Kerry should hire Chris Matthews

[medmo]

Chris Matthews was on Bill Maher's show last night, and Maher made the comment that the Kerry people have said that they don't want to be "mean" to Bush, because it would turn off the undecided voters. Matthews responded by saying that whatever the Kerry people are doing now, it isn't working very well. He then followed up by giving his take on what the Kerry campaign needs to be saying.

I know his response is very simplified and maybe a bit overstated (the part about the middle class vanishing), but it makes a lot of sense. This guy got accross in half a minute what the Kerry people are having trouble getting across with millions of dollars for advertising.

I'm not proposing a debate about the issues he mentions; that has been done to death here. But, and I'm speaking as a Kerry supporter, what is the Kerry people's problem when Chris Matthews, not John Kerry, makes you want to pump your fist in the air and cheer, and the actual campaign seems to be stalling at a very bad time?

Here is what he said:

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What they have to do is remind people that it?s not just an election about ?who do you like for class president? and ?whose smile do you like? and ?who would you like to have a beer with?. As if they?re ever going to have a beer with George Bush. I mean, it?s absurd. When are they going to have this beer? This illusionary, middle of the night drink with this guy? All they?re going to have him as is their president. That?s all they get out of these guys.

And my answer is; you want to think about this election more seriously. Vote Bush, vote Kerry, but think about this: do you really want the country to go in the direction they?re taking you, or say they?re going to take you, for the next ten or twenty years? Raise the stakes. That will make it easier for the undecided voter.

If you can?t decide based on what you?ve heard, think about this: Do you want to continue on the road of basically being ?go it alone? in the world? I mean, Tony Blair will be gone soon, Musharraf will be gone soon. Then we?ll be completely alone in the world.

Do you want to go toward an economy that?s basically geared toward tax cuts for people who have a lot of income, and the working class and middle class gradually disappear? Well, you know which party that is.

(Do) you want to go to a party that is a little more hesitant? If we elect John Kerry president, he will be hesitant about going to war. He will be careful. In fact, he?ll probably wait around to hear what the French think. And if that bothers you, vote for Bush.

It?s easy, but these stakes are big. Do you want health research for the next 20 years, or do you want the same diseases we have now in 20 years? I mean, think about it. I think there?s an argument for the Republicans, but it?s a long term argument for both sides.

How can you be undecided about Bush and Kerry? I don?t get it. These guys offer radically different approaches.
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Any thoughts on this? (from both sides)

By the way, before someone points it out, I know Bush doesn't drink anymore. But I think a lot of us have probably come across people who have said something along the lines of "I like Kerry, but I'd rather have a beer with Bush". It's sad that some people actually base their vote on something like that, but that's another discussion.

 

[verte76]

I'm a Kerry supporter also. Chris Matthews is a really smart guy, he'd be great for the campaign.

 

[medmo]

Well, I know he's not going to hire him, and Matthews wouldn't do it anyway. But he made a lot of sense, and right now that's something I don't think the Kerry campaign is doing a very good job of.

 

[U2democrat]

I've been saying this since the primaries, if the Kerry campaign, Kerry in particular, could break down their points (which are all very good, but complex) into simple soundbytes, this campaign would change. I give it to the Bushies, they're good at simplifying their message, and the Kerry campaign is not.

 

[DaveC]

I'd like to have a beer with Bush so that when I was finished I could smash him over the head with the bottle.

 

[BostonAnne]

I'd like to have a beer with Bush so that when I was finished I could smash him over the head with the bottle.

Ouch! That's not even close to funny.

 

[deep]

Govenment agents will be coming to see somebody soon.

 

[verte76]

Good point, U2democrat. It's really unfortunate that American politics has gotten to the point where it comes down to thirty-second sound bites on the evening news. I mean, politics is really pretty complicated stuff, at least from my point of view.

 

[Salome]

when I have to predict the outcome of the next election in the netherlands I would guess they will be won by 'the way of the guy with the winning smile' (no matter that he knows about as much about what exactly going on in dutch politics right now as I do and that means he doesn't know much)

still I don't really care
if people vote based on soundbites and who they think would make a better drinking buddy then by all means vote for him
in the end we'll all get the leaders we deserve

same goes for the US
if either of them loses because the other had a better campaign (while so far you need a telescope to find anything that even remotely has to do with politics in either campaign) then so be it

 

[U2democrat]

My parents and I were saying at dinner that if the American people choose a leader because of likeability.....that's really sad. Unfortunately it's so close that is what it may boil down to.

Verte, i agree its very unfortunate that politics has turned into dueling soundbites. Kerry has stressed many times that issues are complex, not black and white, but unfortunately with the internet and 24 hour cable news, peoples attention spans have become so short it takes a soundbite to get a point across, no matter if its simple or complex.

 

[medmo]

That's basically my point, U2democrat. I personally can't stand the fact that soundbytes play such an important role, but the reality of the matter is that they do. And the discouraging thing, for a Kerry supporter, at least, is that he doesn't seem to be very good at using them. Chris Matthews isn't even a politician, but when I saw him say what he said, all I could think was 'that's great---why can't Kerry do that?

 

[verte76]

This is why I never watch television news. Never. The only TV I've watched all year is figure skating championships and the Olympics. I get all of my news from the Internet. Now, my dad's addicted to "Hardball".

 

[U2democrat]

I admit it, I'm addicted to anything CNN related. My favorite show is Crossfire and I correspond with Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson fairly often. In fact the last time I was in the audience for the show Paul saw me with my parents and said "Hey! The Harrisons are here!" and Tucker turned and saw us and said "Heyyyyyyy!" Kind of surreal. But its shows like that, i admit, that have contributed to the demise of politics into soundbytes.

 

[Sherry Darling]

"It's the bumper stickcer, stupid" ~ James Carville



SD

 

[U2democrat]

"It's the bumper stickcer, stupid" ~ James Carville



SD

ah james. he rocks my world

 

[DaveC]

Ouch! That's not even close to funny.

It wasn't supposed to be.

I can't stand the guy.

 

[Danospano]

In defense of DaveC, he didn't say anything illegal; just giving the president a serious headache is one of our rights. Maybe if John Kerry did the same, I could wholeheartedly support the guy.

I was recently informed as to why Gore didn't attack Bush during the 2000 campaign. Basically it was because he'd be a hypocrite if he accused Bush of any wrongdoing. That was from a campaign advisor whose name escapes me at the moment.

Kerry, however, is sitting on so much information that could win him the election, but he isn't throwing any punches aside from standing up against the Swiftboat ads. This makes me think that the Democrats and Republicans could care less about who wins, as long as the status quo is pleased and dare I say...controlled.

I know quite a few people who are voting for Bush because he seems like a normal, likeable guy. Key word: "seems". If they only knew...wait...no...if they only would accept the facts of his adminstration and how deleterious they are toward the average citizen (95% of us)...they'd vote for Kerry in a landslide.

Personally, Nader deserves the job...(I just wanted to add that)

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

I don't even think bush is all that likeable of a guy , he's not a good public speaker and usually has an annoying smirk on his face.....but that's just me.

God I hope Kerry kicks things up in the debates, cause it seems like he's using the same sort of tactics that Gore did . The democrats need to stop taking Bush's crap and stick up for themselves.

I agree to an extent about the whole if people vote for someone bad because of going off of who's more likeable that they deserve what they get....but then I remember that I have to live here too

 

[verte76]

Gore did something incredibly stupid during the general election. He pulled his campaign out of Ohio, with its 20 electoral votes, ten days before the election. At the time, I didn't know this. Bush won the state by five points. When I found out about this, after the election, I fumed. How dumb! I think the debates will be good for Kerry. He'll get to say things in the debates that he can't say in soundbites. Plus, he's not pulling his campaign out of Ohio.

 

[U2democrat]

And we must not forget, during the primaries most people thought John Kerry was dead. He was behind Al Sharpton in national polls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He always does his best when his back is against a wall....lets just hope he fights back before it's too late.

 

[verte76]

Out in the field, the Kerry campaign is being much more aggressive than the Gore campaign was. Gore never opened a campaign office anywhere in Alabama in 2000. There are three big campaign headquarters here, and this is not even a swing state. In 2000, there was one office in the entire state of Arizona, and no organization. There are six this year with a great big organization. The same pattern exists in other states. Needless to say there are many offices in the swing states, but this is a fifty-state campaign in a way that 2000 was not.

 

[U2democrat]

This race is so tight. We interferencers and pundits can make all the judgements in the world, but honestly, its way too close to make a prediction either way.

 

[verte76]

This race is so tight. We interferencers and pundits can make all the judgements in the world, but honestly, its way too close to make a prediction either way.

Oh, at this point we haven't even started the "campaign season" between Labor Day and Election Day. There are going to be debates, jobs reports, and all sorts of issues are going to come out, because God knows the electorate wants to get the hell out of Vietnam and onto health care, the economy and Iraq.

 

[U2democrat]

Oh, at this point we haven't even started the "campaign season" between Labor Day and Election Day. There are going to be debates, jobs reports, and all sorts of issues are going to come out, because God knows the electorate wants to get the hell out of Vietnam and onto health care, the economy and Iraq.

yeah...many of my friends are saying "oh kerry's doomed" or "oh bush is doomed" and pundits have tried to predict but i keep telling people...there's way too much left to happen.