Everyone is Giving Kerry Free Advice through the NY Times

Leon Panetta former chief of staff for President Clinton opined in today's NY Times the title of his piece says it all "Pick a Message, Any Message"

"Monterey, Calif. — If John Kerry is to win this election, he will have to be much bolder about telling the American people exactly what he will do to make the country better. As a wise colleague in the House of Representatives once told me: voters don't care so much about what you believe so long as you believe in something."

I guess Senator Kerry should have figured out what his core values were before he gained his party's nomination.

Here is another article in yesterday's NY Times, Kerry's Cast of Thousands, by David Brooks, This is incredibly insightful and Senator Kerry should take this to heart.

"Across the wine-dark sea they come, honing Kerry's message. They come from Harvard, K Street and the studios of CNN. "Once more into the breach!" they cry, as they join the conference call of thousands.

Look at them, these great, unhuddled masses, yearning to wear White House badges. They are consultants, flacks, spinners, strategists, Knights of the Palm lunch table. And yet they come as one, from all corners of the Democratic world, to figure out what John Kerry, age 60, should believe and say.

Into the valley of hope ride the 600, the inner ring of Kerry confidants. A year ago, there was just a small and hearty band. There was the campaign manager Jim Jordan. There was Gibbs, Cherny and Mellman. But under their reign, the message was not honed. The candidate did flounder. The quest for a Kerry conviction was not fulfilled.

And so the great accretion began. The call went out to pollsters, wonks and wandering wordsmiths to come gather and fill the void of Kerry's core. Brave souls emerged from the Land of Ted - the Kennedy brigades led by Cahill and Cutter are now abetting the mighty Shrum.

Boldly they rode and well, into the morass of Kerry's mind. Through the thicket of equivocations they ventured, across the paradoxical plains of Kerry's prose - all in the quest for a conviction."

This is hilarious. Read the whole thing. Thanks David