Team America: Action Plan up to January 23, 2005

Between today, October 1, 2004, and the first day of the next presidency, which commences on Monday, January 23, 2005, Team America can begin to reshape the course of American politics and the presidency. Particularly since the outcome of November 2 may be highly contentious and litigious, Team America needs to be ready to move strongly into the presidency on January 23 -- and, having planned for the presidency, can project that readiness backward to October 1 onwards.

Between October 1 and Election Day on November 2, Team America's presidential candidate, John Kerry needs to accomplish two things and make them known to the American public:

1. He needs to set all major policies -- strategy. When a country is at war, as the USA is in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no time for the "transition" of the presidency. November 3 to January 22 needs to be spent preparing for implementation. That implementation needs to begin on January 23, 2005.

2. Therefore, John Kerry needs to select his Cabinet by November 2. For the public, Team America could announce as early as possible after October 1 the formation of a traditional "transition team" to select the president's cabinet. The target date for the Cabinet's announcement would be Monday, October 25 -- on which date could be announced formation of a special, even "secret team" devoted to presidential strategy, which had already formulated the basic strategy of the next presidency. These announcements should produced a sudden spike of confidence in the entire American public, just in time for the vote seven (7) days later.

Upon winning on November 2, Team America's president and cabinet would be ready to prepare not to begin making choises but to prepare for a series of action to be enacted effective January 23, 2005.

On January 23, 2005, at noon, President John Kerry would make a nationally (i.e., global) televised statement, analogous to President Georget W. Bush's speech on "Operation Iraqi Freedom" of March 19, 2003, which should even being with the same opening words: "My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of..."

Inaugration Day on Thursday, January 20, 2005, will be, appropriately, a public show that John Kerry has assumed the mantle of the presidency, but in these times of crisis, he needs to begin acting as president on January 21, 2005, in order to prove immediately to all people that a new president is in the White House, one who is a not only a clear thinker but doer, one who is ready to execute a well planned strategy, and one who is embarking on a new course for America in both domestic and foreign policies.

Some of these actions must include unilateral foreign policy actions -- but privately announced to all current US foreign allies, so that in strength America will "apologize" via course correction, just as America has (for all practical purposes) acted unilaterally of late, particularly in the action which most of the world regards as the "invasion" and now "occupation" of Iraq.

As a whole, this action plan will accomplish three major objectives for the Kerry/Edwards campaign:
1. Keep the Kerry/Edwards team focused on the goal of presidency
2. Leverage the goal into something which Team America can vote for on November 2
3. Keep the "transition period" focused on the goal during highly likely voting contention

The campaign messages by mid-October can shift into some of the new language (and images) Team America sports-oriented language, phrases, and slogans:
- Words like "win," "slam-dunk," "sure-fire"
- Phrases like "play to win," "join Team America," "off the bench"
- Slogans like "Join Team America," "Don't just be American: do American -- come play for Team America," "Make yourself heard. Join Team America"

Republicans tapped into the strong Team America spirit by rallying Americans behind George W. Bush as commander in chief during war and continue to maximize this position, particularly with the "stay the course" phrase to keep Americans behind Georget W. Bush in the Iraq War. Team America needs to make a deeper, more fundamental claim on this turf, recasting the president as coach not captain, and having him orchestrate the very serious, highly competitive games which challenge the USA: containment of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the use of American military power, international trade, jobs, health, environment... Team America needs to make sure all Americans understand the president as coach of the most powerful but also the most prudent nation on earth -- and that on January 21, 2005, President John Kerry will begin to right the "wrong course" upon which George W. Bush has set America.