On Kerry, thought of a better way to put it: they portrayed him as a flip-flopper because that's the kind of politician he was, not simply because he was a Democrat. Kerry voted for or against something based on what would get him elected, not because he holds any underlying principles (contrast this with Feingold or Kucinich). Many politicians in both parties have this flaw; Kerry just happened to have a recorded line ("I voted for it before I voted against it") that fed into it.

Contrast this with how Gore and Obama were portrayed: elitist know-it-alls. They weren't accused of being indecisive, but as thinking themselves as "better" than the average American. And that's the thread I get l!AU!Stephen from.