I've been as harsh as anyone else here on those tearing their hair out over the Kerry campaign, but I do have to say: I wish that Kerry would do something big and simple that the public would latch on to. There just something ... missing.
When Kerry responded to Bush's speech, he went right back to talking about Vietnam and service, which, frankly, I think he could do less of. I realize "Kerry talks about nothing but Vietnam" is a misleading GOP line, but the fact is that he has allowed his service record to trump pretty much everything else he puts forward.
I wish there was a more coherent underlying theme for the campaign. Kerry hasn't managed his brand so well. Ask most people what Kerry is really about and they'll either say they don't know or say something about Vietnam! That just won't do on its own. He's presented some interesting and strong domestic ideas, like his goal for more energy independence, but I always hear far more bickering about service than about these ideas. Why can't he push policies more aggressively? Put his economic ideas into a package, give it a good name (something like the old "Contract with America"), and tout it endlessly. It's just marketing.