A Look Back: "My Letter to Governor Kerry: April, 2004

Dear Governor Kerry: April 19, 2004

Althought I did not line up with you in the beginning of the campaign—I was a county coordinator, fund-raiser, organizer in Delaware for Dean—the increasing attacks against you have caused me to move into your camp. So, it’s less about what you have done to involve me than my antipathy for the other side for their tactics, their failures, their selfish agenda that takes advantage of the middle class and the less fortunate among us..

Let me say that as a consequence of my past and current activism, I feel that I have a pretty good handle on human motivation and what is missing in this election to date.
As a Veteran of the Vietnam period and Military Adviser under both Eisenhower and Kennedy…and an international marketing and communications consultant for more than thirty five years, I am a no-nonsense realist who wants you to light a fire under your campaign. What is needed is something that I don’t see…

And that is, very simply put, a VISION!

A vision that will transcend normal political haggling and embrace the micro and macro needs of this country ranging from our position on the world stage to—
A Vision that will address our needs in four distinct areas….

Global Warming
Healthcare
Jobs
Education

It is not enough to see we need change, we need an articulated campaign on each of these bed-rock issues…This vision must be transformed into a meaningful and tangible Crusade that is predicated on a well thought out agenda, arguments and programs that will inspire and motivate…

We all crave to have the status quo transformed…

But what we hear resembles more rhetoric than anything else because it is not fleshed out and it does not have substance and depth. And the media treats it as such. It seems to be something pulled together in response to what ‘the other guy’ said. The Democrats need to start thinking on a BIGGER SCALE and start using a BIGGER STAGE. This is what it takes!!! And don’t lose sight of emblems, icons and the rest of the arsenal that this empty suit is using to whip up opinion.

If I were you, I would gather the best minds and bring them together in a very visible and
transforming conference that would address these issues. I would then keep these people on as your brains and advisers—people whom the rest of us can respect. And use that to spring forward in a very engaged way.

A Crusade in each of these areas will lend substance and weight to your campaign; but most importantly they will constitute elements of a national agenda that will have us all gasping for more. It will also hold the public spotlight and allow your serious agenda to shine through. I hope that you will read this very preliminary letter and hope that it will cause you to rethink your strategy once again. I am available to flesh out these thoughts...Best wishes,