Back for the General Election

Since last we talked, the Bush campaign has spent millions of dollars trying to “define” John Kerry as a liberal flip-flopper.  The Kerry campaign has spent most of its time raising money and standing aside while events play havoc with Bush’s reelection rationale.

If voters knew a little more about Kerry, or if Kerry was simply a moderate Southerner, I think he would have a commanding lead at this point.  There is clearly a Democratic majority out there for the taking this year, but undoubtedly there are swing voters who figured they would never have to cast a vote for a “Massachusetts liberal” like Kerry.  A Clinton or a Gore, OK, but John “McGovern-Tip-Teddy-Dukakis-in-a-tank” Kerry?  There is a massive hesitation among the undecideds, who are more than ready to jettison Bush but are waiting to see if Kerry can convince them that he is not some kind of wild-eyed liberal.  It doesn’t help that the convention is in Boston, but this Thursday is Kerry’s biggest opportunity yet.  Given his speaking style, though, it’s probably just as well that the undecideds have 437 cable channels to choose from.