Decius wrote:
] ] It's the economy, John Kerry.
] ]
] ] That's what delegates to the Democratic National
] ] Convention say their presumed presidential nominee or --
] ] they shudder to think -- President Bush should
] ] concentrate on first in 2005, an Associated Press survey
] ] of Democratic delegates found.
] ]
] ] Health care was the No. 2 issue, followed by the war in
] ] Iraq, according to the survey of some three-quarters of
] ] the 4,300-plus delegates.
]
] I think this is a very serious mistake. This election is a
] referendum on Bush, and how his administration has handled
] security and foreign policy in the wake of 9/11. As long as
] Kerry can maintain the perception that Bush has loused things
] up and that he can fix it he can will the election. This is
] not very difficult to do in the wake of the failure to
] discover WMD and the difficult security situation in Iraq.
]
] Putting out a numbered list of priorities, and putting
] national security in the middle of list, communicates only one
] thing, and that is that national security is not our top
] priority. This creates a fundamental weakness that will be
] easy for the Republicans to exploit. They can send the message
] that they care more about national security then the Democrats
] do, and if people believe that message the Republicans will
] win the election. A terrorist attack in this season would play
] right into that fissure.
]
] Healthcare is a very serious problem in this country, but no
] one understands it better then the people who operate
] businesses. In other words, as most voters don't operate
] businesses they are unlikely to understand how serious the
] problem is. They understand 9/11. And frankly, they understand
] that healthcare won't help much if they are victim of an
] attack no matter how affordable it is.

I disagree. The idea that this election is just about 9/11 and Iraq is one that has been propagated by the Bush admin and his supporters. As much as republicans want to distract from REAL issues by constantly bringing up the threat of an imminent attack, the people on the street have other things on their mind. Sure, when the news incessantly blares new vague bullshit threats, everyone gets worked up for a moment. But in between the morning and evening news, there's the fact that you can't feed your family or pay for your son's asthma meds. The fact that Democrats want to focus on making the country BETTER, rather than more barricaded against terror, is going to help them. Healthcare and the economy may seem boring in comparison to other so-called turning points in this election, but it has traditionally been democratic strongsuits, and I don't think it is a naieve move to focus on these issues and let the truth of Bush's actions take care of the reinvigorated 9/11 hype.
The truth is, this country is divided into those who think security is the main issue and those who want their civil liberties and economic security back. Who wins depends on who gets out there and votes.
(sorry this is all jumbled, I'm at work.)