Changing the subject from medals and such, John Kerry is focused like on a laser beam on the evil federal deficit. He's "relentless." Really.
When Sen. John Kerry’s campaign wanted to refocus attention on the economy this week, officials turned to a group of Nobel Prize-winning economists who warned of President Bush’s “reckless and extreme” fiscal policy. Earlier in the month the campaign put the spotlight on its most prominent supporter from the business world, Robert Rubin, who said the prospect of long-term deficits is at the heart of the nation’s economic troubles.Kerry’s stump speeches pledge better-paying jobs and relief for stressed middle-class families, focusing on “kitchen table” issues like the cost of health care and college tuition. But the campaign’s relentless focus on the budget deficit reflects the priorities of an economic team dominated by veterans of the Clinton administration.
While the Kerry team may have sound economic reasons for focusing on fiscal issues, not everyone is convinced that concern about the deficit will resonate with voters.
“John Kerry is being the most responsible kid in the class,” said Dan Carol, a Democratic strategist not working with the campaign. “But the focus on fiscal responsibility is crowding out optimistic, exciting investment programs that will pay economic dividends and more importantly will appeal to voters.”
Except, of course, when he's not.
Sen. John Kerry's pledge to reduce record federal budget deficits is colliding with an obstacle that may be growing higher by the week: his own campaign commitments.Posted by Alan at August 28, 2004 12:20 AMA Washington Post review of Kerry's tax cuts and spending plans, in addition to interviews with campaign staff members and analyses by conservative and liberal experts, suggests that they could worsen the federal budget deficit by as much as President Bush's agenda.
If projected savings from unspecified cuts do not materialize, Kerry's pledges could outstrip those of the president, whom the Democrat has repeatedly accused of unprecedented fiscal recklessness.