Dick Morris: How to Beat John Kerry

Say what you will about Francophile Dick Morris, the shady political operator who let a hooker listen in on his private strategy calls with former President Clinton, but you cannot call him incompetent. Today, in The Hill, Morris lays out a strategy whereby the Republicans can defeat that can of hairspray Senator John Kerry (The Corsair wanted John Edwards for the nominee). Morris writes:

"In opting for Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and turning down Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Democrats have broken from the pragmatism and moderation that dominated their party�s profile under Bill Clinton and Al Gore in the 1990s."

(The Corsair nods, sadly)

"Their party has now moved back to the liberal extremism of Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis that characterized the 1980s � with the same predictable result."

(The Corsair nods, sadly)

"It is now up to President Bush to take advantage of this by implementing a three-part strategy in the coming campaign.

"First, his paid media must attack Kerry�s voting record to define him as an ultraliberal. There are likely those in the White House who are urging Bush to run positive ads. That won�t work. Even if positive ads produce a small, short-term bounce for Bush, events soon will come to dominate, and the impact of those ads likely will evaporate."

(The Corsair lets out a depressed sigh)

For the other two reasons that will give anyone pause, check out Morris column here.