This election is not about who has the best economic plan or Medicare plan or any other issue that is based on a rational explanation of policy intentions. There are a bunch of undecided voters out there who are going to make a decision based on what they feel in their gut, their heart or whatever else you want to call the undefined, irrational feelings that are playing on the minds of Americans. It is not surprising people are confused. On the one hand we have a Commander in Chief who is so full of miss-information, fear mongering and if we say it, it is true propaganda it can make anybodies head spin. On the other hand is the challenger who has been difficult to decipher and pin down on critical issues. When it comes time to pull that lever a lot of people are going to ask themselves one question; who can you trust to lead our country through these turbulent times?
I look at the Swifties phenomenon; women voters deserting the Democratic Party and the devastating effect of flip flop accusations and see a common thread. They are all about the trust word. The pattern is irrefutable. This summer when the headlines screamed 9 11 commission and report, Iraq, WMD et all, John Kerry was silent on these current events. It made him appear to be a weak leader with nothing to say about the compelling issues of the day and a political opportunist waiting to see which way the wind blows. Out come the Swifties suggesting the heroism thing is all a big lie, John Kerry is a man you can't trust. Boom, Kerry gets slammed in the polls. What do women want most in a man? Gentlemen I hate to inform you they're on to our weakness for the opposite sex. Women want a man who is loyal, a man they can trust. John Kerry is suffering amongst women voters because his trustworthiness is being questioned. Trust is the message behind flip flop accusations. How can you trust a man who cannot stand by his convictions? The Republicans have been relentless with their flip flop accusations as they have been outrageous with fear mongering statements because truth does not matter, what matters is the specter of mistrust and of fear that produces an irrational trust in those who say be afraid.
One might argue that trust in governance is always the motivation behind the willingness to follow a leader. This is true yet this election is driven by strong emotions that are less tied to specific issues and are connected instead to current and past events that dominate the conscience of Americans. Our national trauma remains unresolved. In effect this election is a referendum on America's response to 9 11. The Republicans have understood this from the beginning, their strategy has been unwavering. Thus, even in the face of overwhelming evidence of policy failures after 9 11, they stay the course and stake their legitimacy on the claim that they are the ones who can solve the crisis created by their declaration of war on terror. It is no coincidence they held their convention in NYC, that Dick Cheney ended the debate with these sentiments or that Bush's latest stump speech reasserts his position on Iraq and accuses John Kerry of being on "all sides" of the issue. The only way Kerry can take control of this election is to attack the very foundations of Bush's platform. Kerry must convince Americans George Bush is a man who cannot be trusted.
To do this Kerry must take the gloves off now and articulate every lie this administration has perpetrated for the last three years. He must refute the details; when George Bush says there are ten million registered voters in Afghanistan he must decry the misrepresentation, it is well known many of the registrations are duplications and that Afghanistan is threatened by a re-emerging terrorist element. Kerry must tell the real story. The war in Iraq is a case of blind ambition, the Bush administration misrepresented the intelligence on WMD to justify a decision to go to war that had already been made, the failures in Afghanistan are a consequence of decision making that had been corrupted by the intention to oust Hussein, the rush to war was motivated by the knowledge that their ambitions could be thwarted by the truth, the failure to plan for peace has put American soldiers in harms way, this war is a clarion call for terrorist around the world and the world is facing a rising threat as a direct result of the Bush administrations ill conceived policies.
In the face unforgivable errors in judgment the Bush administration has laid claim to the trust of Americans. This great irony must be dispelled. As a leader John Kerry must use the truth to teach Americans why they should not trust George Bush. Kerry is the one who must make the outrageous accusations because in this case the truth is outrageous. It is time for Kerry to stand up and say, "Yes, I voted to give George Bush the power to go to war as a demonstration of unity and trust in the light of a perceived threat, but the threat was unproven and the decision to go to war was a colossal error in judgment. George Bush betrayed my trust as he betrayed the trust of all Americans and of the people all across the globe. My mission, as the next president of the United States, is to win back the trust of Americans and the world".
