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01/27/2004 Archived Entry: "This race's big issue: beating Bush"

Posted by steve @ 12:17 AM EST [Link]

WHY DEMS ARE MOVING TO KERRY: According to a report in the Christian Science Monitor, many Democrats are moving to John Kerry because they believe he can beat George W. Bush.

When Democrats are asked whether they'd rather have a candidate they agreed with on most issues or a candidate who would have a better chance of beating Bush, they choose the latter by a margin of 2 to 1, says Rich Killion, a pollster at Franklin Pierce College. "That isn't a gap, that's a canyon," he says.

This sentiment is clearly motivating Democrats to a greater extent than in recent cycles, with most observers here expecting a large turnout Tuesday, even amid predictions of a snowstorm.

But it's also created challenges, as candidates struggle to stand out in a race where issue contrasts are less important. At times it has made the process seem strangely depersonalized.

At a recent Clark rally in Portsmouth, one speaker opened by saying, "Now I know many of you are just ABB [Anyone But Bush]," pleading with them to look specifically at Clark's qualifications. Likewise, in Nashua, a voter at a Kerry rally held up a sign that didn't even contain the candidate's name: "He's the one Bush won't beat."

Well, I don't know about that. I think even the most partisan of Democrats will admit that November is Dubya's election to lose.

Read on.