This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE      (3-9-04)

          Attack….attack….attack.

          That appears to be the campaign strategy of John Kerry.    Every one of his speeches accuse President George Bush of doing this wrong…doing that wrong…..accusing him of being awol from the National Guard during the Vietnam War…..of mismanaging the war in Iraq…..of deficit spending…..and the list of the attacks goes on and on.

          The obvious aim is to force the President to reply to these attacks…..thus it takes the spotlight off the flip flop that Kerry has apparently done on many issues during his 19 years in Congress.

          The method worked for former President Bill Clinton.   His campaign was one of attack, attack on George Bush Senior….including consistent use of the phrase “No new taxes, read my lips” which the then President said, only to have to compromise on the issue to get some action out of a Democratically controlled Congress.

           So…..President Bush, according to Kerry was wrong when he steadied the nation after the disastrous twin tower attack of the terrorists.   Apparently he was wrong when he sent troops into Afghanistan to root out the Taliban and the terrorists that they were supporting in their midst.

          When the stock market was bombarded by manipulating claims that inflated earnings from the giant companies, he was wrong in urging prosecution by the Attorney General of those guilty of the cheating.

          Apparently he was wrong when the United Nations issued their 17th ultimatum to Saddam Hussein in Iraq…demanding that he turn over whatever weapons of mass destruction that he had….and France and Germany vetoed any action…..he mustered the support of some 30 nations, including Great Britain, to roll in and defeat what was thought to be a formidable Republican Guard army that collapsed and faded into the woodwork to fight an insurgent war instead.

          Apparently, also…according to Kerry, he was wrong when he got the Congress to pass action cutting taxes for all Americans who paid taxes.    He was also wrong, Kerry says, when he got the Congress to pass a measure that would immediately provide those in the lower incomes with a $600 payment for their drug needs….and a plan that will go into effect in 2006 for all other Americans via the Medicare route.    This after Congress after Congress has failed to come up with any answer to solve not only the future needs of Medicare and Social Security but to address the health problems of the nation.

         Now…..that the President is apparently wrong on all these issues…..according to Kerry……what we he do?

        Well…..he has, he says, a simple answer…..he will soak the rich and give it to the poor.   A Robin Hood approach that has not worked in the past.   What would he do about Iraq ?     What would he do about health care?

          What would he do about securing more and more jobs….and on and on.

          As I understand it…..Kerry put in four months on boat patrol in Vietnam.  According to the records he received the Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three purple hearts.   He then requested a trip home eight months before his tour would have been over….and a few months later requests separation from active duty so he could run for Congress, then becomes an anti war activist a la Jane Fonda.

          That’s just a part of the record.   

          No question that this and other parts of his Congressional record will become front and center as the campaign progresses.    To avoid this……that’s why you attack and attack and hope to keep your opponent busy replying, rather than informing the public about your own actions.

          At any rate it promises to be a slam-bang campaign.   But as it progresses…..keep the things I’ve mentioned in mind.   President George Bush is very clear about where he wants to take this nation in the future….let’s see what kind of future for America that John Kerry has in mind.

          As someone once said…..talk is cheap…..it’s actions that count.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.

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