Shoutfest Aftermath
or
What Bounce?

Base10 didn't get much involved in the weekly shoutfest this weekend, having had his fill with the DNC. However, he did catch Kerry-Edwards on Fox News Sunday (is this an attempt to capture the Fox demographic?) and was not very impressed. When Chris Wallace (who is a very good interviewer in Base10's opinion) tried to pin down the candidates on what they would do differently on Iraq, the answers were quite unsatisfactory. Something like this:

Q: "Senator, you have said that you would do things diferently in Iraq, but have given little detail, other than saying you would involve our allies more. How would your plan differ from the President's?"

A: "Well the first thing I would do is involve our allies. And I don't mean just by involving our allies, I mean that we have to really involve our allies. This
administration has cut out our allies. I would negotiate with our allies to get NATO and Europe more involved."

Edwards interupting: "It's not just a promise about our allies--if I may--we want to get our allies involved in forgiving Iraq's debts, get our allies involved in reconstruction contracts and of course to get our allies involved in Iraq."

Q: "But Senator, NATO, largely blocked by France, has already given President Bush the cold shoulder regarding even the training of Iraqi security forces."

A: "But we need a new start. Negotiate with our allies. That's what I would do. This administration has not done enough to involve America's allies."

Q: "But specifics, Senator. What if the Shi'ites decide to form a theocracy? What if the Kurds decide to form their own state? Do you have any specific plans about Iraq?"

A: "I'm not going to negotiate with our allies here on TV. We need a fresh start."

(Base10 is trying to be facetious, but you know what? As he reads this over, it's probably not so far from the transcript, and I'm not the only one to notice this theme).

And then there is the elusive "bounce." What happened? The first post-DNC polls from Newsweek have Kerry at 49 to Bush's 42. That's barely different considering the 3% margin of error and--how shall we say it delicately--Newsweek's leanings. It would be no surprise if it returns to a dead heat when some more polls come out. Other news sources have seen the "bounce" as pretty mixed. For example, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll puts Bush ahead 50 to 46. In the meantime, the Democrats have apparently forgotten that George W. Bush is quite a good campaigner.

- posted by Base10 @ 3:37 PM