Reply #32: IMO, Kerry was a flawed candidate.... [View All]

[Leilani]

Were there voting problems? Sure.
Was there voter syppression? Sure.
Should there have been more voting machines? Sure.

But step back & look at the big picture. Bush is not universally loved, not even in his own party. This was a lesser of 2 evils election.

Put Ohio aside, what about the other states, where Kerry should have done really well? In many states, traditionally blue, Bush got a lot more votes than he did in 2000, which accounted for his popular vote.

Two examples: New Jersey & Hawaii...both safely Dem, but have experienced the results of terrorism. N.J. because of proximity to NY & 9/11, Hawaii because of an economy that took such a nosedive after 9/11. Also, Hawaii has had some terror scares, & as it's location puts it in threatened situation. (remember plot to blow up planes over the Pacific? I do, because I was flying out of Honolulu that day.)

Why was Bush able to increase his vote in all these safely Dem states?
Because Kerry never gave an answer to what he would do about terrorism. Kerry's background as a Mass.lib, including his Senate voting record, did not assure many people that he could be efective in keeping us safe.

Kerry didn't show any passion or anger. He remained remotely aloof, as when he went wind surfing. He stayed on vacation when attacked, & those Swift Boat Ads were seriously damaging. As the Plaid Adder wrote, she knew Bush...she never knew John Kerry.

But look at the grass roots...they worked their hearts out, not for Kerry, but for their country. They made Dems competitive financially for the first time in ages. And if it wasn't for this massive grass roots effort, I believe Kerry would have been trounced. The ground troops kept him competitive, where it came down to 1 state, Ohio.

John Kerry is a cautious politician...everything must be weighed, discussed, polled. People wanted a leader, & they didn't see that in Kerry. And if you want additional proof, just look at his behavior since the election. He never does anything, unless it's politically expedient.

Look at his left over money. When negative stories hit the press, he donated money to the DNC. And the same for the recounts...he didn't help until he had to. He's running for 2008. And he still doesn't understand that so much of his support was for getting rid of Bush.

So flame away, if you'd like. I've been angry about this campaign & election, & instead of cooling off, I'm getting angrier. The next 4 years are going to be pretty ugly. And we should have had a blowout of an election. We had the troops, we just didn't have a leader.

My final rant: Americans think they're at war, & Kerry's FIRST major decision of his candidacy is to select a Personal Injury Attorney as Veep, with almost no experience in foreign affairs, nat'l security.
Why? He polled best. A politically expedient decision, after he said he would choose the most "experienced" person. What about Biden, Graham, etc.? It showed he doesn't mean what he says.