Kerry Staff Enforces Be-Positive Mandate

[BaysideLiberal]

BOSTON - In a windowless room beneath the podium, a team of speechwriters is imposing John Kerry (news - web sites)'s will on the words of the other speakers at the Democratic National Convention. Their orders: Go easy on the Bush bashing.

<snip>

Keep it short. Speakers assumed they had more than the typical three minutes to deliver their remarks. Several egos were bruised.


_ Stick to the message. Each night of the convention has a theme, such as plans for America's future on Monday.


_ Keep it positive. Criticism of Bush is allowed, but only as a subtle or indirect dig when comparing Kerry's vision to Bush's record. Red meat won't be served at this convention.

<snip>

One speaker submitted a text that accused Bush of "failing to fund No Child Left Behind," his education initiative. The line was softened by the speechwriting staff to say, "We can do better. We need to fund No Child Left Behind."


A congressman's claim that Bush has "deceived Americans" about Iraq (news - web sites) was watered down in a revised draft to promise that Kerry will never go to war without ample reason

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040725/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_vetting_speeches&cid=536&ncid=536

comment : How is "Keep it Positive " going to Play?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I fear the reich wing will consider the Dems wimps

but I also understand Kerry's reasoning. He figures that he can take the high road, not bash Bush, and let Bush take himself down. Really all he has to do is point out some of the terrible things Bush has done to sway independents/undecided voters.

[wish_I_could_vote]

2. I think it is going to play very well

People are sick to death of the attack ads. This is Karry's chance to show what he is made of. Staying on the " we can do better " course seems to hit just the right note.

[Spiffarino]

5. It's true, there's a lot of "attack-ad fatigue" out here...

It's obvious Bush can't stand on his record, so all he can do is attack Kerry. Folks here in NC are sick and tired of this stuff. OTOH, Kerry's ads have all been positive, focusing on his vision for a better country. It's playing very well.

I was a little pissed at first, wanting him to come out swinging. Now I think I may have been wrong. It's smart.

[madaboutharry]

3. Damned if you do and

damned if you don't. Kerry has our votes. He needs the votes of independants and moderate republicans who may be willing to vote for a democrat. These people aren't going to respond to the kind of stuff we love here at DU. They think differently. These are the votes Kerry needs to win. He isn't going to make the mistakes Gore did of letting everything pass and running away from Clinton, but Bush bashing may not work well.

[Kahuna]

15. That's right. The repukes overplayed their hand with the nastiness

towards Clinton in '96 and '98. They lost. People don't like that kind of ugliness.

[Bluzmann57]

4. Not a bad idea

If this convention turns into a bush bashing fest, the RW media will jump all over the Dems as being "hateful, mean spirited," and on and on. If the Dems are portrayed in that matter, it could hurt, rather than help. Remember the repub convention in '92 where Buchanan waved a gun over his head and ripped immigration policies? That may have cost bush1 the election.

[lancdem]

10. I think this is the right approach

People already are souring on Bush - Kerry needs to make the sale that he has a positive agenda and vision.

[John_H]

18. Ed Gillispie and Bob Novack agree w/ you 100 percent.

The repugs have been praising the no attack policy all day.

[MikeG]

6. Al Gore and Ted Kennedy will get to rip Bush. No one else.

[JDPriestly]

7. I'm the first to bash Bush,

but I understand that Kerry should not do that. 1. It isn't his nature. 2. He is going to have to work with Bush's friends, no matter what happens. 3. The country as a whole is too divided.

Still, I think we who are not politicians have to continue to bash Bush because we need to remind ourselves and others how important it is to get rid of him.

[TahitiNut]

8. Uniform of the Week: Pink Tutus

Well, at least the musical accompaniment might be good. I like Tchaikovsky.

[MikeG]

9. Exhibit "A" : 1992 Rethug Convention.

Non-stop Clinton-Bashing. Two point bounce.

[Catt03]

11. Bull!

Let people give their speeches.

Hey speech dictators! We may have calmed down a little but we're still mad as hell!

Are they saying Howard Dean will stand up there and play nice nice with Bush? If that happens, I'll throw up.

[DrBB]

12. Good. Little "message discipline" for once

"Keep it short and keep it positive" is a VERY good strategy IMO. Plenty of anti-Bush stuff out there, and keeping the candidate--and the party--out of the mud is a winning strategy. It has been prominently noted a lot recently that Bush has been going ultra-negative ultra-early. Makes him look bad, makes them look desperate (which they are). Having the LUXURY to go positive--and to be seen to be having that luxury--is a very good position to be in and to be SEEN as being in.

[abburdlen]

13. Mom Was Right

If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say About Someone, Don't Say Anything At All: The Boomerang Effect Of Gossip Is Discovered

It's rather dated research but very timely

"politicians who allege corruption by their opponents may themselves be perceived as dishonest, critics who praise artists may themselves be perceived as talented, and gossips who describe others' infidelities may themselves be viewed as immoral."


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/1998-03/APA-MWRI-180398.php

[Rose Siding]

14. Censors

It's perfect.

"failing to fund" changed to "we need to fund". It had to be done.

[Gloria]

16. Might be OK since this is Kerry's big "intro" to the public on a large

scale, as long as he does point out some important differences...


I hope Kerry's speech is fairly short and in short sentences...crisp.

Then, I want to see the gloves off in ads and surrogates...hard hitting on the issues.

[John_H]

17. The only member of that team that has brains and guts is

the person who leaked the "strategy." Meanwhile, Chimp's speechwriters are editing convention speakers' texts to hit Kerry and the Dems harder. Is it just me, or does it seem like Kerry's people are trying to lose?

"The Kerry strategy is based on polls showing more than 90 percent of voters firmly aligned with one party or another, with as little as 5 percent up for grabs. Kerry's polling shows that those "persuadable" voters don't like negative politics. They give Bush poor approval ratings, but they still aren't comfortable enough with Kerry to vote against the incumbent."

So let's not say anything bad about him.