Let's review. In the last week, the Democrats...
- selected John Edwards as the VP.
- showed solidarity between Kerry and Edwards.
- began an optimistic TV campaign.
- held a fundraiser in NYC where the performers used a little off-color humor to poke fun at Bush.
- had a nice spike in perception and in polls
- delivered a message of hope in the Saturday radio address
- HAD FUN
The Republicans and the Bush Cartel...
- issued a terror warning for unspecified and unknown threats to the election.
- launched a smear campaign against the John Edwards.
- dedicated an entire section of their site to bashing Kerry-Edwards.
- scolded and finger-wagged the "obscenity-laced" Kerry NYC fundraiser.
- devoted more than 50% of their webspaces (Bush AND the RNC) to bashing Kerry.
- and Bush himself has gone on a name-calling rampage today against Kerry AND Edwards.
- essentially acted like a hard-handed principal instead of our public servants.
See the difference? Instead of running on their record - because they have none - the GOP is running scared. Bashing, bashing and more bashing. How horribly unbecoming is it that our incumbent leadership is playing garbage can politics when they should be pushing whatever strengths they have? I know. It's a rhetorical question. But their attitude thus far in this campaign 100% reflects their attitude toward the rest of the world: You're not with us, so go f--- yourselves.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are so far in front on the high road, the GOP can't even see them. Yeah, the concert Thursday night poked fun at President Thinskin. Yeah, we go after Bush. We have to. This election is a referendum on his performance, not of Kerry's. What Kerry has to do is offer a better vision, a better meme ("Stronger at home, Respected in the world"), and a clear difference.
That glaring difference right now is in how each camp is conducting themselves. And at this moment, the Republicans are being searingly outclassed, outsmarted and out-optimisted (a new word - you may use it) by the new Democratic team.
Kerry-Edwards is off to a fantastic start. Bush-Cheney is mired in the darkness they created. Let's see if we can keep that the major difference through November. We have the truth. We now own the hope. We'll never roll over and play dead again.
And never - NEVER let them accuse us of being the pessimists in this election year. When it comes to anger, darkness, cynicism and intolerance, Bush-Cheney has already won that race - big time. Let them own it.
