Heather Cloud
Staff Writer
Theoretically, this election should be an easy win for John Kerry. Almost 2 million jobs have been lost over the past four years and nearly 44 million Americans are still without health insurance. More than $200 billion has been spent on the war in Iraq and $1 trillion is slated to be cut from social security. Many of America’s allies have been alienated and the two most dangerous members of the “axis of evil” remain intact. But in reality, Kerry is 7 to 11 points behind Bush in national polls and quickly losing key states to the president. It isn’t an insurmountable challenge for Kerry, as presidential candidates have overcome worse, but he is going to have to change his strategy in order to bring votes back to him.
First and foremost, Kerry has to start defending himself. Too frequently, he is the subject of attack without significant rebuttal, and to many he has become the unpatriotic, flip-flop candidate with no real family values. His military record has been discussed endlessly and is undeniably impressive, but his decades of service in the Senate go largely ignored. He must use this service to show that he does not flip flop on issues but consistently has had the humility to amend his ideas to always reflect what is best for America.
As for family values, Kerry has successfully helped to raise five children in a blended family, all of whom are leading productive and scandal-free lives. If Kerry focused the election on his own family’s values, and not his stance on abortion, there would be no question of his morality in the White House.
Next, he must present a clear message of a better America. It is one thing to point out the failures of the current administration, but to be elected, Kerry must inform the voters that he would not only correct past failures but also make America stronger at home and abroad. Because a majority of political dialogue revolves around homeland security and terrorism, it is imperative that Kerry makes voters feel he is capable of protecting them – something that a majority of Americans do not yet believe. He has to show that America is not safer by preemptively attacking other countries but by being well-prepared at home, renewing relations with long-standing allies and displaying a strong united front internationally.
Most importantly, however, he has to move the nation away from the constant fear of being attacked. This nation was not built in fear, and it will not end in it. Kerry must remind the voters of education, civil rights, economics, social security, health care and the multitude of other issues Americans will face in the future. It would be an insult to our democratic ideals if we overlooked these areas in which America could truly be great and elected a president because of fear instead of purpose.
Finally, and admittedly most difficult, Kerry must inspire voters. He must inspire those who don’t vote to believe in the importance of the political process and their roles in it. He must inspire conservatives to believe that protecting education, the environment and civil freedoms is so fundamental to moral citizens that they cannot vote against him. He must inspire liberals to believe that under his leadership, equality and peace will one day be realized in both America and Iraq. He must inspire moderates to take a step to the left and support him in issues for which they previously straddled the fence.
And as a nation, he must inspire people to believe in the possibility of that theoretical America where everyone has a job, healthcare, social security, civil rights, safety and peace, because only in that belief can Kerry’s theory become America’s reality.
09-16-2004