John Kerry's campaign is hitting the wrong notes for Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson, who's clearly no fan of George W. Bush. A recent Kerry campaign-funded mailing from Demo strategist James Carville left Jackson scratching his head.

What was striking about the letter was that the entire first page was about how Bush misleads, but not a single sentence about how Kerry would lead. Even as Bush flounders in self-righteousness, you have to wonder if the ABB (Anybody But Bush) crowd is lulling themselves into a reverse trap. Letters like this make you wonder if ABB also means All But Blind.

The reality is there is a core on folks on the right who believe Bush is an appointed guardian of unilateral American might. There is a core of people on the left who believe Bush is still not their president. But if it was so obvious to Americans outside the elite east and the Bay Area that Bush was a scoundrel, then the polls should not be merely even - Kerry should be ahead by a landslide.

Kerry's weak Washington State effort is dismaying, especially given strong GOP grassroots efforts here for Bush, says Josh Feit, liberal columnist for the Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger. In last week's piece, "R Is For Ready," he noted:

...be forewarned all you Ds who were so impressed with yourselves for waking up early on a Saturday morning and showing up at your caucus on the heels of the Howard Dean adrenaline rush: The Rs are fired up too. They're itching to defend their man.....

The R energy also grabbed my attention because, well, John Kerry has not. I'm willing to swallow Kerry's lame position on gay rights and his dumb corporate tax break just to get Bush out of office, but Kerry's anemic campaign is all the more troubling when my Seattle bubble is disturbed by the news that in every county in the state, Bush has his base in high gear.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 21, 2004 10:55 AM

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