"Gross Incompetence", "Political Malpractice" : Terry McAuliffe on the Kerry Campaign

Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has a new book coming out, in which he says, among other things: "I thought the decision of the Kerry campaign to back off any real criticism of Bush was one of the biggest acts of political malpractice in the history of American politics."

Further details from Nedra Pickler of the AP via the Boston Globe and the Miami Herald:

The book, "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals," goes on sale Jan. 23, but copies have already shown up in some bookstores.
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McAuliffe calls the Kerry campaign gun-shy, incompetent and distracted from the mission of defeating a more organized Bush campaign.

McAuliffe said the Massachusetts senator's presidential campaign was so afraid of offending swing voters that it didn't defend his record and backed away from criticizing Bush at critical turns.
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McAuliffe served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, although he says Kerry's aides wanted to oust him once the Massachusetts senator secured the nomination. He said he was never invited to a single meeting at Kerry headquarters.
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McAuliffe said he was muzzled by Kerry's aides from assailing Bush's military record. He said the campaign also ordered speeches at the Democratic National Convention to be scrubbed of any mention of Bush's name or his record...
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McAuliffe said he was "flabbergasted" to learn after the election that Kerry had $15 million left that he could have spent in the final push. "It was gross incompetence," McAuliffe said, "to hoard that money when the race was bound to be so close."

Can you remember all the way back to the summer and fall of 2004? I thought it looked like Kerry was trying to lose. Maybe he wasn't, but he sure wasn't trying very hard to win. That much was clear even to this outsider.

And it's amusing to see a donkey insider coming along more than two years later attributing the campaign to incompetence. Or at least it's partly amusing. It would be amusing if it weren't so pathetic? Something like that, anyway.