Competitive Intelligence

"W" is for Winner…?

The "W is for Wrong" tagline Kerry rolled out in an effort to compete with W's post-convention bounce in the polls has left me wondering if he thinks he's running for president of the seventh grade student council instead of leader of the free world. In what feels like panic with a reshuffle of the campaign team, an analysis suggests that the number of swing states Kerry can compete in has dwindled in recent weeks from 21 to 16 (give or take) has left the Kerry campaign with fewer options and will almost have to win either Ohio or Florida or else win every other contested state but those two. To boost their chances then, they've scaled back operations in less winnable states and reinforced them where it'll count.

Divide in Democrat's Camp (LA Times): Party advisors' discussion on how to forge a 'new direction' for the candidate leads to mixed messages and lost momentum.

Size of Battleground May Be Smaller Than Expected (Washington Post): President Bush's post-convention bounce in state and national polls has left Democratic challenger John F. Kerry with a smaller battlefield upon which to contest the presidential election and a potentially more difficult route to an electoral college victory than his advisers envisioned a few months ago.

Looking Backward - Did Kerry learn the right lesson from Dukakis? (Slate.com): Remember when this was John Kerry's race to lose? Now the question on everyone's minds is whether he's lost it, and if so, what it will take for him to win it back. The Kerry campaign remains stagnant—though improved from where it was a week ago—because, despite claims to the contrary, it hasn't absorbed the lesson of Michael Dukakis' failed presidential bid. Or worse, Kerry might have learned the wrong lesson from 1988.

- Arik