I think the issues that will determine the presidential election are the three T's: taxes, terrorism and trade. Kerry is already desperately trying to neutralize the tax issue. He is improbably claiming he will offer a middle class tax cut, even as he supports higher taxes. Bush needs to respond quickly, and the best weapon is a no new taxes pledge. He should also remind voters that Clinton ran on the same pledge of a middle classs tax cut that was quiuckly abandoned in favor of a huge increase when he was safely in office. The trade issue is tricky. Kerry clearly thinks that he can appear compassionate and populist by attacking the very free trade arrangements he voted for. This is risky for him though. It exposes him as someone who flip-flops on the issues, a key weakness, plus it runs the risk of putting him at odds with 180 million WalMart shoppers. Bush should own the terrorism issue. The Democrats have attacked him mercilessly for months to try and erode that advantage, and truthfully, they have succeeded. In painting the Presidnet as a liar and someone who started a war to help big companies, they are pretty far out on the limb however. A lot of the public agrees with what Bush did and are not interested in fine distinctions about WMD or the UN. Mark my words, in one debate Bush will turn to Kerry and say, if this man had been President, not only would Saddam still be running Iraq, he'd be running Kuwait as well. I think these will be the big issues. Neither client is helped much by appeals to social issues like homosexual "marriage" or abortion. Typically, the Republicans have failed to make much out of the Dem's shameful treatment of judicial nominees. Most likely the Republicans will not have the cojones to link Kerry with Jane Fonda and the whole Hanoi John deal.