Village Voice: Kerry Must Go

[Awimoway]

Link: John Kerry Must Go (http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0417/mondo1.php)

WASHINGTON, D.C.— With the air gushing out of John Kerry's balloon, it may be only a matter of time until political insiders in Washington face the dread reality that the junior senator from Massachusetts doesn't have what it takes to win and has got to go. As arrogant and out of it as the Democratic political establishment is, even these pols know the party's got to have someone to run against George Bush. They can't exactly expect the president to self-destruct into thin air.

(Continued…)

Realizing that the Village Voice is just a little to the left of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, I at least agree that his campaign has been, thus far, abominable. Every day is spent batting down some new idiotic rumor or false accusation. It's not that any of them have a whole lot of merit (except the one about Kerry's wishy-washy voting record), it's that they keep taking control of the news away from him. It reminds me of the Hack-a-Shaq defense in basketball—the sheer volume of harrassment and lies, however trifling, is keeping him constantly off his game.

[numediaman]

I think that a column like this is really meant to kick Kerry in the butt. Ridgeway knows full well that the party can't get rid of Kerry at this point -- afterall, Kerry has the delegates and can tell them all to take a hike.

But the point is valid: anybody who could be behind Bush in the polls at this point can't be running a good campaign.

[wwworry]

The poll numbers show a few points difference without much good work by Kerry. Also I have heard sid that most undecideds go for the challenger because they already know the president and if they liked him they would be for him already. So ...

[Lyle]

When I heard this yesterday afternoon on the drive home from work, my first thought (after regaining control of the car, of course) was:
"When the Village Voice is calling for the Democratic candidate for President to bow out of the race, I probably need to seriously rethink my beliefs about the liberal media bias." ;)

[Neserk]

When I heard this yesterday afternoon on the drive home from work, my first thought (after regaining control of the car, of course) was:
"When the Village Voice is calling for the Democratic candidate for President to bow out of the race, I probably need to seriously rethink my beliefs about the liberal media bias." ;)


yeah... ;)

[Thomas Veil]

I have to admit, after hearing a few of Kerry's speeches, I don't think he has the charisma to gain the hearts and minds of voters. Sometimes it's kinda like watching a cadaver give a speech. Even Gore had more personality, for God's sake.

In an ideal world, people will vote for a guy strictly on the issues, but in reality, Kerry's likability factor will play into whether a lot of people vote for him or not.

[numediaman]

New NY Times/CBS poll information:

3. Is your opinion of George W. Bush favorable, not favorable, undecided, or haven't you heard enough about George W. Bush yet to have an opinion?
. . . . . . . . . . .Favorable . . Not Favorable . . .Undecided
7/13-16 2002 . . . . 64. . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . . . 13
4/23-27 2004 . . . . 38 . . . . . . .43 . . . . . . . . . . 18

I've attached a copy of the entire poll results:

[SlyHunter]

New NY Times/CBS poll information:

3. Is your opinion of George W. Bush favorable, not favorable, undecided, or haven't you heard enough about George W. Bush yet to have an opinion?
. . . . . . . . . . .Favorable . . Not Favorable . . .Undecided
7/13-16 2002 . . . . 64. . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . . . 13
4/23-27 2004 . . . . 38 . . . . . . .43 . . . . . . . . . . 18

I've attached a copy of the entire poll results:
Same link

2. Is your opinion of John Kerry favorable, not favorable, undecided,
haven’t you heard enough about John Kerry yet to have an opinion?
....................favorable..Not Favorable...Undecided..Havn't heard enough
4/23-27/04*........27.............33................26...................14

5. was who would you want for pres 46 kerry 44 Bush They keep refering to 6. in 7 and 8 but I believe it was a mistake being that Q. 5 was about picking which one.

7. Would you describe your support for George W. Bush as strongly favoring
him, or do you like him but with reservations, or do you support him because
you dislike the other candidates?
.......................................Like with
................Strongly favor..reservations..Dislike others..DK/NA
4/23-27/04*...55.................35....................8.............2

IF ANSWERED “JOHN KERRY” IN Q.6, ASK:
8. Would you describe your support for John Kerry as strongly favoring him,
or do you like him but with reservations, or do you support him because you
dislike the other candidates?
.......................................Like with
................Strongly favor..reservations..Dislike others..DK/NA
4/23-27/04*..........32.............28.................38...........2

Seems to me more folks vote Democrats not because they like Kerry but because they hate Bush.

[Durandal7]

The Village Voice is being rather sensible.

John Edwards was the guy to run. He was running a positive campaign that didn't have to constantly fall back on shredding Bush or the other Democrat candidates. He had not been a politician very long which made him harder to attack. Most importantly in my view was how he was able to take a budget that was a lot smaller than the other candidates and come in second in most primaries, that's the mark of an effective politician.

All I can say is that the debates between Bush and Kerry are going to be pretty damn depressing.

[Awimoway]

He had not been a politician very long which made him harder to attack.

That's the same philosophy that got us GW Bush and Quayle in the exectutive, and Souter and Thomas on the Supreme Court. I know it wins campaigns, but it sucks when you've got an incompetent in office.

[Awimoway]

Seems to me more folks vote Democrats not because they like Kerry but because they hate Bush.

You can count me in that group.

[Don't panic]

Seems to me more folks vote Democrats not because they like Kerry but because they hate Bush.

And because many people thinks that Bush is a misguided incompetent and that nobody could do worse.
You should give it a thought too

[SlyHunter]

Originally Posted by SlyHunter

Seems to me more folks vote Democrats not because they like Kerry but because they hate Bush.

And because many people thinks that Bush is a misguided incompetent and that nobody could do worse.
You should give it a thought too
Maybe they should vote Libertarian. I heard they have a Presidential candidate but his name excapes me at the moment.

[Awimoway]

Maybe they should vote Libertarian. I heard they have a Presidential candidate but his name excapes me at the moment.

Ah no.

They want to beat Bush.

[Dippo]

...Seems to me more folks vote Democrats not because they like Kerry but because they hate Bush.

Most of the people I know that are voting for Kerry are voting for him because he is not Bush.

Kerry is running on the "I am not Bush" bandwagon, and while that might work, it's a bad reason to vote for someone.

[Neserk]

Most of the people I know that are voting for Kerry are voting for him because he is not Bush.

Kerry is running on the "I am not Bush" bandwagon, and while that might work, it's a bad reason to vote for someone.


VOting to get rid of Bush is a *good* reason to vote. In fact, if Mickey Mouse was running on the Democratic ticket, I'd vote for him. *ANYONE* is better than Bush. That says a lot about how *bad* Bush is.

What is truly sad is how blind people are to Bush and that they actually still stand behind him. That is what boggles my mind. Open your eyes, people.

[SlyHunter]

VOting to get rid of Bush is a *good* reason to vote. In fact, if Mickey Mouse was running on the Democratic ticket, I'd vote for him. *ANYONE* is better than Bush. That says a lot about how *bad* Bush is.

What is truly sad is how blind people are to Bush and that they actually still stand behind him. That is what boggles my mind. Open your eyes, people.
Things I don't like about Bush. His speach abilities are about as bad as mine. He tried to out liberal the liberals by throwing money at them. He put in a reduction in the tax code for capital gains when it would've been smarter to allow the corporations to write dividends off as tax write offs like they do their payroll. He wasted 13 months trying to convince the brick wall, called the UN (more specifically the French with their veto) to do something about Saddam instead of doing something about Saddam and got lucky Saddam didn't use the time to beef up his forces and increase our casualty count. I am sure there are other stuff.

I'm still voting for him because the alternative is Kerry :p The alternative is an appeaser who will give our countries soveriegnity to the UN where we would no longer be in charge of our own armed forces or even our own court system. The alternative is trying to pay off terrorists instead of showing them that terrorism doesn't pay. Problem is I hear lately suspicions that Bush is starting to pay off some terrorists to help make us look good. A vote for Kerry is a vote to stack the supreme court so they will legislate from the bench the next time the Republicans gain majority usurping their authority. Where they will judge based on other countries opinion or their own instead of the constitution which they are suppose to abide by. And extremely important a vote for Kerry is a vote for taking money from the people who earned it and giving it to folks who didn't.

fine I wish we had a better choice, but we don't.

[Krizoitz]

Things I don't like about Bush. His speach abilities are about as bad as mine. He tried to out liberal the liberals by throwing money at them. He put in a reduction in the tax code for capital gains when it would've been smarter to allow the corporations to write dividends off as tax write offs like they do their payroll. He wasted 13 months trying to convince the brick wall, called the UN (more specifically the French with their veto) to do something about Saddam instead of doing something about Saddam and got lucky Saddam didn't use the time to beef up his forces and increase our casualty count. I am sure there are other stuff.

I'm still voting for him because the alternative is Kerry :p The alternative is an appeaser who will give our countries soveriegnity to the UN where we would no longer be in charge of our own armed forces or even our own court system. The alternative is trying to pay off terrorists instead of showing them that terrorism doesn't pay. Problem is I hear lately suspicions that Bush is starting to pay off some terrorists to help make us look good. A vote for Kerry is a vote to stack the supreme court so they will legislate from the bench the next time the Republicans gain majority usurping their authority. Where they will judge based on other countries opinion or their own instead of the constitution which they are suppose to abide by. And extremely important a vote for Kerry is a vote for taking money from the people who earned it and giving it to folks who didn't.

fine I wish we had a better choice, but we don't.

Here's my problem with your argument. You make all these accusations about Kerry but they are pure speculation. My opinion on it is this. Bush had four years to try and impress me. He had four years to try and convince me that he was a good president. He had four years to try and fulfill his campaign promises. In those four years the only thing he has proved to me is that he is quite possibly the worst president in the history of the United States.

He was elected on the slimmest of margins, indicating that the people didn't want any drastic changes, yet he swept in with a conservative agenda that makes Ronald Regan look like a hippy. Whats even worse is he campaigned as a compassionate conservative. All I can say is that if a Constitutional ammendmant against gay marriage is compassionate I'd hate to see him being uncompassionate.

Add to that the crooked energy dealings and leading us into a war based on lies and I've had just about enough.

I can't say I'm particularly thrilled with Kerry, i disagree with him on some issues, but I can't imagine him being WORSE than George W. Bush. He had his chance and he blew it. I'm more than willing to give Kerry a chance, and if you care about your country you should seriously think about that.

[Awimoway]

Wow Krisoitz, you surprise me. I had you pegged for a died-in-the-wool conservative. I guess it's because I don't frequent the political forum much…

[Krizoitz]

Wow Krisoitz, you surprise me. I had you pegged for a died-in-the-wool conservative. I guess it's because I don't frequent the political forum much…

Heh :-) Yeah I surprise alot of people that way, I'm pretty much an independent, but when you frequent a place that is populated by so many liberals it tends to skew me to the right.

[iceman17505]

I think that Kerry has no spine. Also, I think that President Bush is doing a great job. Everyone who is a Bush basher is not informed with the real facts.

[SlyHunter]

Here's my problem with your argument. You make all these accusations about Kerry but they are pure speculation. My opinion on it is this. Bush had four years to try and impress me. He had four years to try and convince me that he was a good president. He had four years to try and fulfill his campaign promises. In those four years the only thing he has proved to me is that he is quite possibly the worst president in the history of the United States.

He was elected on the slimmest of margins, indicating that the people didn't want any drastic changes, yet he swept in with a conservative agenda that makes Ronald Regan look like a hippy. Whats even worse is he campaigned as a compassionate conservative. All I can say is that if a Constitutional ammendmant against gay marriage is compassionate I'd hate to see him being uncompassionate.

Add to that the crooked energy dealings and leading us into a war based on lies and I've had just about enough.

I can't say I'm particularly thrilled with Kerry, i disagree with him on some issues, but I can't imagine him being WORSE than George W. Bush. He had his chance and he blew it. I'm more than willing to give Kerry a chance, and if you care about your country you should seriously think about that.
I get it everything bad I said about Bush was pure fact and everything bad I said about Kerry was pure speculation and had nothing to do with his voting history. Hmmmm.

[Bhennies]

Everyone who is a Bush basher is not informed with the real facts.That's not a very intelligent comment. Many people would argue the opposite.

[numediaman]

That's not a very intelligent comment. Many people would argue the opposite.

Iceman was a troll -- check out his profile. Who know, maybe he was Sly under another name.

[Awimoway]

I get it everything bad I said about Bush was pure fact and everything bad I said about Kerry was pure speculation and had nothing to do with his voting history. Hmmmm.

I'm glad you understand. Bush has an established record as president. Kerry does not. So, yes, it is pure speculation. Wild, raving, paranoid speculation at that. Surrendering sovereignty to the UN? Please. If Democrats were going to do that it would have happened years ago. This is the same idiotic cold war notion that Democrats were in bed with the communists, wrapped in new clothing. It didn't hold water then and it doesn't now.

Following your logic, there are only two paths in foreign policy: vigilante unilateralism or handing over the keys of government to the UN. This is why most outsiders see America as a nation of 2-year-olds. We can't play nice with others. Anyone even suggests the words "trust" or "cooperation" and we fly off the handle playing the sovereignty card again. It's time to grow up.

[Don't panic]

He wasted 13 months trying to convince the brick wall, called the UN (more specifically the French with their veto) to do something about Saddam instead of doing something about Saddam and got lucky Saddam didn't use the time to beef up his forces and increase our casualty count.

If we had attacked Iraq on february 1st 2001, like you and that friggin' liberal we have as a president would have wanted, we would have gone in with even less preparation (if it's possible), less international support and we'd have been bogged down there for an extra 25 months, at 100+ casualties a month. no thanks.

I wish we had a better choice, but we don't.

'course you do. Vote Nader.

[Neserk]

Also, I think that President Bush is doing a great job.

He is. He is doing a great job at destroying the constitution and the economy and the country.

Edit: and destroying other coutries. (thanks, Skunk).

[skunk]

He is. He is doing a great job at destroying the constitution and the economy and the country.
He's not doing too badly overseas, either.

[Neserk]

He's not doing too badly overseas, either.

oops... forgot that...