Kerry the Moderate?

A feature article from the Kerry Spot on National Review Online. It needed it's own place on the blog.

Selling Kerry as a Moderate
The next move for Kerry's campaign is clear. With his southern running mate secured and left wing of the Democratic party satisfied by Michael Moore movies and comparisons of Jeb Bush to Osama bin Laden, it's time to tack to the center and show how 'moderate' he is.
Several columnists and bloggers have signed on for this mission. The problem is that Kerry doesn't have the record of a centrist.
Kevin Drum of The Washington Monthly dismisses the Senate rankings, suggesting that 'a longer look shows that Kerry is liberal, but hardly a Paul Wellstone liberal, and Edwards is smack in the middle of the Democratic pack.'
Nonsense, points out blogger and law professor Stephen Bainbridge. He pulls the Americans for Democratic Action's ratings, and finds Kerry has a lifetime rating of 92; Wellstone has a 99. Edwards has an 81. From 1990 to 2000, neither Kerry nor Wellstone had a rating lower than 90.
Back on June 25, the New York Times contended, 'Kerry's Campaign Theme Is Leaning Toward Center':
Like any nominee moving toward a general election, Mr. Kerry is increasingly reaching out to voters in the middle. He also increasingly talks about values. Attacking Mr. Bush's budget, Mr. Kerry said last week: 'Scripture tells you where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let me tell you where my heart is. My heart is with the working families, who built this country.'
But even as he moves his appeal to the center...
Wait, that's 'reaching to voters in the middle'? Only at the New York Times could a Democrat accuse a Republican of abandoning working families, a charge that voters have heard every election since FDR, and have the move described as 'moving his appeal to the center.'
Peter Canel"

The Kerry Spot on National Review Online: "SELLING KERRY THE MODERATE [07/20 08:34 AM]