Question about weak candidates.

[karynnj]

66. Kerry was attacked since 1971!

Not to mention he ran against an incumbent President, in a time of war. Bush had been at 60% approval in December 2003. Kerry did not get "taken down" by the liars. By November, the polls done showed that even many who voted against Kerry knew they were lying. Winning 2004 was a long shot for the Democrats. Polls in early 2004, showed Dean losing badly to Bush. Kerry's excellent debates and convention were the ONLY unfiltered TV coverage he got -- and he used them to make the election very competitive. Had there been enough voting machines in Ohio, he would have won. They had to cheat to win.

What the SBVT did steal was that they made it harder for Kerry to use the endorsements of his character and leadership as a young man. The odd thing is that it was only because of the liars that I bothered to read the Navy fitness reports that were on his web site. They showed an extraordinary, mature, thoughtful man. Years later, I heard one of them speak and even 40 years after they served together, his admration and love for JK came through. Many Republican memes - that he was wooden, elitist, priviledged, haughty or arrogant are blown out of the water in those long ago accounts. A repeated comment - over his two tours with different crews - was how he generated an usual amount of both loyalty and trust from his guys.

The attacks by the liars was more to attack an asset that Kerry had. That he, when he easily could have avoided it, served with those who had no choice and that he was a real hero. Other than that, their other attacks were that he wind surfed - in a country where athleticism had always been a positive - and that he "flipped flop" - as all legislators do when versions of bills change. Note that the fact that he genuinely has been a very clean politician meant that there were no real claims otherwise. (Consider also that had he NOT been seen wind surfing, there likely would have been a whisper campaign about his health - as one campaign did in the primaries in push polls suggesting his cancer had returned.)

While it is true that 2016 had many seeking change, President Obama had approval ratings higher than Reagan did when his VP Bush ran and won.