PRISONER EXPRESS

My view on the Presidential Election is as follows: John Kerry- it seems to many that he has no position on anything, especially Iraq, and this election is all about Iraq. For months the Democratic nominee has variously described the war as a necessary evil that he supports -- now Bush's real weak spot is his incompetent handling of the war. This is why President Bush and his supporters would rather talk about Kerry's position on Iraq than the reality on the ground: In the upcoming debates and through out the rest of the campaign Kerry should respond to every attack on his flip flopping by saying stop changing the subject. Also Kerry has to be able to say what he will do differently besides saying that he will get NATO and the U.N. to assume a much larger burden in Iraq. Just these few words, will either help Bush or put him out of the White House. How do you build a democracy when you've already lost the Sunnies? With the army and the National Guards stretched thin and bogged down in Iraq for years. The American people know a problem when they see one and they don't appreciate a President who refuses to see what's in his face. The two rivals meet this Friday for the first time and the wrong word may cost either of them the Presidential debate, just like it has with many candidates before them. Even those with smoother command of grammar and diction (Slick Willie AKA Bill) and with millions of voters watching on TV Friday night for 90 minutes of foreign policy face off could be a defining event in the Presidential campaign.

One of Kerry's goals should be to cut out the policy speak, and qualifier for President Bush to win the White House he must make the case that he has realistic plans for postwar Iraq and the broader war on terrorism. But most importantly he must convince viewers that he knows what he's doing and that he is committed to doing it correctly. But then again this is surprise me October and anything can happen bad or good: for example a late development in 2000 about George W. Bush drunken driving arrest in 1976 broke out five days before the election. Also a week before the 1980 elections Ronald Reagan devastated Jimmy Carter with the one question, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" My point is anything can happen in the last few days to shift the views of millions of voters. America could suffer another terrorist attack that reveals widespread ineptness by homeland security. Bush or Kerry could stumble badly in a debate. Hell, Osama bin Laden could be captured, a large cache of weapons of mass destruction could be uncovered in Iraq. (Hey I have a vivid imagination.) And in closing, once you've cast that early absentee ballot it's gone, there is no provision for buyers remorse...