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01/29/2004 Archived Entry: "'We fear him the most! No, we fear him! No, him!!!'"
'We fear him the most! No, we fear him! No, him!!!'
Looks like the White House is having a hard time figuring out who they 'fear the most.'
Facing a new Democratic front-runner in John Kerry, President Bush's re-election campaign is quietly shifting gears, preparing for the possibility it will confront a war hero and current senator.But the line of attack is the same: Whether Howard Dean or Kerry, the Democrats' nominee would be a left-leaning New Englander who wants to "raise taxes" and reverse course on Iraq, campaign officials and Bush advisers say.
"This week's front-runner is very much like the front-runner of two weeks ago: a Northeast liberal who motivates his support based on anger and negativity," said Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.
At the same time, there is debate within Bush's administration and inside his re-election headquarters about how hard to strike at Kerry, of Massachusetts, who won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Some of Bush's political advisers take credit for successfully tarring Dean as an angry liberal, and are now suffering a kind of buyer's remorse. They wonder whether their criticism fueled the rise of Kerry — a more formidable candidate, in the estimation of some campaign officials.
He is a decorated Vietnam War veteran, knowledgeable about domestic and foreign affairs, and has a certain gravitas and strength as a debater.
Knocking down Kerry now, they say, could help ignite the candidacy of a Democrat some Bush campaign officials fear even more: Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) of North Carolina, who finished a strong second in Iowa but slumped to fourth place in New Hampshire, just behind retired Gen. Wesley Clark (news - web sites), his other Southern rival. A recent poll showed Edwards with a slight lead in South Carolina's critical primary next Tuesday, and he holds a strong appeal elsewhere in the South, which was Bush Country in 2000.
So Dean makes it acceptable to criticize Bush and takes an early lead, and he's trashed by the White House and the media. Kerry wins a caucus and a primary, and alarm bells go off in the White House with the realization that Bush would have to campaign against and debate a decorated war hero -
and the one they 'fear most' is Edwards?? Sheah, right.
Besides, didn't Joe Lieberman say last week that Bush, in a private conversation, said Lieberman was the guy he 'feared most?'
Replies: 7 people speak up
Actually Edwards would be very difficult for bush to run against. His grass roots campain was effective in Iowa; he also has a lot of new ideas which would appeal to the populace of american and make Bush look bad in opposing such as health care and education. With the exception of his vote for the war he has typically been pretty far to the left in voting.
But I think most importantly of all is that his campain is based on hope for the future which I really think is something that our nation really needs right now.
yeah I just had to throw in a plug for the candidate I support here, i'd like to hear what everyone else thinks of him.
Posted by Chris @ 01/29/2004 06:04 PM NY
I like Edwards, and I admire his work as a lawyer. I don't know if he's ready to run for president, tho.
That isn't to say that I wouldn't support him should he win the nomination.
Maybe my mention of Edwards made it sound as though I was slamming him. Not my intent.
Posted by editor @ 01/29/2004 08:23 PM NY
With all due respect to John Edwards, exactly who in the campaign is not running on hope for the future?
The White House fears military credibility, General Clark the most, because Kerry fits into their little hate mold more easily. Still, they used up their "NE liberal" routine on Dean and are having trouble painting Kerry with the same brush. In the end, the RNC will have a field day with Kerry's record but he is no Dukakis.
Posted by Damfa @ 01/29/2004 09:34 PM NY
Edwards is my second choice. However, in the interest of full disclosure, they are all my second choice after Howard Dean.
I still have a hard time with his support of the Patriot Act (like, helping to write the damned thing), the NCLBA, and the IWR. Also, before he saw the light and decided to campaign as the 'positive vision' candidate, he took his share of cheap shots at Dean re: tax cuts and Dean's desire to embrace everyone, including southern white males who drive picj-up trucks etc., etc.
But I could get over that.
Eventually.
Posted by RonV @ 01/29/2004 10:36 PM NY
Edwards is my second choice. However, in the interest of full disclosure, they are all my second choice after Howard Dean.
I still have a hard time with his support of the Patriot Act (like, helping to write the damned thing), the NCLBA, and the IWR. Also, before he saw the light and decided to campaign as the 'positive vision' candidate, he took his share of cheap shots at Dean re: tax cuts and Dean's desire to embrace everyone, including southern white males who drive pick
-up trucks etc., etc.
But I could get over that.
Eventually.
Posted by RonV @ 01/29/2004 10:36 PM NY
"This week's front-runner is very much like the front-runner of two weeks ago: a Northeast liberal who motivates his support based on anger and negativity," said Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.
If that's all they've got we may actually win this thing.
Posted by Tom Dissento @ 01/30/2004 04:44 PM NY
I do believe Bush fears Liberman - he's vulnerable from the Right. :>
I want a Kerry-Dean ticket - Kerry is the better front man, and having to argue issues with Dean would keep them moderate. And with the mess we have, we cannot afford sticking a forgettable nobody in a corner office; it's at least four years of ballbreaking work for them AND their wives and anyone closely related enough to not be able to avoid the call of duty.
Posted by Bob King @ 01/30/2004 05:52 PM NY
