There has been much written about why Kerry lost, and what that means for strategy and tactics going forward. In my mind, why Kerry lost, on one hand, and what the Dems should claim is the reason Kerry lost are potentially separate concerns.
Although Kerry lost for a variety of reasons, it certainly seems that the "war on terrorism" (or, as Bush would have it, the "war on terror") is at last as important, and probably more so, as the categorically ambiguous "moral values." Raw exit poll numbers from one survey aside, (erroneous) perceptions of Bush and Kerry on terrorism moved the votes more than the values question.
So, if foreign policy/terrorism are again a staple of the next election cycle (which is certainly likely), I think an important lesson we take going forward is that we must have a candidate whom voters trust on national security in his/her own right, and as against the Republican opposition.
But I'd suggest we put that lesson in our back pocket, and enthusiastically embrace the meme that Bush won because of "moral value" southern evangelicals.
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