I am a bit surprised by the reaction to my previous diary. There have been numerous reports of insiders in the Kerry campaign being very confident about this election, and with good reason. I say this, as someone, who really doesn't believe a weathervane can win a presidential election. BUT, the numbers don't lie. John Kerry is in better shape than any challeneger since the advent of polling. Which is why there is no Edwards bounce, and there will be no convention bounce. What there will be is a landslide when the unecideds move in October.
I am not saying that everyone should get a life and forget about the election. No. Instead, we should understand the reality of the present situation and quietly rejoice.
The real problem, in my estimation, is that Kerry will not be the president we want him to be. He is to the right of Bush on Israel, for example (even Bush condemned the wall). There are DLCers up and down the campaign. And, face it, Kerry hasn't a truly progressive bone in his body. He is a liberal (on some issues), but I trust that you know the difference.
So, shouldn't progressives pressure him now, when it counts and he will listen or should we keep our mouths shut and hope for the best? My recollection of 2002 is that progressives were told to keep their mouths shut. That bearhugging the president on foreign policy would retain the senate. Well, ...
Now, we have a platform which could have been written by Bush operatives (in terms of iraq and preemption). Raising our voices will not lose this election. Don't let Al From fool you.