John's Blog

Trust me; it pains me to accept this as an outcome, but unless Kerry comes out swinging soon, the possibility that we could be subjected to another four years of "W" looms as an ugly possibility. Although the advantages of a post convention bounce "might" wear off, the fact that he experienced as much of an upward swing as he did is disturbing.

Many might think that Kerry can gain the upper hand in the upcoming debates, but those scare me more than the bounce we are seeing now. Given all of George's shortcomings, he has historically done very well debating the opponents he's faced in the past, just ask Al Gore and Ann Richards. Although he usually isn't as articulate as his opponents, he projects a Joe Sixpack kind of likeability. He comes across as the kind of guy you'd like to have over at your next barbecue.....nice for a summer afternoon but not great qualifications for the "leader of the freeworld".

This "likeable dumbass" charisma seems to play well to the masses. Non threateningly I guess...."hey, he's one of us." Most people will tolerate a dimwit, but they hate professorial eggheads, and Bush has proven himself successful at painting his opponents into this role. Maybe I'm selling the common man short, but most will lack the knowledge, the critical judgment, or the will to sort through the arguments and misrepresentations presented in the debates and will accept the "feel good" lies presented by President Sound Bite. Who doesn't like to hear that they are good looking and popular, even when they know that isn't the case?

The Bush camp will continue to link 9/11 and the war in Iraq like they did again at the RNC. Getting people stirred up and fearful leads to a suspension of rational thought (if indeed, that was going to take place at all) so that people will be be more likely to respond to the "rally 'round the flag" rhetoric. He will continue to sew seeds of doubt about Kerry's ability to lead and encourage fear of making a change during these trying times. Most people seem willing to forgive his lack of concern about terrorism before 9/11, and accept his post 9/11 response as a justification for everything he's done internationally and as a qualification for a 2nd term. His convention speech where he promises a crusade for liberty with God on our side sounds frighteningly like those radical elements that we are fighting against.

He'll keep pointing towards his plans for the future, since there is so very little in his performance of the last four years which reflects the promises he made in the last campaign. The claims of "Compassionate Conservative" will be bandied around again despite the fact that the number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of the uninsured swelled by 1.4 million, according to the latest Census Bureau report. Approximately 35.8 million people lived below the poverty line in 2003, or about 12.5 percent of the population, according to the bureau. His compassion seems to work better if you are a large corporation or a rich white guy.

I hope I'm wrong, but we've shown our love of cowboys before (and I'm not talking Deadwood here). Who knew that someone could make Reagan look like a moderate? Time and time again, I hear people applaud Bush for being decisive, which seems to be his prime qualification for leadership. What ever happened to being right?

This little rant makes me feel better...but not much. Let's hope I feel better in November.