Down to and including a little-listened to radio show in my home market - Detroit - John Kerry is being defined as two-faced.
"He is against the war, but he voted for it. He was against No Child Left Behind but, guess what, he voted for it. Kerry is trying to have both sides of every issue. At least Bush stands by his positions, whether you agree with him or not." Like it or not, that has legs.
We all know that last sentence isn't true. But the first two are true, so the last sentence will be presumed to be true by most people.
Yes, I was (am) a Deaniac, but I've swallowed my soul and have dedicated myself to getting Kerry elected. I want the John Kerry campaign that hit back against Dean to hit back just as hard (harder) at Bush. I want this "two-faced" meme destroyed with a quickness.
John Kerry was able to do it in the primaries, when we Democrats were focused (listening to more than sound bites) and actualy listened to what was said. But this is the general election now. Will people sit still long enough to hear out The Great Explainer? Right now, the Kerry campaign seems strangely quiet, like they're basking in some sort of imaginary glory from winning the nomination. However, there IS no afterglow - only the Mighty Wurlitzer defining the Democratic candidate against a backdrop of deafening silence.
If this sounds like I'm ringing some sort of alarm bell, that's exactly what I'm doing.
P.S. - He has to refute the charge of being two-faced and present a vision for going forward without saying the word "Vietnam."
The primaries are over. For the sake of all of us, Bring It On, John Kerry.