Why is Kerry Running Such a Lame Campaign?
By ALAN MAASS GEORGE W. BUSH should be struggling to explain the disastrous invasion of Iraq and an economy that’s still sputtering three years after the end of a recession. But for the past month and a half, it’s John Kerry who has been on the defensive. Now, even those liberals most devoted to rounding up votes for Kerry–such as Michael Moore and Rev. Jesse Jackson–are beginning to express their frustration with the Democrats’ lame campaign. Incredibly, even as the occupation of Iraq descends deeper into chaos, Bush is gaining support on this issue, according to opinion polls. For example, the percentage of Americans who said it was “a mistake” to send troops to fight in Iraq fell to 38 percent in an early September CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, down from 54 percent about only two months before. Kerry’s liberal supporters blame this disaster on ineptitude–and desperately hope that Kerry’s advisers will get a clue before it’s too late. But there are more important factors at work. Abo
