Al Gore has some good advice for John Kerry in today’s NY Times. From my point of view, the Kerry campaign has been doing a pretty lousy job. They aren’t controlling the news cycle very well, and they are constantly on the defensive. The debates, as scripted as they seem, are a good opportunity to change that. So, we’ll see what happens.

Jason pointed out on IM today that the thing about George Bush is that he is on message, all the time. Kerry should learn a thing or two, frankly. Although anyone in politics for very long could be labeled a “flip-flopper,” I think that one thing that makes the label stick to Kerry is the fact that his positions are nuanced. While I appreciate the nuance, Kerry needs to hone his message to simple phrases and then repeat them over and over and over. He needs to constantly cast light on Bush’s lousy record and on his plan for America. (The plan is on the Kerry website, and it’s pretty good. He needs to simplify the key points in a way that makes the news, though.)

Finally, I thought this might be a fake at first. But I found a couple of independent lists of Texas newspapers on the web, and they confirm that The Lone Star Iconoclast is the newspaper of Crawford, Texas. Now, they have endorsed John Kerry. [last item via La Di Da]