Bush, Kerry face off on Iraq

This has to be one of the most one-sided presidential debates ever. Bush keeps muttering the same prepackaged bit about Kerry being inconsistent over and over. Kerry, surprisingly, pretty clearly states how his position, his one position, has always been consistent, and Bush responds by repeating his script just with more emphasis. Kerry seems less petty than he often did during the early Dem primary debates when he was far behind Dean and could only catch up by misquoting and shoveling the shit. I might even be able to vote for Kerry with a clear conscience after this one—especially with Ralph Nader's continuing ballot-access issues. Nader would be wise to follow Alexander Cockburn's advice.

Move On Kerry

The post-convention Democrats, via MoveOn.org, are starting up a get-out-the-message campaign, complete with pre-written letters you can use to send to your local newspaper editor. These templates have inspirational titles like "Hope and Positivity " (ick), "Real Family Values" (2x ick), and "Proud to be a Democrat" (no comment). Alright, the Republican propaganda machine has to be answered somehow, so I guess this may be acceptable. But, presenting John Kerry as all "hope and integrity" should just be a small part of the Democratic strategy. What is really called for is a vocal criticism from the disenfranchised left. Yes, the Kerry faithful should support a focused, Nader-led attack, because it will help those still fence-straddling voters recognize that John Kerry's record is by no means "liberal," that he represents a compromise, and that he better qualifies as a fiscal conservative than does our good ol' President.

Liberal Media Strikes Again

Interesting contrast in this weekend's issues of The New York Times. Yesterday's over-the-fold photo shows George W. in a warm shining light with Jesse Jackson behind him, both of them with big smiles on their faces—though not smiling at each other, but at someone else not shown in the picture. This really belies the content of the story, which down in the sixth paragraph reports the tepid response of the audience throughout Bush's hastily-scheduled, politcal face-saving speech to the National Urban League.

Today's over-the-fold photo shows John Kerry in profile sitting alone in a stark, dark room. Isolated in such a way, Kerry comes across as cold, impersonal, and self-absorbed. We can see the wires from whatever interview he's giving: they lead up to his leg, suggesting he is some kind of pre-programmed tax-hiking robot. Worst fo all, behind Kerry is a huge mirror in which we see his reflection, which serves to emphasize the Republican argument that Kerry is a Janus-faced flip-flopper.

Yep, damn that liberal NY Times, always manipulating the news to the Democrats' advantage.