The election, part 2

I don't really have anything terribly insightful to say about this, since I haven't been paying much attention to the Democratic National Convention, but others have and since I've been kind of skimming their comments, I've have formed the following opinion:

No one, and I mean politicians, the media, other bloggers, and your run of them mill Democratic supporters seem to be campaigning for Kerry on his merits. No one is espousing the value of a Kerry presidency based on the moral character that he will bring to the position, based on the unique executive changes that he will bring about, or based on how he's the right man for the job at this point in our electoral history. Everyone, though is campaigning for Kerry based on how he compares to Bush and how he'll change Bush espoused policies and do things differently than Bush. Read through the transcripts from the DNC, through the media reports on the convention, and through the blogs of people who are there and who have opinions on what is going on and you'll see this everywhere.

Kerry will not give tax breaks to the rich, like Bush did. He won't shut down stem cell research, like Bush did. He won't have us rely on foreign oil, like Bush is doing. He won't lead us on a moral crusade, like Bush has. It goes on and on and on. It's not that these aren't valid reasons to support a political candidate, but I'm not sure that, in and of themselves, they're enough, if this is all we'll get. Change is good and change is beneficial, but change, for changes sake, rarely works out like we expect it to. Once Kerry reverses all the evil that Bush has brought on us, what else will he do. What else is on his agenda for the rest of the 4 years he's in office? What additional benefit will he bring to us, or is merely reversing Bush sufficient?

I'll wager that merely comparing yourself to the man in power and defining how you'll be different isn't sufficient to win the national election. You've got to give the voting populace more, maybe not much, but more none the less. Quit comparing yourself to Bush and how you'll be different. The undecideds don't need additional motivation to vote against Bush, the need motivation to vote for you. Give that to them, and you might campaign your way into the White House. Don't, and in the end the undecideds will decide that not all change is good, and will either stay the course, or merely stay home, and that's not beneficial to anyone and certainly more harmful to the Democrats than the Republicans.