Kerry surges so it's time to attack

News Source: ABC News
Author: ABC News Political Unit
Title: Sooner or Later You Sleep in Your Own Space
Either Way It's Okay, You Wake up with Yourself

As we’ve Noted here numerous times, ABC News, and in particular The Note, are, in the words of our all-but-certain Democratic Nominee, “Doing the work of the RNC.” At the time, The Note ridiculed Kerry’s comment, made on Good Morning America in response to accusations that he has changed his story about whether they were medals or ribbons that he threw over the White House fence during a protest march against the Vietnam War. They called it a “mistake” and hailed the Republican effort to force Kerry into rebutting the charges in the middle of a campaign swing through West Virginia as a tactical victory in the daily campaign back and forth.. However, we at KerryWatch think it’s the truth and if you need further evidence of it, look at today’s Note which leads off with an analysis of the new Washingtonpost/ABC News poll showing Kerry ahead by 4 points in a three-way match up with Bush and Nader and by 8 points in a two-way contest:

Given his giant lead in the new ABC News/Washington Post poll, it seems virtually impossible that John Kerry can lose the election.
When The Note starts out with a lead that tongue in cheek, you have to be on the lookout.
So from the list below, identify the five items about which we are serious, and the five that are jokey:
WAYS JOHN KERRY CAN STILL BLOW THE ELECTION (leaving out things beyond his control):
1. Failure to read and understand David Brooks' if-you-read-only-one-article-today-let-it-be-this-must-read op-ed piece in the New York Times about the Kerry and Democratic failure to understand the importance of faith in public life. (John Podesta and Bill Clinton excepted . . . )
2. Leaves room for Bush-Cheney spokesguy Steve Schmidt to go door-to-door to convince each and every American that every single utterance, act, or historical move by John Kerry illustrates to a fare thee well that the Massachusetts Senator tries to take both sides of every issue and is a man of no convictions who will say anything to get elected.
3. Not enough endorsements from Nobel laureates.
4. Failure to pick as his running mate any of the candidates supported by David Ginsberg, Steve Elmendorf, and/or Bob Shrum.
5. Failure to get the country to see him as Vanessa and Alex see him.
6. Can't get a certain communications staffer to give up one of her three jobs.
7. Comes off in the debates as arrogant, sighing, and truth hedging.
8. Is overshadowed by Bill Clinton.

9. Loses his home state.
10. Utters this magic phrase in his acceptance speech: "Who among us doesn't love NASCAR?"
OK, maybe only four of the 10 were serious, but you (we hope) get our point.

Here’s why KerryWatch isn’t amused (in response to the numbers above):

1. If the pictures of Kerry attending church, his frequent quotes from the Bible and his impressive performance at a number of black churches, in particular one on the eve of the Georgia primary – which he won - aren’t evidence of his relative “religiosity” than apparently nothing can convince Brooks or The Note of Kerry’s understanding of the importance this plays in any campaign for President.
2. Bush-Cheney can say anything they want. One of the biggest unreported figures from the WaPo poll is this one:

Please tell me whether the following statement applies more to George W. Bush or more to John Kerry: He is honest and trustworthy.
Kerry 52%
Bush 39%

In short, nobody believes half the crap they try to sell to the American electorate, including on Iraq, the economy and John Kerry.
3. Yea…it’s so funny isn’t it. Some of the most brilliant people in America think Bush needs to go…hahahaha!
4. Bob Shrum wouldn’t talk to The Note if you gave him free cigarettes for life. They only wish he called them as much as lover boy Matt Dowd does.
5. A failure that the media is surely responsible for…The rest of their reasons are just too stupid for a response.

So, in short, on a day when The Note should be explaining to readers how it is that Kerry now leads in 3 out 4 recent national polls, they do nothing but joke around and make one last hopeless attempt to reinsert anti-Kerry talking points into the campaign even though the Bush-Cheney/RNC strategy to destroy Kerry has failed and the labels applied to him don’t seem to be holding him up in the race against Bush.