See, this is why we LOSE!
President Bush held a press conference today, in which he said the following:
On his so-called "Mandate"
"Now that I've got the will of the people at my back..."
"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That's what happened in the -- after the 2000 election, I earned some capital. I've earned capital in this election -- and I'm going to spend it for what I told the people I'd spend it on, which is -- you've heard the agenda: Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror."
more below the fold...
On Tort Reform
"We must confront the frivolous lawsuits that are driving up the cost of health care and hurting doctors and patients."
On Public Education
"We must continue the work of education reform, to bring high standards and accountability not just to our elementary and secondary schools, but to our high schools, as well."
On Tax Reform
"We must reform our complicated and outdated tax code."
On the Financial Cost of the Iraq War
"And in terms of the cost [of the war on Iraq], I -- we'll work with OMB and the Defense Department to bring forth to Congress a realistic assessment of what the cost will be."
On Federal Judicial Appointments
"And I told the people on the campaign trail that I'll pick somebody who knows the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law... And if people are interested in knowing the kind of judges I'll pick, look at the record. I've sent up a lot of judges, well-qualified people who know the law, who represent a judicial temperament that I agree with and who are qualified to hold the bench."
On his Iraq Decision
"And, of course, then the Iraq issue is one that people disagreed with. And there's no need to rehash my case, but I did so, I made the decision I made, in order to protect our country, first and foremost."
On Social Security Reform
"And so the answer to your second question is, we'll start on Social Security now...reforming Social Security will be a priority of my administration."
In response, Democratic leaders said... nothing.
A Yahoo! news search for "Nancy Pelosi" yielded these stories. No response to the press conference.
A Yahoo! news search for our lame duck Senate Minority leader "Tom Daschle" yielded these stories. No response to the press conference from Daschle, Reid, Dodd. Nobody!
A Yahoo! news search for "democrats" yielded these stories. No response to the press conference from Democrats.
See the DNC website, where we get John Kerry's surrender... er, concession speech.
This is why we lose! Don't you think Democratic leaders would have something to say about these topics, and Bush's comments? But no! Our campaign ended on Tuesday. No one is speaking for our side right now. If the campaign was still on, the Kerry people would have had instant responses at the ready. If the tables were turned, do you think the Republicans would let a Presidential press conference go unanswered? Whether or not a campaign is on?
We must change our whole approach to politics. Politics is every day, for the rest of our lives. Ours must be an ongoing campaign. We must be ready with talking points for our leaders and our talking heads. Otherwise, how will we be the alternative to the Republican party?