Kerry strategy relies on anti-Bush feelings

"The strategy is to let the anti-Bush sentiment come to Kerry and play off of that," American University presidential historian Alan Lichtman told AFP, following Kerry's keynote speech to the Democrats' national convention here.

"He is playing it safe. He solidified his base but did he need to? No," said David Corbin, political science professor at New Hampshire University.

"He began to sketch out an alternative vision but didn't quite go all the way. He gives you some tantalizing one liners about how a Kerry administration would be different, but not a comprehensive vision of an alternative way of governing," said Lichtman.

"He goes after Bush, (with the approach) 'you win because the incumbent is deficient and you can resolve those deficiencies,'" Lichtman added.

In his speech accepting the Democratic Party's nomination to run against Bush in the November 2 election, said the historian, the Massachusetts senator tried to counter criticism that he is weak on national security, lacks strong values and tends to waffle.

The Democrats' candidate pledged to restore "trust and credibility" to the White House and repair global alliances rent by the Iraq war, in a speech that was rapturously received by the party faithful.

"A lot of the speech is defensive, designed to neutralize what he sees as the Republican lines of attack," Lichtman added, referring to the many instances Kerry explained how he would act in certain situations. "A lot of it is pre-emtively defensive."

But Kerry also went on the attack, scoring direct hits on his political adversaries using what Corbin described as "quiet animosity."

Kerry accused the Bush administration of harming the United States's image around the world, isolating the country from its allies and misleading Americans into an unnecessary war.