Headline Wars

Kerry is on a tear and the Washington Post, New York Times and CNN websites are noticing. Judging by these three, Kerry has taken control of the message as of right now, something he's been having trouble doing of late. Why the change in media coverage? For one thing, it is notable that Kerry is being aggressive and for another, he's finally communicating in headline-friendly phrases. Here's a compendium of internet headlines from today (with links):

Washington Post

Front page, most prominent headline under "Campaign 2004":

Kerry: Bush In World of Spin

Top Story on "Politics" page:

Kerry Assails Bush's Handling Of Iraq

New York Times:

Main page, second headline below Ivan:

Kerry Accuses Bush of Hiding The Truth About Iraq

4th headline down on "Washington" page:

Kerry Mounts Fierce Attack On Bush's Economic Policies

CNN

Main page, 4th most prominent headline after Ivan

Kerry: Bush Living In Fantasy World On Iraq

Main page, 2nd (of 2) headline under Politics:

Kerry Rips Bush On Jobs

Some would just chalk this up to liberal bias, since these three outlets are supposed to be the most liberal newspapers and news channel in the country. But I would argue that it doesn't diminsh the importance of the headlines, because up until now Kerry didn't have them on his side, or at the very least wasn't winning the headline war even among the supposedly "liberal" news outlets. If this continues, he could gain momentum and Kerry's new Bush Is Dishonest storyline could become the newest narrative of this campaign.