JEFF CHIU / AP

THE OPTIMIST: Kerry gives a thumbs up at a rally in Columbus, Ohio

Why has Kerry suddenly started talking about his late parents? Because while most voters are pretty set in their ideas of what defines President Bush, the two presidential campaigns are locked in a struggle to define John Kerry in the eyes of the electorate. The Republicans, in millions of dollars worth of ads and through the comments of President Bush and his surrogates, hope to cast the presumptive Democratic nominee as soft on security, inconsistent on other issues and pessimistic about nearly everything. Implicitly, they're also suggesting he's out of touch with Americans. One Republican operative told the New York Times last year that Kerry "even looks French."

The Kerry campaign, for its part, wants to emphasize that their candidate not only shares the same concerns as average American, but is also able to identify with them. That's why Kerry is talking about his childhood, trying to show he wasn't born a tall, occasionally- aloof senator. In Columbus on Tuesday he not only praised the work of his parents, but also noted that his sister was born in nearby Dayton, because the family moved often while Richard Kerry was in the military. Candidate Kerry also now frequently lists the jobs he held before reaching the Senate: soldier, prosecutor and lieutenant-governor.

Kerry's effort to wrest control of his image from the Republicans is also an attempt to blunt political attacks. As he continues to lament the transfer of jobs overseas from places like Ohio, Republicans have argued Kerry sounds like he is opposed to free trade and anti-business. So Kerry told a crowd at a fundraiser in Cincinnati "I'm not a protectionist," while outlining how he would seek to change some of the trade agreements. He's lately proclaimed himself an "entrepreneurial Democrat," seeking to emphasize his pro-business credentials.

An important element of Kerry's effort to define his candidacy is explaining why he decided to run. That's because the sharp decline in President Bush's approval ratings in recent months have not translated into a proportionate increase in support for the Democrat, who most polls show either tying or leading the President by a narrow margin. Kerry campaign strategists argue that three events will help cement positive impressions of their candidate in the public mind: his vice-presidential choice, the Democratic convention when he accepts the nomination, and the presidential debates in the fall. But many Democratic strategists outside the campaign say part of the problem is that Kerry hasn't told voters why he wants to be president. That may be why in New Jersey and Ohio this week he repeatedly used the phrase "I'm running for president to..." before launching into familiar pitches on health care or foreign policy.

Kerry's most important challenge may be to portray himself as an"optimist," a word he used repeatedly on the stump this week. President Bush and the GOP have painted Kerry as relentlessly negative on the state of the economy, even as job growth improved markedly over the last few months. It's not hard to see where they got that idea. In almost every speech, Kerry says that health care, gas prices and tuition costs continue to increase while the wages of many Americans go down. Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill told reporters Monday that the President was a "rudderless leader," and economic adviser Gene Sperling likened the Bush's economic record to the Great Depression and to last year's Detroit Tigers baseball team, which won its last few games but still posted one of the worst records in the history of baseball.

Kerry has recently acknowledged that economic conditions are getting better, but insists Americans should expect the kind of job growth that was seen during the Clinton years. By that measure, he says, the Republicans aren't optimistic enough. "I believe in our abilities and so do you," Kerry said in Cincinnati "I think the pessimism is those who say gee, we're doing just great now."

Portraying optimism will be difficult for the Kerry campaign. To win, every challenger needs to talk about what's wrong with the incumbent, because for a candidate to be hired, voters have to be convinced the other guy needs to be fired. But voters indicate they prefer hopeful candidates, so look for Kerry to continue to cast himself as positive, optimistic son of hard-working, service-minded Americans, even as he paints President Bush's presidency as a terrible failure.

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