Democrats everywhere are watching the RNC and quavering in fear. The speakers are pushing all the right buttons, and America seems to be listening. Everyone at the convention seems to agree that Bush is the great leader who got us out of 9/11 and so is the obvious choice this election term. “Unwavering leadership” is mentioned so often that it has begun to meld into a single word.
The Dems’ biggest enemy has always been apathy, and the vote will likely be determined by whether key democratic voters in swing states actually show up at the polls. It seems that when Dems start talking loud and fighting tough, the Republicans answer by fighting back harder, but when the GOP really gets its dander up, the Dems slink back in their couches and take a swig of the beverage of their choice in resignation.
The way I see it, Kerry’s biggest liability is the fact that he is a senator. Senators don’t “lead,” they consort, they manipulate, they negotiate. It has been 44 years since a senator has been elected president (that would be Kennedy, for those of you keeping score at home). Senators have “voting records” that their opponents can point to as examples of their failings — never mind that a vote “against” a tax cut is usually a vote against a whole array of pork barrel projects with a “tax cut” thrown in. Senators have options, because they make the laws — it’s not about a tax cut or not tax cut, it’s about which of 35 different tax proposals is on balance the best compromise that has a chance of getting passed. All a president can do is say yes or no, which makes him seem like more of a “leader,” and makes it easier for him to pick on Kerry as a flip-flopper.
Interestingly, though Kerry may be trailing by a bit in the popular vote, the vote that counts is actually much closer: neither candidate has sewn up the electoral votes he needs to win. Just a few key states will turn the vote one way or the other. Running on September 11 isn’t going to win it for Bush, and running on Vietnam won’t win it for Kerry. Each candidate knows his job is to appeal to the swing voters in the swing states. No, Bush doesn’t have this thing wrapped up. Short of another terrorist act against the U.S. (which will ironically swing votes in favor of Bush), this thing’s going down to the wire.