I’m pretty tired of hearing the talking heads complain that John Kerry hasn’t fully articulated his reasons for running for president, but I imagine Kerry is particularly sick of it. To his credit, I think he has a clever idea to help quash these questions altogether — he’s telling them explicitly.
Armed with a five-word refrain, Democrat John Kerry on Tuesday fought back against the perception that many voters don’t know what he stands for or why he is challenging President Bush.
“I’m running for president because ….” the White House hopeful, longtime senator from Massachusetts and decorated Vietnam War veteran explained again and again.
I had thought Kerry’s reasons for seeking the presidency had already been well articulated, but reporters seemed anxious to hear the guy spell it out for them. Hopefully, repeating the phrase constantly will do the trick.
“I’m running for president because I want an economy that strengthens and expands the middle class, not one that squeezes it,” the presumptive Democratic nominee told a labor conference in Atlantic City.
[…]
“I pick up the papers some days, I read people say, “Well, what’s the campaign about? What’s Kerry running for? What is the guy for?’ Well let me tell you directly what it is,” he told guests at a $1 million fund-raiser hosted by rock star Jon Bon Jovi at his riverside mansion in Middletown, New Jersey on Monday night.
“I’m running for president to put America back to work … I’m running for president because health care is not a benefit for the wealthy or the elected or the connected … I’m running for president because I know that we could be a hell of a lot stronger in the world if we were to secure our freedom … I’m running for president because I believe we can build an even more effective military.”
The strategy is so obvious, it just might work. I hope Kerry keeps it up; maybe it’ll prompt the media to move on to some other vapid criticism.