one chance remaining, in the presidential debates.

And that won't be easy: I've never seen George Bush lose a debate. He is a brilliant minimalist. Kerry by contrast is all oratorical flab—although he did begin to show some signs of life last week in a solid speech to the National Guard convention, in which he blasted Bush's "fantasy of spin" about Iraq. It is a powerful fantasy, though. And it is easy to predict Bush's response to any Kerry criticism about Iraq: "My opponent is too pessimistic," the President will say. "See, what he doesn't understand is that the President of the United States has to stand firm. We can't show weakness. And we won't on my watch." Unless Kerry can come off with a succinct, and lethal, response to those vaporous but compelling platitudes, he will lose this election.

If there is one paragraph in all of the writings of all the punditocracy that I would like Mary Beth Cahill and Tad Devine to read, it's that one. Surely, the most important moment of the entire election cycle will occur when Kerry is given the chance to critique the President's Iraq policy, and when he is forced to repond to a statement like "the President of the United States has to stand firm. We can't show weakness."

Unfortunately for our side and our country, the Republicans have managed to frame the words "nuance" and "complexity" in ways that denote weakness and indecision. It is essential that the Kerry campaign have a short, concise, and biting answer to the "stand firm" schtick. I don't know what it is, because all of the answers that I know take longer than 30 seconds to say. But I just hope that those people in the Kerry campaign are smarter than me, and that years of getting beaten in the communications game by Republicans will have made them mad enough to go for the jugular.

-- Michael

Comments

[d meyers]

The problem with Kerry's message may not be Kerry's fault at all. I think the tough possition Kerry is in is that at least 1/2 of his supporters are dead set against the War in Iraq. So if Kerry comes out and says anything besides quick pull out of Iraq he will piss off half his base.

Kerry is in a very difficult position. If he comes off in the debates as a hawk the anti-war left could stay home or vote for Nadar. If he comes off as a dove he gets the anti-war left but may lose a lot of those in the middle.

He is in a very tricky position.

[d meyers]

speaking of Iraq and Joe Klein, I think this is an interesting piece: (feel free to agree or disagree, just another piece to throw into the mix)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/09/19/do1902.xml

[D MEYERS]

Talk about burning bridges and allienating our allies:

John Kerry, today,

"Shortly after Allawi, the interim government's prime minister, gave a rosy portrayal of progress toward peace in Iraq, Kerry said the assessment contradicted reality on the ground.

``The prime minister and the president are here obviously to put their best face on the policy, but the fact is that the CIA estimates, the reporting, the ground operations and the troops all tell a different story,'' Kerry said. "

So know Kerry knows better what is going on in Iraq then Iraq's Prime Minister. What the hell is Kerry talking about that the troops are telling a different story. The troops are giving the most accurate, positive view of what is going on on the ground because they are all over the country. What the hell do the reporters know they are confined to safe zones.

Way to go Kerry, blast the prime minister of Iraq and say he doesn't know what he is talking about.