Since he's not the only one around here who seems to feel this way, let me try to explain why I think he's dead wrong.
It's up to us to try to make a difference over the next 49 days. And one way we can make a difference is by donating money or by volunteering. There are many places to do both, but I'd suggest ACT as the best place to start. This diary from Ruth in OR shows some other ways to get involved.
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One of the main reasons for thinking the K/E campaign isn't working is because we all know that Bush is a horrible President, and so we should be ahead by 10 points, instead of being down by a couple of points.
This misses just how difficult a task we face this year. All year, Bush's approval ratings have been in the mid-40's to low-50's. If you take the traditional measure of an incumbent's approval rating closely equaling their final vote percentage, you see what a dogfight we are in.
Another way of looking at this is to compare Bush's spring numbers to Clinton's spring numbers in '96. Both had similar approval ratings. Both faced similar wrong track numbers. While the Dole campaign wilted in the face of these numbers, the Kerry campaign has put us in a good position to win this election.
Some folks seem to think there is a problem with the K/E campaign because they're not spending enough time doing outreach with internet folks like us. To me, this is the silliest argument I've seen. Lets be grownups and give each other our own pep talks, and let K/E worry about reaching uneducated working class voters in Ohio.
And finally, some people are disconcerted by the way the K/E campaign got hammered in August. I think it's obvious to the campaign that they didn't handle the day to day combat the way they wanted. And I think they've made corrections to try to handle similar situations in the future in a better way. But the fact that they mishandled the tactics of a battle doesn't mean their entire strategy for the war is unsound.
Stop whining and find a way to make a difference. The enemy is stronger than we would like, but the enemy is beatable. And the K/E campaign is nicely positioned to do just that.
And finally, don't forget that this election isn't about John Kerry, or K/E campaign tactics. This election is about us, and about the future of our country. Help find some way of helping us win. This ain't a spectactor sport.
And when the ride gets bumpy, buckle in instead of running for the aisles.