Spinning a globe the obvious way

This just in from the presidential campaign:

John Kerry is considering delaying his acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s July convention so that he can keep spending the millions of dollars that he raised during the primaries…

When I read the headline, I figured that Kerry’s campaign is setting itself up to be hammered by the media. After reading the facts, I still think his campaign will get hammered, but the facts reflect an election situation much different.

The Democratic Convention to nominate Kerry is scheduled for late July, with the Republican Convention occurring five weeks later. The implication is simple. President Bush can spend private funds for an extra five weeks. His $75 million in matching funds would only have to last for slightly more than two months. Kerry would need to make his $75 million last for three-and-a-half months. Delaying his official acceptance is reasonable. Consider:

“We are looking at this and many other options very seriously because we won’t fight with one hand behind our back,” Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Friday.

Cutter said other options being considered include having the Democratic National Committee or local and state Democratic parties raise money to support Kerry’s candidacy. However, Kerry would not have control of much of the money raised by the party. By law, the DNC cannot coordinate more than roughly $16 million of spending with Kerry’s campaign in the general election.

Time can change the money factor in this election, but less money could also lead to creative thinking for the Kerry campaign. Either way, it’s an interesting development in this election.

I like the idea of being obvious in this decision. Play it correctly and it can lead the national debate into the influence of money in elections. Trying to hide the fact will lead to mistakes and negative public perceptions. Make the right decision, then explain it. That should make it into a non-issue.

Given what we expect from Senator Kerry, he’ll make no decision until the end, then try to pretend like he didn’t make a decision. This is going to be fucked up in some way. Thus, I link you to this: johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com.