Why Did Kerry Lose: His Choices?

George Will has his own ideas for why John Kerry lost this election. And it is much closer my own thoughts. The reasons Kerry lost are his own choices, especially to never put forth a positive agenda or idea of his own.

He was an anomalous kind of challenger. The most important changes he promised would be either restorations or resistances. That is, he campaigned as the candidate of complacency, albeit a curdled, backward-looking complacency. Regarding foreign policy, he promised to turn the clock back, to the alliance-centered foreign policy prior to the intrusion of the ``nuisance'' of terrorism. Regarding domestic policy, he promised to stop the clock, preventing any forward movement on entitlement reform to cope with the baby boomers' retirements. Never in this marathon did Kerry himself do anything to change the campaign's dynamics.

This is very much how I see the campaign of the Johns. Frankly, it reminds me of the Dole 1996 campaign. Nominated because "it is his turn," running against a popular president with no better slogan than "I am not him," and trusting the public's disgust in events to turn the tide.



A warning to candidates for 2004. Do not simply run as the "I am not Hillary" candidate. Or even as the "I am not George Bush" candidate (on the Left). Come up with a real agenda, with real ideas, and real goals. Use your idealism, don't rest up on it.