It seems that the political pundits have finally caught on to the obvious.
Kerry need to detail his plan for the future.
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Kerry Under Pressure for A Blueprint
Compelling Agenda Needed, Experts Say
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 28, 2004; Page A01
Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992 as a New Democrat, and eight years later, George W. Bush ran as a compassionate conservative. But even after presumptively winning the Democratic nomination, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) has yet to put a distinctive stamp on his candidacy, his party or the shape of a Kerry presidency.
Looks like Kerry has caught on as well.
Kerry began to answer that demand Friday with a speech about international taxation, and he pledged to sketch out a governing vision over the next few months. His challenge, according to sympathetic Democrats, will be to distill a laundry list of campaign promises and some seemingly contradictory statements into a succinct and compelling agenda.
But there's still a lot of work to be done.
"My greatest worry about the Kerry candidacy is that the competence and confidence it's demonstrated early on in rapid reaction to news of the day will come at the expense of an organized and systematic effort to tell the American people what John Kerry would do as president of the United States," said William Galston, a University of Maryland professor and former Clinton domestic adviser. "By the end of the campaign, if people can't spontaneously name two or three things that are big things that he would do differently, then I think the campaign will not have succeeded in getting across the whole message."
I've been saying this for quite some time. I'm glad the Kerry machine has finally caught on. Talking about the past isn't going to get Kerry elected. What will put Kerry in the White house is a well-defined plan for the future that shows Kerry has a vision for the country that more substantial than soundbites and NewSpeak.
I'm beginning to gain some hope for the Kerry campaign.