Earth to John Kerry, please come back to us

There is a front page story on MSN with the leader:

Kerry:  Health care 'broken'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4944764/

There's nothing wrong with John Kerry having a health care plan, obviously.  Every issue on which he demonstrates that he has any semblance of a plan casts him in favorable contrast to the current president.  What bothers me is the timing of Kerry's attention to this issue.

I think the Democratic party learned the wrong lesson from 1992.  Conventional wisdom is that George Bush I lost his reelection bid because he ignored the economy.  I think that's a misrepresentation.  I think he lost because he was perceived as being "out of touch", and he was perceived as being "out of touch" because his campaign's priorities were not the nation's priorities.

Sure, Americans are worried about health care.  They want their candidates to talk about health care.  I think it would be hard to argue, though, that it is most people's most urgent concern right now.  And, I think it makes Kerry look horribly out of touch when the stories in the news (as they appear on MSN) are:

1. How did it happen?  Rumsfeld and the road to the Iraqi prison abuse scandal
2. U.S. destroys Shiite cleric's office
3. Saudis urge boost in oil output
4. Kerry:  Health care 'broken'

Which one of these is not like the other?  Which one of these does not belong?  This sort of thing will hurt at a time when voters are looking for an alternative for Bush.  It's just my opinion, but this is exactly what Howard Dean was warning about 5 months ago.  The mess in Iraq, and our national security in general, have become the most important election issues.  They are dominating news coverage and underly the most stinging criticism of our incumbent president.  How can John Kerry offer an alternative?  He voted for the war, and doesn't seem to have a radically different strategy for us in the Middle East.  The public and pundits are rightfully sceptical of Kerry's claim that he will succeed in using the UN to clean up the mess that we (George Bush) have created.  That is not an exit strategy that he will be able to run on.

If Kerry were as smart and prescient as I (tongue in cheek), he would use surrogates to push the Democratic agenda on issues like health care, the environment, and civil rights.  He would focus his attention on building his image as an executive with an eye on the biggest problems and the big picture.  Talking about health care today doesn't make John Kerry look presidential.  It reinforces his image as a legislator.