I've been thinking about the new dynamics of the general election, and offer two messages I'd like to push. Neither one is new (the first I saw articulated by Molly Ivins). As we turn to focus on a larger set of voters, though, we need to choose different points of emphasis.
First, our children will have to pay for BOTH the cost of the war AND the budget deficit.
In response to the "not my fault" (see Talking Points Memo) tenor of the Bush apology for the economy, the fact that the Iraqi war costs are generally off budget - that is, that the budget fiasco is independent of (and in addition to) the war fiasco - needs to be pushed. If they are separated, then the "not my fault" argument is undermined.
Second, there is NO conservative in this race.
I would like to see Kerry take a question in the debates that mentions conservatives in the South, or the Grand Old Party, and say: "There is no conservative candidate in this election. A conservative would not create a deficit that threatens to destroy the economy, would not rush into costly and unjustified foreign wars, and would not try to limit civil liberties by amending the Constitution. My opponent has spent four years taking the country in a radically new direction, turning his back on liberal and conservative values alike, in favor of the interests of his wealthiest donors. They can try to scare conservatives all they want by calling me a liberal. But conservatives are smart enough to see that on those core issues that I mentioned, my presidency is going to be better for them than four more years of the mess we're in."
Other memes?