I think it would be interesting to have a thread of analysis of what went wrong for the democrats. I'd just as soon stay away from the gloating and the moaning, just some comments the democrats might find helpful next time around.
Personally, I think Kerry was fairly good at raising issues--Iraq, economy, healthcare, etc.--but he just never got around to saying what his position was on any of them other than that Bush was wrong. We were faced with a known element in Bush and an unknown in Kerry.
Kerry was always criticizing the war in Iraq (with good reason I think). But he never came out against the war, only against Bush. By criticizing the justification for the war and the conduct of it, all Kerry was essentially suggesting is that he'd come up with a better reason for being in Iraq.
And, I think the democrats were hurt by the media--their friends. By listening to a left-leaning media, they essentially believed they were doing okay--when in fact they weren't.
And finally, by picking the most avid democrat they could find as their candidate, they lost any chance of picking up the many dissatisfied republicans. Gephart or Lieberman may actually have won.
Personally, I think Kerry was fairly good at raising issues--Iraq, economy, healthcare, etc.--but he just never got around to saying what his position was on any of them other than that Bush was wrong. We were faced with a known element in Bush and an unknown in Kerry.
Kerry was always criticizing the war in Iraq (with good reason I think). But he never came out against the war, only against Bush. By criticizing the justification for the war and the conduct of it, all Kerry was essentially suggesting is that he'd come up with a better reason for being in Iraq.
And, I think the democrats were hurt by the media--their friends. By listening to a left-leaning media, they essentially believed they were doing okay--when in fact they weren't.
And finally, by picking the most avid democrat they could find as their candidate, they lost any chance of picking up the many dissatisfied republicans. Gephart or Lieberman may actually have won.