Some Reasons Kerry Lost

[andyfox]

Here are some reasons it seems to me people decided to vote against John Kerry (as opposed to voting for George Bush):

-He was seen as a "flip-flopper": People saw him as somebody who would change his mind. The poorly worded statement about the $87 billion was symptomatic of why people had this impression and the president and vice president constantly harped on this.

-He was seen as weak compared to Bush: A major reason people voted for Bush was they saw him as a strong leader. Kerry tried to counteract this, but his positions on the war made people think he'd be less strong than Bush as president.

-He is a liberal: Having the most liberal voting record in the senate is a no-no in today's political climate where the word "liberal" is almost a dirty word.

-He ran a poor campaign: He didn't inspire people, nor did he stake out a key issue where he could beat the president. He tried to do it in on Iraq, but people saw Bush as someone they trusted more on the specific war in Iraq and on the more general war on terrorism.

-John Edwards: A complete bust. If anything, he took votes away. He couldn't even deliver his home state.

-Mrs. Kerry: While I don't think many people really care about the wife, she certainly didn't help. While I know very little about Laura Bush, she looks like the kind of person who, if you moved in next door, would come over with a welcome note and a home-baked pie; Mrs. Kerry would take a meeting and have her secretary send over her chauffer to ask you to not park your car so close to her BMW. This impression might be completely wrong, but my sense is a lot of people had it.

-Swift Boat Veterans: whether they were for truth or not, they certainly hurt Kerry. Kerry had himself to blame, IMO, for putting his service front and center ("John Kerry reporting for duty").

-People thought Kerry would raise their taxes: While Kerry continually said he would do so only if you made over $200,000 a year, his reputation as a liberal, his plan for new programs, and Bush and Cheney constantly saying otherwise, convinced people that it was so.

-He didn't do well in his acceptance speech: He was too sweaty and didn't get a big enough bounce. He didn't inspire confidence in enough people who might have been looking for an alternative to Bush.

-People didn't feel comfortable with him: This might be the most important thing of all. He came across as stiff and forced, too much PR and not enough human being.