Friday, November 21, 2003
When you watch these ads back-to-back, you have to wonder if all that advertising money is going to do Bush much good:
1. Bush
2. Clark
3. Dean
Bush's ad is based around the State of the Union, fer chrissake (just not the African uranium part). If they start doing ads with him giving that "Osama dead or alive" speech or Cheney's "Iraqis will welcome us with flowers" shit, you'll know they've lost it.
1. Bush
2. Clark
3. Dean
Bush's ad is based around the State of the Union, fer chrissake (just not the African uranium part). If they start doing ads with him giving that "Osama dead or alive" speech or Cheney's "Iraqis will welcome us with flowers" shit, you'll know they've lost it.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Wesley Clark on the Massachusetts gay marriage decision (from the Portland Press-Herald):
" . . . Gen. Wesley Clark appeared to go the furthest in support of the court, saying that "as someone who supports the legal rights of all Americans regardless of sexual orientation, I appreciate today's decision."
Official candidate responses: Clark; Dean; Kerry; Gephardt; Lieberman . . .
. . . and, of course, George W. Bush.
" . . . Gen. Wesley Clark appeared to go the furthest in support of the court, saying that "as someone who supports the legal rights of all Americans regardless of sexual orientation, I appreciate today's decision."
Official candidate responses: Clark; Dean; Kerry; Gephardt; Lieberman . . .
. . . and, of course, George W. Bush.
Dan the Dean Man posts:
Wesley Clark wants to Change the Constitution to prevent an act of free speech - flag burning. And no matter what he says now, he supported the Iraq war & the resolution to give Bush all the miliraty power he wanted. He's even more republican than leiberman.
Submitted by: dan [email]
Wednesday, 11.19.2003 @ 10:38 AM
Fair point, Dan. But there's only one thing Dean supporters really need to get through their wine-and-cheese-addled skulls right now, and it's summed up best in Terry Neal's poll analysis in today's Washington Post:
". . . The 2004 election will not just be about Bush's popularity in a vacuum. It will also be about the alternative voters have to consider. Polls asking people whether they would vote for Bush or a "Democrat" next year are about even. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released this week, 43 percent said Bush while 40 percent said a Democrat.
But the difference seems to grow in Bush's favor when you compare him to individual candidates. For instance, in the Post/ABC poll from a couple weeks ago, Bush led individual Democrats from 6 to 15 percent when matched up in hypothetical contests. He does his worst against Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), whom he beats 50 percent to 44 percent (Washington Post-ABC News Poll, Sunday, November 2, 2003). The biggest advantage Bush held over his Democratic rivals was between Bush and Dean, with Bush up 54 percent to 39 percent."
Repeat: "the biggest advantage Bush held over his Democratic rivals was between Bush and Dean." Of course, the Post didn't include Sharpton, Kucinich or Moseley-Braun in its poll (you gotta hope Dean would do better than them), but you get the point. Bush beats Dean. He's McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis and Gore. But he's no Bill Clinton.
Clark's liability is not that he supported the Iraq war, it's that his position is confusing. If you watched CNN during the fighting, you know that Clark was a consistent critic who -- gasp! -- knew what he was talking about. Unfortunately for him, he mucked that up with weird waffling answers to a hypothetical question (would you have voted for the Iraq resolution?). But the candidate who screams "I was against this from the beginning!" the loudest on the primary trail doesn't earn any points on the big stage (see above).
Wesley Clark wants to Change the Constitution to prevent an act of free speech - flag burning. And no matter what he says now, he supported the Iraq war & the resolution to give Bush all the miliraty power he wanted. He's even more republican than leiberman.
Submitted by: dan [email]
Wednesday, 11.19.2003 @ 10:38 AM
Fair point, Dan. But there's only one thing Dean supporters really need to get through their wine-and-cheese-addled skulls right now, and it's summed up best in Terry Neal's poll analysis in today's Washington Post:
". . . The 2004 election will not just be about Bush's popularity in a vacuum. It will also be about the alternative voters have to consider. Polls asking people whether they would vote for Bush or a "Democrat" next year are about even. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released this week, 43 percent said Bush while 40 percent said a Democrat.
But the difference seems to grow in Bush's favor when you compare him to individual candidates. For instance, in the Post/ABC poll from a couple weeks ago, Bush led individual Democrats from 6 to 15 percent when matched up in hypothetical contests. He does his worst against Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), whom he beats 50 percent to 44 percent (Washington Post-ABC News Poll, Sunday, November 2, 2003). The biggest advantage Bush held over his Democratic rivals was between Bush and Dean, with Bush up 54 percent to 39 percent."
Repeat: "the biggest advantage Bush held over his Democratic rivals was between Bush and Dean." Of course, the Post didn't include Sharpton, Kucinich or Moseley-Braun in its poll (you gotta hope Dean would do better than them), but you get the point. Bush beats Dean. He's McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis and Gore. But he's no Bill Clinton.
Clark's liability is not that he supported the Iraq war, it's that his position is confusing. If you watched CNN during the fighting, you know that Clark was a consistent critic who -- gasp! -- knew what he was talking about. Unfortunately for him, he mucked that up with weird waffling answers to a hypothetical question (would you have voted for the Iraq resolution?). But the candidate who screams "I was against this from the beginning!" the loudest on the primary trail doesn't earn any points on the big stage (see above).
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Does this sound like someone who can win even a single southern state, let alone someone you'd like to have a beer with?
Two things that make Wes Clark's chances look a little better today:
1. Madonna is raising cash for him. Of course, he chose public financing, so he'll have to deal with spending caps, but it'll help.
2. His first TV ad. It looks like it was produced by Ken Burns, starts with his bullet wounds in Vietnam, and ends with a strong argument for why he's the right guy for right now. What would Howard Dean's bio ad say? "When Howard was growing up, he heroically stepped around poodle poop on Park Avenue and put on just the right amount of sunblock in the Hamptons."
1. Madonna is raising cash for him. Of course, he chose public financing, so he'll have to deal with spending caps, but it'll help.
2. His first TV ad. It looks like it was produced by Ken Burns, starts with his bullet wounds in Vietnam, and ends with a strong argument for why he's the right guy for right now. What would Howard Dean's bio ad say? "When Howard was growing up, he heroically stepped around poodle poop on Park Avenue and put on just the right amount of sunblock in the Hamptons."
