Items From the Kerry Spot on National Review Online

You may have noticed that there were no items from the Kerry Spot yesterday. Reason: About 90% of them were about the Swift Boat stuff.

Yes, I am certain that John Kerry lied about his exploits in Vietnam. I am sure he was NOT in Cambodia. I am certain that he did not deserve one or more of his medals. I am now certain that one or more of his citations for the Silver Star are fake.

Now here's something the media or not reporting.

John Kerry did go to Vietnam. He did NOT volunteer to go to Vietnam. He joined the Naval Reserve to avoid going to Vietnam. When his unit was called up, he joined the Swift Boats because, at the time, there were NOT in combat. So, technically, John Kerry did not volunteer for Vietnam or combat.

Now for items from the Kerry Spot on National Review Online.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: MOORE 'MUGGED' AT GARDEN

Today's New York Daily News — the paper version — has the front page headline, "MOORE MUGGED AT GARDEN." (And with that, a thousand anti-Moore hearts skip a beat.) But the headline refers to metaphorical mugging, in the sense that the political heavyweight was booed.

The story inside the paper (and on the web) shows Moore giving the L-for-loser sign in reaction to McCain's shot at "disingenuous filmmaker." I presume Moore was calling the GOP delegates losers, not McCain.

But needless to say, the exchange was the big talk on MSNBC this morning, and I presume will be one of the more discussed moments of the convention. I could be completely wrong on this, but if I were a Democratic Party strategist, I would be planning to kidnap Michael Moore and keep him quiet until after the election.

If the contrast between the two parties is symbolized by John McCain — a prisoner-of-war in Hanoi for five and a half years, much of it in solitary confinement, a man with so much honor he rejected an early release that was designed to break the spirit of the other POWS — and unshaven, disheveled, morbidly obese and scorn personified Michael Moore on the other, then 2004 is going to make 1984 look like a nail-biter.

UPDATE: Adieu, Moore. From Editor & Publisher:

Following all the commotion last night, Michael Moore will not be returning to Madison Square Garden for the Republican National Convention, E&P has learned. According to editors at USA Today, which is publishing his daily column this week, Moore told them that he was choosing not to return again.
However, they said he would continue to write his daily column and they stressed that in no way did they second-guess their decision to have him write the commentary.

If Moore is not covering the convention from inside the hall, what will he be covering and what will his columns talk about. It seems that USA Today also has a double standard.

KERRY CAMP SHAKEUP COMING?

I'm hoping to hear back from some sources close to the Kerry campaign to get their take on this story suggesting the Kerry camp is on the verge of a major shakeup.

As the Bush campaign commands an exquisitely directed convention, the faltering Kerry campaign might be on the verge of a major shake-up.

Ever since the Boston convention, the Bush campaign has dominated the agenda, putting the Democratic nominee on the defensive. While polls still show a close race, everything is tilting in the GOP direction, a movement that almost surely will be enhanced by a successful New York convention.

Dispirited Democrats — prominent senators, top fundraisers, even a few Kerry confidants — have told the candidate, who is in Nantucket, that high-level changes are imperative. A few very well-connected Democrats report something will occur in the next few days. One person who might assume more control is Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary to Bill Clinton and a respected public-relations figure, but one who has almost no experience in the high-stakes world of presidential campaigns. Another possibility: veteran Democratic politico John Sasso, currently at the Democratic National Committee.

If there is a change — Sen. Kerry privately is said to be "bouncing off the walls" in frustration — it has to be imminent as the eight-week campaign is in full swing by Labor Day. "We have 48 hours," acknowledges an insider.

The Kerry campaign, like most, ultimately reflects the candidate. The cautious indecisiveness and occasional vacillations have become Kerry trademarks.

Leading Democrats describe a command structure often frozen — or at least tempered — by too many chefs, a too-heavy reliance on polls or focus groups and an aversion to risks. As a result, the message often is muddled and the reaction to hard-hitting attacks from Republicans often is slow and unconvincing.

If Kerry needs to make a big shakeup, this is the week to do it - let that news get lost in the shuffle of the convention coverage.

REMEMBER WHEN THIS RACE WAS KERRY'S TO LOSE?

ABC News' The Note — which not long ago pronounced the race Kerry's to lose — is singing a different tune these days.

As for the Kerry campaign — as one Democratic strategist surveying the the last three weeks said, they have gone from "delusion obliviousness straight to panic. Not even a pause at anywhere constructive."

Yesterday, as the in-transition rapid response team flailed about, Kerry spent time on debate prep. It is unclear if there were any fiddlers present.

We'll say it again: all this can still of course turn around for Kerry. There is still plenty of room in the data for the Democratic nominee to make the case for change. And the horserace by all accounts remains tied.

But Kerry is hyper-unlikely to turn things around during the next three days. However, the campaign IS trying to get constructive; see our Kerry section for more on that.

On the one hand, Kerry did change his game and adjust well enough to win the Democratic primary — although the myth that he's a "great closer" is just that, a myth. On the other hand, the closer we get to Election Day, the less likely it is that Kerry can suddenly break out of his shell and become exponentially more charismatic, likeable, persuasive or a better communicator. He is who he is.

WEDNESDAY, ZELL WILL WHACK KERRY'S SENATE RECORD

The New York Post gives a preview of what to expect Wednesday:

John Kerry's "miserable record" over the course of his 19-year Senate career will be a focus of Sen. Zell Miller's highly anticipated speech at the Republican National Convention, the renegade Georgia Democrat told The Post. The 72-year-old Miller, who next Wednesday will become the first member of an opposing party to deliver the keynote address at a national convention, plans to hit Kerry over his political career — one that Miller claims has been spent pushing and voting for far-left issues.
"John Kerry's record in the Senate is a miserable one — it is a disgraceful one," Miller charged. "His record is far from the mainstream on nearly every issue. He is where 15 or 20 percent of people are."

Miller said many Americans are still in the dark about Kerry's voting patterns — primarily because the candidate himself has avoided discussing it.

"Watching the Democratic convention, the bio of John Kerry seemed to be 'I was born. I served in Vietnam. I am running for president,' " Miller said.

"They overlooked 20 years in the Senate. That's where you'll see the real John Kerry."

Kerry made a major tactical error by not talking much about his Senate years at his convention. Even if there wasn't much there, he should have at least mentioned his vote for welfare reform, and tried to make himself look like one of the legislative leaders of the Clinton years. He's left a big blank slate that Zell is going to paint real ugly.

I cannot wait to hear this speech. I wonder what network will cover it?

CARVILLE MEMO: BUSH HAS MADE 'UNMISTAKABLE' GAINS IN AUGUST

AP:

President Bush has gained ground on Democrat John Kerry in the month of August because of "relatively small but unmistakable" shifts in the political environment, Democratic strategists said in a memo released Monday.
The polling memo by Democracy Corps, a group led by pollster Stan Greenberg and strategist James Carville, said the subtle gains by Bush have knotted the race again after Kerry had a slight advantage after the Democratic National Convention in late July.

"There is no doubt that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads (attacking Kerry's Vietnam service) have had an impact on the race," according to the Democracy Corps memo. Those attacks combined with the Summer Olympics have combined to "shift the focus away from Iraq and worrisome economic trends."

The Democracy Corps analysis averaged numerous national and state polls to come up with its assessment that Bush is doing slightly better against Kerry, a judgment supported more by internal measures such as issues and candidate qualities.

In the metaphorical car of the Kerry campaign, this memo is a blinking dashboard light.

When James Carville is worried, Kerry should really worried. In Carville speak a small shift is a big problem.