Joshua Micah Marshall argues in yesterday’s “Talking Points Memo” that “if John Kerry is going to win this election, he will have to make it, in large measure, an election about accountability.” I agree. Marshall goes on to say: “Making that argument requires some rhetorical dexterity. And the opposition — i.e., Kerry — does have to show that they, or rather he, could do better. But given what we’ve seen, that really should not be that hard.” Here I not only agree, but would suggest that this has been the way to run things for quite a while. The list of Bush failures continues to grow so fast that it is amazing to consider. Here’s a partial list off the top of my head (forgive me for missing as much as I no doubt do): Anthrax (who did it? no one seems to know years later), Taxes and the deficit, Iraq War (Marshall does it justice), EPA enforcement gutting, Halliburton no-bid contracts (with Dick Cheney still financially involved with them), Enron price fixing that cost California billions with no federal investigation/relief until too late, Education underfunding by Bush’s own standards, Bush supporting/appointing judge that illegally aids a cross-burner among other reprehensible acts, Advocating salary cuts to active duty soldiers, Reducing VA health service to veterans, Advocating reduction of financial support to military public schools and the beat goes on….
When I was actively working with DuPage for Dean I came up with a slogan supported by banners for parades and Dean paper “film strips” enclosed in discarded 35 mm film canisters we got from photo developers: “Picture a Better America: Develop it with Dean.” Aside from a number of parade watchers thinking it was clever (based on comments we heard), I think it gave the right message: America can be better with this guy, and he will work with you to make it so. That message summarizes almost everything wrong with Bush: he’s doing a poor job for America and he’s not working with us. If I were advising Kerry, I’d recommend that he use “better” as much as possible. The advantage of the word is that it is in the “comparative” and, by comparison, most things look better than Bush.
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