The following is all common sense, but, what the hell....
here goes nothing.
(fwiw, far be it from me to claim that "my" advice is better than anyone else's....feel free to add your own.)
My advice to Kerry:
re: Debates
#1: He must be Presidential.
That means, #1, that Kerry's unswerving attention in these debates is to the viewing audience. Not the hosts, not the audience at hand, and not President Bush. Presidents are the only Americans who speak to the whole nation at one time on a regular basis. Kerry must do this during these debates. That is his laser focus. He should not let anything break that commitment to speak to the nation directly in this context.
Kerry must leave the electorate with that impression of him....as someone who is committed to communicating with them...not in scoring points against an opponent or cozying up to a moderator or an in-house crowd.
#2: Kerry must refer to the President as Mr. President...and convey respect to his person and his office.
Kerry must not go personal. If anything, he should be more formal than he has to be. Kerry's debate is with Bush's record in office...not him personally. It would be fully appropriate for Kerry to say at some point in the debate. Mr. President, I respect you as a man, and I respect your service to our nation these last four difficult years. However, Mr. President, I sincerely and strongly disagree with your policies for our nation, and I have no doubt that you sincerely and strongly disagree with my own.
#3: At the outset, Kerry needs to frame the debates as about three things:
- these are difficult times
- Kerry's policies differ with George Bush's
- Kerry is running for President because he feels called to offer an alternative to those policies and because he feels called to serve the nation at this moment in history.
Kerry could say, for example, as an opener....
My fellow Americans, these are difficult times. I am running for President because I feel profoundly called to serve at this time, and because I feel compelled to offer the nation an alternative to the policies of the Bush Administration. That is what I seek out of these debates. I want you, my fellow Americans, to know how I aspire to serve this country if you choose me, and I want to make clear how my policies would differ from those of President Bush. It is that simple, and it is important that it be that simple and direct, anything less is a disservice to you.
#4: Senator Kerry should refuse to debate or talk about the Viet Nam stories on principle.
This should be his stand: What faces the nation now is so grave and so important Senator Kerry refuses to enter into a debate about the Swift Boat controversy or Bush's guard record.
Here's how he might respond to that question: Jim, my service in Viet Nam and my subsequent testimony before the Senate are a matter of public record. I trust the American public to make up it's own mind about my conduct as a member of the Armed Forces and afterwards. As for debating those stories tonight, with so many grave issues before us as a nation, including a war in Iraq and a war against al Qaeda...that is something I will not do, nor is it something I think the American public or our troops in uniform want me to do. end of sentence....no further comment...silence.
This is a gambit. But I think any discussion of Bush's guard record...or Kerry's Viet Nam service controversies is strictly a losing proposition. Further, it gives legitimacy to a distraction. Essentially, Kerry must put the ball back in the media's court on this one. More difficult is if he gets asked a question like this from a citizen. Argh. At any rate, the proper response is a short answer...and no attempt to say anything else. Just yield the time.
#5: The debate is with George Bush's record in office, not him as a person.
This is the key to the tone of all four debates. Kerry and Edwards must leave the American public with the sense that the Democratic opposition to Bush is not personal, (of course, it is, but that's the challenge)...We must convey that, rhetorically, what John Kerry is doing is simply highlighting and clarifying the differences between Bush's record and Bush's own words about his record...and Kerry's own plans for this country.
This sounds simple. But, believe it or not, this is the crux of the Democrats failure the last twenty five years.
It's not personal. It's not about Bush. It's about his record...it's about the GOP record...it's about GOP policies..and about our alternative. Everyone understands that, but for the longest time we Democrats have been the absolute champions of implied ulterior motives. (Dashcle, Gephardt, even Pelosi.) We simply do not come out and talk about the Republican record in office. We don't come out and unabashedly state what we are FOR and how it's different. But, duh, that's what elections are about.
#6: At the end of the day, John Kerry needs to leave the nation with these impressions.
- that Kerry is Presidential
- that he has respect for President Bush
- that he disagrees with Bush's policies
- that he has offered a clear statement of his own policies and how they are different than Bush's
- that John Kerry understands that these are grave times
- that he sincerely feels compelled to serve and offer the American voter a choice this election year
- that John Kerry is capable of entering into the ONLY arena in American politics where the media and the leaders of both parties get together to talk about the issues facing us as a nation and in THAT context, Kerry is capable of keeping his focus on the American people and their right to an informed and respectful debate.
- hence, Kerry must not engage in anything that even remotely resembles a partisan grudge match...he must go above that and THROUGH that and take his case to the American public, right there in front of everyone.
#6: In sum, John Kerry must transcend partisanship at these debates by being a loyal partisan to his cause AND his nation.
He will be partisan by forthrightly talking about the issues in a no-nonsense way. He will transcend partisanship by elevating the debates into a real debate about the issues and in getting past ANY and ALL personal animosity or disrespect for the office or person of the President. Deep down, I think that is something the American publican can respect, if not like. The one fatal, critical, crucial mistake Kerry must not make...is to let any hint of disrespect creep in to his tone.
However, paradoxically, knowing this...establishing respect for Bush and a direct and frank level of communicating with the public will allow Kerry to make a full critique of the Bush record in office and to unabashedly, unapologetically and honestly adovocate for our full agenda.
As a Democrat that is something I can live with...if not hope for with all my heart and mind.
Knock it out of the park, John!