The Bush strategy will be simple.

[Jackpine Radical]

They'll use polls & focus groups to determine which issues they can most effectively use to "turn" people, and then they will find ways to paint Kerry negatively with respect to those issues. It doesn't really matter whether they represent Kerry accurately. There's always a way to dig some obscure vote out of his long Senate record to "prove" their case. Say, for example, he voted against some Reagan budget bill. The bill might have been an egregious attempt to cut social programs, and contained a reduction of funding for cancer research. Kerry's vote against the bill can be twisted as opposing cancer research becausue, after all, the bill did contain SOME funding for the research.

In other words, there need not be any connection between reality and their accusations. They'll just find something that pisses people off, and smear Kerry with it.

[Gman]

1. You're right because they know full well they can't win by running

on the issues and their positions on the issues.

[lovedems]

5. I agree with you and will add

if they are unable to run on the issues and the chimps record, I am going to say that will put the administration on the defensive. I am a firm believer that the candidate on the defensive in the candidate that is the loser. It should be a walk in the park to get bu$h on the defensive. He has certainly given the dems enough ammo.

[sable302]

2. Kerry's response...

It was for the same patriotic reasons he opposes Bush's budget now.

Not ot mention, at the same time he voted against Regan's budget, Bush was back in Texas snorting coke and bankrupting businesses.

Could be interesting.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Right--it could be very interesting.

And I by no means think it's an unbeatable tactic, but forewarned is forearmed. I trust Kerry is smart enough to have people working on developing ways of neutralizing whatever the Bushies try. There is certainly evidence that his team is capable of defending themselves.

Maybe the most scary possibility is if the media develop a pattern of picking up and recycling the Bush attacks but don't cover the Kerry rebuttals. After 2000, we'd ave to be total idiots to expect fair treatment.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. In other words...

they'll just lie like they always have.

Who's their Willie Horton this year?

[nostamj]

6. Who's their Willie Horton this year?

Saddam and Osama as a married couple with WMDs

[Yupster]

14. The Death penalty

I predict that qill arise as an uissue at some point.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. Oh, yeah...

that will come up here and there, but it's not a dealkiller issue.

I've been following DP politics for a while, and the support for it may be a mile wide, but it's only skin deep. Kerry will probably have the edge in that debate, what with all the problems we've been having with capital punishment lately.

[hexola]

7. Unique to Bush? - sounds like politics as usual... (nt)

[Jackpine Radical]

9. Oh, sure.

All politicians lie.

Most lie as a last resort.
The Bushies lie as a general principle of policy.

[Maat]

10. It is going to be a tough fight. Thom Hartmann is ...

talking about it right now. Like Thom said, Kerry is a fighter. I fear, also, however, that Kerry will not be willing to get down in the dirt as far as the Bush sociopaths will.

[Cleita]

8. Look for Bush to move to the center. It's his long time strategy.

He will make promises for better security from terrorism, he'll trot out his accomplishments on no child left behind and the presicription Medicare bill he got passed and no doubt some conciliatory language towards gays will be proferred to make the marriage ammendment easier to swallow.

Watch the lies roll off his forked tongue.

[KharmaTrain]

11. Spot On...We Don't Win There

Those looking for a reason not to vote for Kerry will find it. Those who want a reason to vote for * will as well. These two groups are not inclusive and I sense RoveCo. is worried that they could splinter, thus will focus on misinformation to "hit the buttons" on these swing voters.

Any Kerry response...other than some bombshell smoking gun...will get little play and to get bogged down on "what the vote really meant" just adds more to the impression Democrats parse. (I know I know).

IMHO we stay on the attack with this regime's record and never let up. Kerry's votes 20 years ago mean little if this regime keeps using the "things have changed since 9/11" meme. We stay on things people see and feel.

Getting distracted is exactly what RoveCo. wants from Democrats...let's fight about gay marriage, Howard Stern, Unions, Blacks...watch, we're gonna get a steady diet of wedges that are intended to team with the misinformation to put Democrats on the defensive. That's what happened in 2002...going back there means sure loses this time. I already can tell Kerry's not gonna fall for that.

[Wapsie B]

12. I've gotta tell you

that right now I'd almost see if I could bring Lee Atwatter back to life and put him to work for the Dems. By any means necessary I say.

[Bandit]

13. Cheney was in the House for a while and has a voting record also.

They also have a current record they will have to defend. That is the tough one. When all you do is lie lie lie it is tough to defend yourself.