Missives from the Hinterlands

Meet me in St. Louis

Okay, it's Kerry -1, Bush -0. Tonight is round two, and it's Bush's best chance to pick up a win because it's one of those "plain ol' folks jus' standin' around chattin'" events he's so good at.

However, between the latest (and supposedly definitive) Iraq report and Bremer's brief moment of brutal honesty, things look rough for the administration. (As an aside, Bremer's weak attempt to dance around his prior statement in today's Times is just plain embarrassing for him. I imagine Bush Co. must have Bremmer's kids and/or pets locked up somewhere. Why does our executive branch seem like its run by rejects from the Godfather?) Add to the Iraq "news", the latest job numbers showing only a 96K gain in nonfarm jobs in September (approximately 40K less than anticipated), and things don't just look rough. They look positively bad.

Kerry, therefore, has to come out swinging in this debate. He needs to smack Bush on Iraq and jobs. Tonight, he needs to be more like Clinton (or better yet, LBJ) and less like Carter. The American people don't want an elder statesman anymore. They want a tough guy.

Bush looked beat in the last debate. He looked scared and confused. A Kerry advisor said today that they want to attack Bush without "alienating the audience." That's bullshit. The American people are vicious and they hate weakness. Bush looks weak right now. He's on the ropes, and can be finished tonight. Kerry has to attack and attack hard.