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John Kerry - International Man of Misery - By Dave Smith

April 16, 2004

Fresh off his stunning recent foreign policy successes, John Kerry has turned the focus of his juggernaut campaign to domestic issues. That's right, after securing the secret endorsements of many secret foreign heads of state; after securing the public endorsement of the dictator of North Korea; after many eloquent speeches regarding the inadequateness of America's military to finish the job in Iraq without the help of our brave and loyal allies in France and Germany; after thoroughly telling us how bad things are for us abroad, John Kerry is going to fill us in on how bad things are here at home. Thank goodness! I caught myself feeling happy for a moment there!

Unlike most Americans, who are upbeat in the midst of a rapidly expanding economy and a booming stock market, all John Kerry can see is misery. One can understand why - if Americans remain happy, he won't get the job he wants so badly. But it's not easy! I feel for Mr. Kerry. Times are so good domestically that he had to invent a new misery index. The old one was no good because it sits at one of its lowest historical levels. In fact the traditional misery index is now half as high as during Bill Clinton's successful reelection campaign in 1996.

To be sure, trying to make people think they are miserable is nothing new for liberals. Jimmy Carter invented the misery index in the 1970's to show Americans how bad off they were under Jerry Ford's administration. It worked for Carter. Unfortunately it didn't work for America as Carter's misery index went through the roof during his own time at the wheel.

Now John Kerry, struggling to find things to complain about after the very good jobs creation report last week, has decided to create a new misery index, cherry picking a few typically volatile items. This week he has taken the stage many times and proclaimed that the index is now as high as it's ever been! Since his index is only a few days old, that's not saying much.

The real story in America is different. The economy is growing steadily and strongly. It is largely recovered from 9/11 thanks to tax cuts and monetary policy. Consumer confidence, as measured by the federal government, is on the rise. Americans are upbeat about the future. America is winning the war on terror - and the battle is being fought on their soil, not ours - a simple but important fact.

But all John Kerry can see is misery. And that's what he is selling. Maybe, like Carter's index, it will work. Or maybe Americans will see it for what it is - the pessimistic message of a pessimistic man, representing a pessimistic party. We deserve better.

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Dave Smith is just some guy who kept bugging me to buy a timeshare.