Kerry Haters: We're Not Fonda John

 
Look! It's a Photographer!

 
TWO AMERICAS



The tearjerker
By Mark Steyn
Profile: John Edwards
Even if you have never heard it, you know how it goes: there's one America where Dick Cheney's oil buddies are swigging down Martinis and toasting their war profits; but there's another America where "tonight a 10-year-old little girl will go to bed hungry, hoping and praying that tomorrow will not be as cold as today because she doesn't have the coat to keep her warm".
You would have to have a heart of stone not to be weeping with laughter at that line.
…
Back when his maudlin 'twas-Christmas-Day-in-the-workhouse shtick was still new, I offered to buy a brand new coat for every 10-year-old coatless girl the Edwards campaign could produce if in return he included one substantive passage on foreign policy in his stump speech. I'm still waiting on both counts.

This is another America created with the help of John Edwards, Esq.:
'Crisis situation' _ Wyoming Legislature to look at rising malpractice insurance rates
Dr. Jodi Kaigh of Casper will be watching the legislative session closely. She moved to Wyoming from Missouri six years ago because she liked the open space and abundant sunshine, but she is now paying $100,000 a year for malpractice coverage and is expecting a rate increase soon.
"It goes up every year," she said. "Two years ago I was paying $40,000."
She estimated 13 doctors have left or decided to leave Casper in the past year.
…
To make matters worse, the state's largest malpractice insurer, Ohic, announced in March it will no longer renew policies for Wyoming doctors.

 
TOE THE LINE, DON’T CROSS IT



What if they held the Democratic Convention and nobody showed up? That’s basically what the unions are asking. This could be fun :)

Unions invoke Kerry in letter urging delegates to boycott Menino
The letter, which is signed by police union president Tom Nee and firefighter union president Nick DiMarino, asks convention delegates to honor picket lines that will be surrounding the 29 delegation welcome parties scheduled for Sunday, July 25, the night before the four-day convention begins.

 
LENO LAFFS




The Secret Service has announced it is doubling its protection for John
Kerry. You can understand why - with two positions on every issue, he
has twice as many people mad at him." -Jay Leno

"We make jokes about it but the truth is this presidential election
really offers us a choice of two well-informed opposing positions on every issue. OK, they both belong to John Kerry, but they're still there." -Jay Leno

"President Bush listed his income as $822,000. You know what John Kerry calls someone who earns $822,000? Not even worth dating." -Jay Leno

"Well the good news for Democrats, now over half the country can
identify a picture of John Kerry. The bad news, the majority still thinks he's the dad from The Munsters." -Jay Leno

"John Kerry accused President Bush of catering to the rich. You know, as opposed to John Kerry who just marries them." -Jay Leno

"They say John Kerry is the first Democratic presidential candidate in
history to raise $50 million in a three-month period. Actually, that's
nothing. He once raised $500 million with two words: 'I do.'" -Jay Leno

(latest estimate is that Ms Heinz is worth 1 billion -UB)

Thanks, Blue!

 
Nice Pass, Sir! May I Have Another!



This is the first we get to see the other side of the story. Usually we see Kerry making the throw, not the unlucky loser who has to chase the ball down afterwards.

 
The Phony Flag is Gone--Updated!



You think they read Kerry Haters?

Note that the bit that Kitty pointed out--the John Kerry President (not "for President") is also gone. Could it be that Kerry Haters gets results? I've noticed zero media photos of Kerry entering a church since we made a big deal of him posing in front of religious imagery outside, and I see about 100 Kerry photos a day (the things I do for my readers!). We started poking fun at the Tootsie glasses, and they disappeared faster than Al Gore's intellectual reputation (of course, a small website run by Drudge may have had something to do with that one too).

 
You Sure This Is the Kind of Pass You Want?

 
Embrace the Messenger, Not the Message

George Will agrees with Fred Barnes.

Perhaps the selection of Edwards expresses Kerry's desire to outsource, as it were, the nonsense part of his campaign. Edwards can talk economic foolishness for the constituency hungry for that -- the Democratic base -- while Kerry talks sense, as he understands it, about other matters.

Amazingly, though, Will makes an obvious mistake. (see note)

Furthermore, on his recent European trip Bush again aggravated many Europeans by urging the European Union to act favorably on Turkey's desire to join.

To aggravate means to make worse. Will clearly means to use the word "irritate".

Note: Corrected version. I originally said mistake in grammar, which is incorrect. I still caught George Will making a mistake and the WaPo not catching it. That is not the same as catching me. Ya gits whats' youse pay fer hearabouts. ;)

 
Listen for Kerry's Lies

He tells this one all the time; kudos to William Rusher for pointing it out.

A week or so ago, Kerry was braying along before some crowd of enthusiastic Democrats, and told them in appropriately shocked tones that "43 million Americans have no health care." (I happened to hear him on the radio.) He let that awful statistic sink in, then added in righteous wrath that "health care" ought to be the "right" of "every American." The crowd roared its agreement.

The truth is that every American is entitled, right now, to health care. It's as close as the emergency room of your nearest hospital, and by federal law it cannot be denied to anyone. What's more, if you are too sick to get to the hospital on your own, a call to 911 will quickly bring an ambulance that will take you there.

 
NOT MANY CONVERTS



One John, Two Johns . . .

At least he's got nice hair.

Edwards is an appealing messenger. His message could destroy Kerry.
By Fred Barnes
So what is wrong with Edwards-style populism? The simple answer is it rarely wins elections. … The Center for Media and Public Affairs found that TV's stories about Mr. Edwards in the primary were 91% positive, a record high for a major presidential candidate.
But Mr. Edwards won only a single primary--in South Carolina, the state where he was born..
…
Whenever Mr. Edwards delivered his "two Americas" speech to groups of upscale Democratic activists, party leaders or labor union members, he received a wildly enthusiastic reception. … But when Mr. Edwards appeared before less liberal and less partisan audiences, the response was quite different--far more polite than passionate.

 
WHAT BOUNCE?



Michigan voters barely notice Kerry-Edwards
Choosing U.S. Sen. John Edwards as his presidential running mate didn't help Democrat John Kerry widen his lead over President George W. Bush among Michigan voters, a new statewide poll shows
Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, maintained a narrow 46 percent to 43 percent edge over Bush.

 
THE MOTHER'S MILK OF POLITICS



Inside John Edwards' wallet
Sixteen of Mr. Edwards' top 20 contributors were major law firms.
These figures don't take into account donations made to Mr. Edwards' political action committee, New American Optimists, which total about $6 million. Of that, approximately $4.1 million, or 68 percent, come from the coffers of lawyers and law firms. These donations, again, total far more than the contributions from the next 20 groups combined.
Mr. Kerry has some impressive statistics of his own. Of the almost $149 million he has raised thus far, lawyers and law firms come in as the highest donors at almost $12 million.
…
Combine the duo's campaign contributors with their voting records, and some predictable parallels emerge.


AND THIS disturbing bit of info from a UK website,
Donating to Kerry's campaign:
Here is a list of Democrat-backing organisations taking online contribributions, though in most cases donations by “foreign nationals who lack permanent resident status” are disallowed under the rules.

 
More Hate Fest '04--Updated!

The Times' music reviewer was there and had this to say:

As it turned out, the night's most controversial moments came from speakers, not singers. There were passionate anti-Bush speeches from Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Chevy Chase and others, and Whoopi Goldberg delivered a raunchy but cheerful monologue that included a joke about eating bear testicles and some spectacularly unsubtle Bush double entendres. (She also struck an unexpectedly nonpartisan note when she said Nancy Reagan was the last White House occupant who "really looked good.")

After the concert, President Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, denounced it as a "star-studded hate fest," which makes the event sound like more fun than it actually was.

Update: Looks like this story is going into heavy rotation.

Monitors showed Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, laughing through much of the concert. Afterward, he told the audience that the performers "conveyed the heart and soul of our country." His only quibble was with Goldberg's repeated references to Edwards as "Kid." Kerry said his 51-year-old running mate, who is nine years his junior, is "a man."

I don't suppose we should ask Kerry how he knows?

More here.

In a statement yesterday, Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) said he was saddened, but not surprised, that Kerry didn't challenge the commentary. "Last night John Kerry held a fund-raiser in New York that featured performers in a time of war calling the president of the United States a killer, a cheap thug and a liar. John Kerry just sat there, grinning like a mule eating briars," Miller said.

The controversy came as the struggle to define the mainstream values at the center of the campaign intensified. Bush was in Pennsylvania yesterday to counter Kerry's claim last week that he represented the "conservative values" of the heartland. Kerry and Edwards have argued that fighting for the middle class is a truer measure of moral values than what they call the divisive social issues used by Republicans.

And still more from the Post's delightful Deborah Orin.

At the Radio City concert on Thursday night, reporters saw a video feed — including a glimpse of Kerry laughing uproariously at Goldberg — but TV networks were barred from filming the entertainers. The campaign has a video of the event.

Goldberg, waving a bottle of wine, reeled off vulgar word plays involving Bush's name and female genitalia.

She also repeatedly addressed the fresh-faced Edwards as "Kid," adding: "He looks like he is about 18. I'm going to card his ass tomorrow."

The jab at Edwards was the only part of Whoopi's rant that Kerry challenged from the stage on Thursday night, insisting, "I have a man, Whoopi."

No wonder he looks so happy lately!

 
The Phony Flag is Gone



You think they read Kerry Haters?

 
Still Hugging

 
Kerry Hmmmm

Suddenly the support of international organizations isn't important to Jean Kerree.

Senator John Kerry released the following statement today regarding the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel's security fence:

"I am deeply disappointed by today's International Court of Justice ruling related to Israel's security fence. Israel's fence is a legitimate response to terror that only exists in response to the wave of terror attacks against Israel. The fence is an important tool in Israel's fight against terrorism. It is not a matter for the ICJ.

"I have made very clear from the start that I do not believe that the ICJ should even be considering this issue given that they do not have jurisdiction.

Now, you know he's just making sure that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between himself and President Bush on Israel. And Kerry's to be congratulated for that to the extent it reveals his true beliefs.

But (you knew there had to be a but in there), let's check how that one flies with the flies swirling around John Kerry's blog.

Human rights violations by Israel against the Palestinians have not been addressed by U.S. policy...how is that okay?

Posted by cat_in_former_life at July 9, 2004 04:10 PM

Noooooooooo!
Noooooooooo!
Noooooooooo!
Noooooooooo!
Noooooooooo!

It is time for a sensible Israel policy.
Free Palistine!
I'm still voting for Kerry Proudly though.

Posted by mississippi john at July 9, 2004 04:57 PM

Make a stand John Kerry. Take the road less travelled!

The wall should come down. Our government should not be supporting the tyranical tactics of Israel. Cut off their funding. I'm tired of my tax dollars being used to build this wall. It should be seen for what it is - one well funded bully beating up on the poor kid.

Posted by burp at July 9, 2004 05:45 PM

I am outraged by Senator Kerry's comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, specifically, on the wall currently under construction. If the Senator thinks that rich Jews can contribute more to his campaign than I can, I will happily let them.

Thomas D. XXXXXX
XXXXX Oak Avenue
Gary, IN 46403

Posted by Thomas XXXXXX at July 9, 2004 11:03 PM

(Censored on the assumption that this could be somebody posting under someone else's name).

Mr Kerry, you just lost 16 votes. My family has been waiting for the elections so we can oust Bush but now I don't want to vote anymore. Just when are the palestinians going to get someone on their side ? The whole world thinks the security barrier is BS including you and now all of a sudden you support it ? You are no different than the lying Bush administration.

Israel can go around doing whatever they feel like it and if anyone says anything they scream bloody murder, holocaust, anti-semitism and yet ironically enough they are relentlessly killing the Palestinians and shoving them under the dirt just as bad as they themselves were treated at the hands of the Nazis. The whole world sees it but no one has the balls to stand up and tell them to stop...not even you!!

Posted by Michelle P. at July 9, 2004 11:08 PM

Nothing like the subject of Israel to get Kerry's die-hard supporters frothing.

 
Kerry On Defense Over Hatefest '04

The Democrats' orgy of hate for George Bush at Madison Square Garden must have sounded better in the original German.

A day after a $7.5 million Democratic fund-raiser in New York at which an array of stars harshly ridiculed President Bush, the Bush campaign criticized Senator John Kerry for what it called a "star-studded hate fest." Mr. Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, demanded that the Kerry campaign release a videotape of the event at Radio City Music Hall, which featured performers including Chevy Chase, Whoopi Goldberg and Jessica Lange.

Although Mr. Kerry had told the crowd at the New York fund-raiser that "every single performer" on the bill had "conveyed to you the heart and soul of our country," his campaign on Friday sought to distance Mr. Kerry and his running mate, Senator John Edwards, from the anti-Bush jokes, lyrics and statements of some of the entertainers.

But it declined to release a videotape of the performance at which Ms. Goldberg, a bottle of wine in hand, made an extended sexual pun out of the president's surname.

Mary Beth Cahill, Mr. Kerry's campaign manager, said that the candidates "do not approve of some of the remarks" but that "the performers had a perfect right to say what they said."

If you remember, that was Weasely Clark's defense to Michael Moore's deserter charge. We saw how far that got him. :)

 
Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

Via Instapundit, here are two hilarious bits on the special bond that has arisen between Kerry and Edwards. More here, too. And here. And here. Try this one out too.

 
Kerry on Larry King Live

I didn't know he was going to be on last night; I might not have watched anyway, because King is such a softballer. However, never underestimate John Kerry's ability to get tied into knots even with the easy guys--remember the way he stormed off the set after the interview with Charles Gibson of Good Morning America?

And our friend Aaron Matthew Arnwine suggested that I check it out.

Here's the transcript.

Right out of the chute Kerry steps into trouble:

King: Let's get to, first thing's first, news of the day. Tom Ridge warned today about al Qaeda plans of a large-scale attack on the United States, didn't increase the -- do you see any politics in this? What's your reaction?

KERRY: Well, I haven't been briefed yet, Larry. They have offered to brief me; I just haven't had time.

First question, and already Drudge has a headline story. It doesn't get any better for the International Man of Apology.

KING: Mrs. Kerry, what part did you play, if any, in the vice presidential choice?

HEINZ KERRY: Sounding board.

KING: He threw names at you?

HEINZ KERRY: I read a lot.

KING: Did you sign off on this?

HEINZ KERRY: Well, let's put it this way: If it had been unacceptable, he would have known it, but clearly it wasn't unacceptable. Clearly not.

But no, you know, John and I share a lot of information. And when he asks me a question, I'll answer it. I never told him you can't pick so-and-so, or you can pick so-and-so, but we just discuss.

And I think the process was a great process. It was very well thought out and very broad. And I felt that we learned a lot and felt good about it.

KING: How important was her input?

KERRY: Her input is important on everything. First of all, she's smart as a whip. Secondly, she's got as much common sense and is sort of as grounded as anybody that I've ever met. So, I value that input -- beyond just husband/wife, I value it.

But let me emphasize this, because people always make a big deal out of it. Neither of us want to -- not as a policy. It's not a policy adviser kind of thing. It's a partner. It's something -- it's a special kind of trust that exists between a husband and a wife. And -- she doesn't want to be a policy adviser. She wants to be my wife, and that's what...

Of course, he's backtracking rapidly here, because he doesn't want to create a Clintonian aspect to his presidency--the two for the price of one bit that Bill and Hillary presented themselves as in 1992.

Next, Kerry mentions that he consulted with Bill Clinton and Al Gore on the selection.

KERRY: Oh, absolutely. I talked to a vast number of people. And I sat down in the end, Larry, with my gut, with my heart, making that judgment, knowing he'd have to pass the test.

Now, here's what I believe. John -- you know, you look -- people have a way of only looking at things through sort of labelized, standardized lenses. I think it's a mistake to do that.

Yes, John Edwards has had six years as a United States Senator, but he's had a lifetime of experience and judgment, lifetime of fighting for things, lifetime of family life, lifetime of caring.

You know, Dick Cheney was only a few years in the Congress, and then he held several different kinds of various positions...

Including Secretary of Defense and the CEO of one of the largest corporations in America. Everybody in this world has had a lifetime of experience, by definition. To compare John Edwards' experience that would help him to become President, to Dick Cheney's experience is a tad ridiculous.

KING: What do you think, Teresa, would be the effect of another terror attack on the United States, politically?

HEINZ KERRY: I don't know. I think most Americans subconsciously believe something's going to happen. It's a matter of when, and it's a matter of how. KING: Strange way to live, though.

HEINZ KERRY: Yes, but, you know, Europeans have lived that way, and other people around the world have lived that way. Americans have been very safe, at least as a nation.

Just because the quisling Europeans are willing to live that way doesn't mean we are, Teh-RAY-za.

And last, but not least:

KERRY: Look, do you know that athletes going to the Olympics in Greece have been warned not to wave the American flag or show exuberance if they win? That is extraordinary.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KERRY: I intend to restore America's ability to fly the American flag in parts of the world, and for people to look up to what it means again.

Yeah, Kerry wants folks to be free to fly the flag all right:

 
The Kumbayah Team

Wes Pruden gets in some good licks at the John-John hugfest.

The two Johns lock eyes frequently in deep contact and stop barely short of demonstrating what great kissers they may be. Monsieur Kerry might yet give us a demonstration of French kissing but, if he does, Mr. Edwards, a good ol' Carolina boy after all, will be entitled to slap his face. (Secret Service bodyguards, take note.)



"I've been covering Washington and politics for 30 years [said one wire-service photographer]. I can say I've never seen this much touching between two men, publicly." Indeed, editors determined to preserve the appearance of a little presidential dignity and campaign decorum on "the trail" are frustrated in their search for photographs suitable for a respectable mainstream newspaper. The photographers, keen competitors for the most startling shot of the day, naturally love it.

 
Who Said Iraq Was an Imminent Threat?

The Democrats have complained for a long time that President Bush described Iraq as an imminent threat. Actually, of course, he said that some had claimed that we must wait until the threat is imminent, but that he did not agree.

However, there was somebody out there claiming that the threat was imminent. And it was none other than the Eddie Haskel of the Senate himself, John Edwards.

But I do think that the more serious question going forward is, what are we going to do? I mean, we have three different countries that, while they all present serious problems for the United States -- they're dictatorships, they're involved in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- you know, the most imminent, clear and present threat to our country is not the same from those three countries. I think Iraq is the most serious and imminent threat to our country.

And to underscore the point, from the same transcript, a paragraph or two later:

And they do, in my judgment, present different threats. And I think Iraq and Saddam Hussein present the most serious and most imminent threat.

 
Blogger Roundup

John Moore at Useful Fools has a good poster that will no doubt convince many voters to select John Kerry.

Rambling's Journal finds out that Kerry has his priorities in order. Fundraising first, intelligence briefing later. Much later. Captain Ed has more on the same subject.

ACE advises us of some more good news from Iraq that should provide long-term benefits.

Chicago Ray has a great look at the current face of the DNC--seems a little familiar to me. "Well just pick up your fishin' pole, and meet me at the fishin' hole...."

 
New Nickname for the Pair

Our buddy Danegerus came up with this nickname for Edwards & Kerry: Hair 'em & Scare 'em!

 
Image Versus Substance

Thomas Sowell trains his amazing intellect on the Kerry/Edwards duo and their attempt to "rebrand" themselves with enticing images.

It is an insult to our intelligence to act as if posing with guns is as significant as how the Senator has voted on gun control laws during his 16 years in Congress. It is an insult to our intelligence to claim conservative values when both liberal and non-partisan organizations have rated John Kerry's voting record as the most liberal in the Senate, more liberal even than Ted Kennedy's.

What matters is not what Senator Kerry says during an election year about life beginning at conception. What matters is how he has voted on bills involving abortion -- and how he has declared that he will block the appointment of any judges who are not pro-abortion.

Edwards doesn't do any better.

Edwards' specialty was suing when babies were born with brain defects, which he -- like other lawyers cashing in on junk science and gullible juries -- blamed on the failure of doctors to have had those babies delivered by Caesarian section.

Since then, Caesarian operations have increased greatly, but without reducing those birth defects that Edwards and others had blamed on a lack of Caesarian deliveries. Studies validated by leading medical authorities, here and overseas, have found no such link between birth defects and a lack of Caesarian births.

This is the problem with trial lawyers--they rely on junk science. Just ask my co-blogger Kitty how junk science can damage a small town.

 
McCain/Edwards Comparison

If John McCain was Kerry's first choice, how in the world did Nuancy Boy end up with somebody a virtual polar opposite from McCain? The Washington Times does the comparison.

Mr. Edwards has compiled a lifetime AFL-CIO rating of 96 percent, including four perfect 100 percent scores during his five years. Mr. McCain's lifetime AFL-CIO rating is 17 percent.

From the premier liberal rating organization, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), Mr. Edwards received an average annual (1999-2002) rating of 85 percent before falling to a career-low 65 percent last year. But that score was misleading because ADA penalizes legislators for missing any of its 20 annual key votes. In fact, on the 13 ADA votes for which the itinerant Mr. Edwards was present last year, he supported ADA 100 percent of the time. (On the 17 ADA key votes cast by Mr. Kerry last year, he also supported ADA's position 100 percent of the time. Thus, between the two of them, they were 30-for-30 on ADA votes.) With Mr. Edwards' lifetime ADA rating at 81 percent and Mr. Kerry's at 92 percent, the 2004 Democratic ticket boasts higher lifetime ADA ratings than the avowedly liberal 1984 Democratic ticket of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. As for Mr. McCain, ADA reports a lifetime rating of 9 percent.

More liberal than Mondale-Ferraro!

 
Some Kinks In the Routine

Chris Suellentrop followed the John-Johns in their first day on the campaign trail.

In Cleveland, the running mate sums up the campaign's new message with a phrase so nonsensical I can't believe it when I hear him repeat it later in Dayton, Ohio, and again here in Florida. He and Kerry embrace "the politics of hope, the politics of what's possible because this is America, where everything is possible," he proclaims.

Let's get this straight. This campaign is about what's possible. In America, everything is possible. Ergo, this campaign is about everything. Which means it's about nothing.

For the first few hours of the Kerry-Edwards campaign, the two candidates do their best to make it seem like it, anyway. The Cleveland kickoff event is particularly inauspicious. Edwards, normally sure on the stump, stumbles on several occasions, declaring incoherently at one point: "With John Kerry as president of the United States, no young American will ever go to war needlessly because America has decided to go to war." At another moment, Edwards assures the crowd of Kerry: "He will lead this country to the place that it can go." Teresa Heinz-Kerry misfires, too, when she notes that she's from nearby Pittsburgh and gets booed. (Must be an AFC North thing.) Good-naturedly booed, but still—the only other boos from the crowds for the rest of the day are reserved for President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Heh, yeah, Teh-RAY-za, you don't mention you're from Pittsburgh when you're visiting Cleveland. They don't like Steeler fans there.

 
STAND BY YOUR MAN



Ditto, Ditto
Kerryedwards is the most narcissistic ticket in 55 U.S. elections.
Both of their heads are rotating like satellite dishes scanning for signals. Light is ricocheting off porcelain in every direction.
…
Alas for John Kerry, the vote in November isn't a Democratic primary. ABB voting (Anybody But Bush) may get him to 45%, but he and John still need to articulate a vision of America across four years that will float that number toward 50%. They do indeed have a vision, and it's the one that has fired every Democratic candidacy since 1932. Fundamentally, nothing in their worldview has changed in 70 years.
…
At this stage of U.S. development, the Democrats still present themselves as the party of emergencies, accidents and disasters. Unlike Fritz Mondale and Michael Dukakis, Jolly Bill Clinton was able to glide past this downer. I don't think a pair of multimillion-dollar smiles can do the same trick.

 
Kerry's Buddies

The New York Bush Hate Fest at Madison Square Garden sounds like quite a treat.

Many of the stars who spoke issued harsh indictments of Bush, branding him "a liar" and "another cheap thug." They sang songs specially written for the Democratic ticket, such as Mellencamp's "Texas Bandito," which called Bush a liar. Blige's lyrics included, "New York City would never forget 9/11."

Lange called Bush administration officials "cronies" and said they're a "self-serving regime ... of belligerence."

Chevy Chase mocked Bush. "This guy's as bright as an egg timer," he said.

Chevy, Chevy, Chevy. What was the last good movie you were in? Caddy Shack?

 
I Hope Bon Jovi Wasn't Singing "Lay Your Hands On Me"

 
Is Kerry Another Quayle?

Not to knock Danforth, but when he was selected as VP, he obviously behaved a little giddy. It was only for a day or two, but it happened to be the day or two that everybody first focused on him.

Kerry seems to be behaving in that fashion this week. His fawning over the Breck Girl has gone from interesting to bizarre in the course of less than 48 hours. It's almost like Kerry's finally found a friend and he's trotting around behind him like a puppy dog.

One almost suspects that Kerry's response when Edwards accepted the nomination was, "You like me! You really like me!"



Jeez, guys, get a room!

 
You See Those Rubes Out There? We Gotta Convince Them We're Country Boys



Edwards at least sounds country. Kerry sounds like George Plimpton or Kelsey Grammer (sorry Kelsey!). And not a fascinating, witty guy like those two, but a boring, pedantic misanthrope.

 
More Hugger/Mugger



Edwards is already wondering if getting the Veep nod was worth it.

 
Kaus Hmmmm

I highlighted below Kaus' bizarre rationale for his apparent intention to vote for Kerry. Mickey also mentions that he donated $300 to Kerry's campaign (while griping about where it was spent).

Hmmm. I gave Kerry $300 and don't particularly want it to go to the Four Seasons!

Now here's the funny part. Open Secrets has no record of Kaus giving any money to John Kerry. There is a Steven Kaus, who's an attorney in the Bay Area, but the amount's not right and I recall that Mickey's from SoCal anyway. It's possible it hasn't been reported or posted to the Open Secrets website yet; from what I can see the latest donations they have records for are as of May 31st.

 
Edwards' Faux Populism Belied by His Investments

James Pinkerton is on the trail.

But a look elsewhere in the newspapers shows a different Edwards. It reveals where Edwards puts his money, as opposed to his mouth. It shows an Edwards connecting with big multinational companies to create jobs offshore. It shows an Edwards who divides himself between his political ambitions here at home and his financial ambitions overseas. It shows that his tongue isn't so much golden as it is forked.

How do we know this? We can peruse Edwards' 2003 senatorial disclosure forms, reprinted in yesterday's USA Today. On page five of the paper is a list of Edwards' assets, including a holding worth between $1 and $5 million - that's the deliberately obscuring style of "full-disclosure" forms - in "American EuroPacific Growth Fund." Actually, once we look at the prospectus, we learn that it's really the "EuroPacific Growth Fund." And that's honest billing; on page eight, the prospectus tells readers, "Normally, the fund will invest at least 80 percent of its assets in securities of issuers located in Europe and the Pacific Basin."

Great article, read it all.

 
Kerry Trivia Quiz Answers

1. Kerry had a dog during his days leading a Swift boat in Vietnam. Describe the amazing event that happened to the dog according to Le Fraude when a mine went off under Kerry's boat.

Here are Kerry's own words, in reply to a Humane Society question about pets that made an impact on him personally (link in PDF file):

When I was serving on a swiftboat in Vietnam, my crewmates and I had a dog we called VC. We all took care of him, and he stayed with us and loved riding on the swiftboat deck. I think he provided all of us with a link to home and a few moments of peace and tranquility during a dangerous time. One day as our swiftboat was heading up a river, a mine exploded hard under our boat. After picking ourselves up, we discovered VC was MIA. Several minutes of frantic search followed after which we thought we'd lost him. We were relieved when another boat called asking if we were missing a dog. It turns out VC was catapulted from the deck of our boat and landed confused, but unhurt, on the deck of another boat in our patrol.

Hey, happens all the time in Disney movies. This has the sound of a story that has been embellished over the years; a great dinner anecdote, but obviously untrue.

2. Who gave Kerry the nickname "Pterodactyl"?

Kerry's first wife Julia Thorne nicknamed him Pterodactyl while they were dating, in reference to his long face.

3. What was "Lowellgate"?

Kerry's brother Cameron and a campaign worker named Thomas Vallely (who is also working on the current campaign) were caught breaking into the Lowell, MA, offices of a Democratic primary rival during Kerry's run for Congress in 1972. Kerry has always maintained that they were set up by an anonymous caller who said Kerry's own phone lines were about to be sabotaged. How this justifies breaking and entering has never been explained.

4. How many enemy did John Kerry kill in Vietnam?

According to a Fitness Report (link in PDF file, see page 24) given to Kerry in 1969, he was "unofficially credited with 20 enemy killed in action."

5. Who proposed the plot to assassinate US Senators in 1971 during a meeting which John Kerry attended?

Fellow VVAW member Scott Camil proposed the plot to assassinate US Senators at a 1971 VVAW meeting attended by John Kerry.

6. What Senator mentioned at the assassination plot meeting attended by John Kerry was shot a year later in an apparent robbery and nearly died?

US Senator John Stennis (D-Miss) was shot and nearly killed in an apparent robbery outside his home in Washington DC. Stennis was one of the Senators who was proposed as a target for assassination (Strom Thurmond and John Tower were the others named specifically), and his shooting came approximately 14 months after the assassination plot meeting.

7. How many of Kerry's fellow Swift boat officers have endorsed his campaign?

Of Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat officers, two have endorsed his campaign.

8. Who was the only person to beat Nuancy Boy in an election?

Republican Paul W. Cronin (gotta love that middle initial!) defeated Kerry in their 1972 race for Congress from Massachusetts' Fifth District.

9. What do Kerry's first wife and Michael Dukakis' wife have in common?

Both women contemplated suicide (Mrs. Dukakis actually attempted it) and both wrote books about their battles with depression.

10. Who paid for Kerry's prep school education?

Kerry's great-aunt Clara Winthrop footed the bill for Kerry's prep schools.

 
Good Kerry Joke and a New Nickname

Click here to find out how Kerry got his nickname "Running Eagle" from the Apaches.

 
Say it Ain't So, Mickey!

You may recall that about a month ago we pulled Mickey Kaus from the Legion and put him in our blogger favorites list, when we discovered that despite his wonderful posts about what a miserable candidate John F'ing Kerry is, Kaus himself intends to vote for the Democrat. I commented at the time I didn't want to have someone surfing through the Legion and hitting Kaus' John Kerry is a Dimwit But I'm Voting for Him Anyway column.

Well, he wrote it.

I plan to vote for him because I think a) we need to take a time out from Bush's strident public global terror war in order to prevent it from becoming a damaging, lifelong West vs. Islam clash--in order to "rebrand" America and digest the hard-won gains we've made in Iraq and Afghanistan (if they even remain gains by next January). Plus, b) it would be nice to make some progress on national health care, even if it's only dialectical "try a solution and find out it doesn't work" progress. I could change my mind--if, for example, I thought Kerry would actually sell out an incipient Iraqi democracy in a fit of "realistic" Scowcroftian stability-seeking (an issue Josh Marshall's recent Atlantic piece doesn't resolve). But I don't intend to agonize like last time.]

Hmmm, he does leave himself an out there at the end. But really this is typical of Slate. "Who should write the anti-Kerry pieces? Let's pick somebody who's voting for him." Don't get me wrong, Kaus has written some excellent stuff and I get zero feeling that he's pulling his punches. But his stated rationale for voting for Kerry is about as weak as it could be--rebranding America? Puh-leeze! I don't see him winning over any converts with that weak logic (which may be the point).

Hat tip: Kerry Spot.

 
Yakuza, Al Qaeda, What's the Difference?

We've commented a bit on Kerry's recent ad claim to have authored a book with a strategy to win the war on terror. Of course, the fact that the book was actually about international criminal gangs like the Yakuza of Japan sort of undermines the point.

Chris over at Waffle House has been busy creating a page devoted to Kerry Versus the Yakuza. Chris does a superior job of tying together the latest Bush ad mocking Kerry's absurd claim, several movie posters that have been manipulated a bit, quotes from and reviews of the book, and a New Republic piece debunking Kerry's supposed prescience.

I pointed yesterday to Chris' piece on Farmer John as well. If you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to take a look--it's hilarious. Volume check at work.

 
Where the Breck Girl Nickname Started

Jim Geraghty over at the Kerry Spot points us to this piece in the New York Times, which has the secret:

They do, indeed, have strikingly thick heads of hair, but Mr. Edwards, whose wavy locks were so commented upon that his aides handed out tiny bottles of Breck shampoo when his presidential bid began, has a top of chocolate brown, while Mr. Kerry's helmet is decidedly salt and pepper.

LOL! Self-inflicted injury by stupidity--yeah, Edwards fits right in with this campaign.

 
TOUCHY-FEELY?

 
WHO’S ON FIRST?



Funnier than an Abbott & Costello routine? You be the judge.

Edwards Surges Ahead of Kerry on Democratic Ticket
One Kerry campaign insider was confident the confusion would work to their advantage. "The one thing this campaign needed was a little excitement and John Edwards is it. It's got to be better than before Edwards when all the excitement was being inexorably sucked down into this big Kerryesque black hole of anti-excitement. It was this kind of endless, mind-numbing, soul-destroying tsunami of ennui and hopelessness that...Uh, maybe I've said too much."

 
Edwards: An Empty Suit



Crush Kerry has an outstanding post with Edwards' vapid replies to questions on national security and defense.

EDWARDS: "And everyone knows--I mean, I sit on the Intelligence Committee, Tim. Everyone knows there are huge parts of Afghanistan that are not secure, not in control.”
RUSSERT: “So what would you do, send thousands of more American troops?”
EDWARDS: “No.”
RUSSERT: “What would you do?”
EDWARDS: “No. What I would do is show leadership."

That's almost as bad as Nuancy Boy's comment when pressed about what he'd do differently in Iraq. He floundered a bit and then came up with this pearl of wisdom:

"Right now, what I would do differently is, I mean, look, I'm not the president, and I didn't create this mess so I don't want to acknowledge a mistake that I haven't made."

Read all of the Edwards piece and remind yourself that picking this empty suit is one of the first important decisions Kerry's had to make as the presumptive nominee of his party. You want him making decisions about the future of our country?

 
Straight from the Silky Pony's Mouth

No Pundit Intended has a great post up rebutting some of the dumber comments John Edwards has made. The source of the quotes is a BBC article located here.

"They have led us from the edge of greatness when Bill Clinton left office to the edge of a cliff."

The edge of greatness? Is Edwards a part of the revisionist attempt to create a legacy for Clinton too? When Bill Clinton left office, we were about to have a big recession and about to be attacked - I'd say we were already at the cliffs edge.

 
The Really Tough John Kerry Trivia Quiz

Alright, this is intended to be extremely tough. If you get one or two of these questions, consider yourself well-read on John Kerry. From 3-4 you're obsessed with the International Man of Mystery. If you get 5-6, the Secret Service will assume you are a potential assassin. If you get 7 or more, you should be an opposition researcher for the President's reelection campaign. Go ahead and throw answers in the comments section, spoiler warning. I assume that most can be googled, but try to figure them out beforehand.

Ready?

1. Kerry had a dog during his days leading a Swift boat in Vietnam. Describe the amazing event that happened to the dog according to Le Fraude when a mine went off under Kerry's boat.
2. Who gave Kerry the nickname "Pterodactyl"?
3. What was "Lowellgate"?
4. How many enemy did John Kerry kill in Vietnam?
5. Who proposed the plot to assassinate US Senators in 1971 during a meeting which John Kerry attended?
6. What Senator mentioned at the assassination plot meeting attended by John Kerry was shot a year later in an apparent robbery and nearly died?
7. How many of Kerry's fellow Swift boat officers have endorsed his campaign?
8. Who was the only person to beat Nuancy Boy in an election?
9. What do Kerry's first wife and Michael Dukakis' wife have in common?
10. Who paid for Kerry's prep school education?

 
Legion Members At Work



Note the guy in the back with the Left & Lefter sign and Bush/Cheney sign at a Kerry/Edwards rally. Note the "crowd" at this event, which included the Breck Girl. We salute you, fellow Kerry Haters!

 
Finally Some Enthusiasm!



Unfortunately, it's for the Boy Wonder, not Batman. Seeing this I do believe we're going to see some bad polls this month--Kerry's going to pull ahead for a bit, especially with the convention coming up. Unserious people will think Kerry's going to win. Remember, Dukakis was up on Bush Sr coming out of his convention, as was Al Gore in 2000 over W. Long way to go, but I got a hunch a lot of the polling news is going to suck for awhile, just thought I'd give you a warning.

 
Two More Blogs for the Blogroll

If you're not reading LaShawn Barber, you're lucky, because you've still got that distinct treat to come. But don't deny yourself any longer!

LaShawn put up an interesting post today sharing some tips for building the audience for your blog, and invited commenters to share their secrets. I surfed to a couple of the sites of people commenting and was just blown away by two of the blogs.

Ambra Nykola boasts that she's been bothering people since 1981, which, after doing a little work with the fingers, I determined means that she's 22 or 23 years old. But she's bright, funny, and one amazing blogger. What I particularly appreciate about her posts is that she assembles her logic carefully, like she's building a cannon at the defenses of the other side. Check this sample of her writing, from her post on Why I'm Not a Republican:

My immediate reason for voting Republican is default. Although I believer there are a few areas in which the Democrats have the Republicans beat (I will discuss in Part 3), I will forever remain diametrically opposed to most everything for which Democrats stand. This leaves a person few options--especially when Libertarian ideals are bit too removed and idealistic for my taste. This concept I just explained is familiar to John Kerry as he too will reap the benefits of an entire group of people who love to hate Bush. Votes by default are his only hope. Voting according to party lines involves far less thinking in my opinion and since I'm a thinker, I never let any candidate or issue get off that easily. I weigh everything against the backdrop of my foundational beliefs.

Also, check out the new smokes that are guaranteed to sell strongly, including a picture of Ambra herself. I refuse to demean her more important qualities as a blogger to comment on her obvious good looks. Errrr.

Athena is blogging as Terrorism Unveiled. She's doing a fine job of focusing on the war on terror. This is what I love about blogs--somebody can choose to become an expert in something and in a couple of months of serious blogging they become an expert on that issue/person. I have been blogging John Kerry for about 4-1/2 months now and I feel like I know him very well indeed--not as well as his family, but probably better than John McCain does. Athena is serious about blogging about terrorism. She's reading the Kuwait Times and the Jordan Times and the Bahrain Tribune. That serious. She appears to have been studying the subject material for awhile before even starting the blog. I've always been a sucker for highly specialized blogs. Although it's not typical of her focus, I gotta highlight her marvelous 4th of July post.

Bombs dropping, artillery firing...

It sounded like what the bombardment of St. Lo, Normandy must have sounded like during Operation Cobra in 1944.

For a brief few minutes, it probably sounded like some of the fighting in Falluja and Kabul.

I don’t really know, but I am certain it did not feel like it, however.

I was in my bed, safe and warm. It sounded as if all hell was breaking loose outside to my battle-virgin ears. When I first heard the explosions, I was dreaming about Wassef Ali Hassoun. I don't remember the sequence of my dream. I just remember him, blindfolded and praying in Arabic. I remember seeing an imam and a mosque in the background. I don't remember feeling scared.

Read it all. Special bonus points for mentioning St. Lo, the favorite city of crossword puzzle fans everywhere. :)

 
More on Farmer John

Our buddy Chris over at Waffle House recommended that we check out his page devoted to the International Man of Farming. Absolutely hilarious stuff--great photoshop gags, a funny theme song (volume check at work), and a solid review of Jean Kerree's real childhood. Lots and lots of great content; I especially liked what he did to Nuancy Boy's skeet-shooting photo op. Go, you'll love it! Great job, Chris!

 
Breck Girl Gets Thumbs Down from WaPo

This has gotta sting:

Yet lacking the ability to perform such political alchemy, we must also assess Mr. Edwards on his own and by the grave question that has to be asked of any vice presidential nominee: Is he ready to assume the presidency? This is a question that, since Sept. 11, 2001, has become both more thinkable and more important -- and it's one that, when it comes to Mr. Edwards, we can't yet answer with a resounding affirmative. Mr. Edwards's often impressive performance during the primaries demonstrates that he has the capacity to grow into the job. Yet his experience in public life is confined to the single Senate term that is now ending; his few years on the intelligence committee represent scant training in foreign policy and military affairs, far less than would be optimal for a potential president in this dangerous time.

Hey, John! You might want to put some ice on that!

Hat Tip: Hugh Hewitt (on the radio)

 
Speaking of Roberto....

Dynamo Buzz points us to Overlawyered, who have done an excellent job covering the Silky Pony. If you want more information about Edwards' career or his questionable fund-raising, this is a very good place to start.

 
New to the Blogroll

Welcome The Bad Hair blog. I saw a comment by Fausta in our comments section, and surfed over to her very cool blog. Lots of posts, great 'tude and to top it off, she's a Jersey gal! My guess is that she heard about us from Roberto of Dynamo Buzz.

 
Oh, Those Weapons of Mass Destruction

Wow! How come this story isn't getting headlines on Drudge?

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (news - web sites) announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have completed a joint operation to secure and remove from Iraq (news - web sites) radiological and nuclear materials that could potentially be used in a radiological dispersal device or diverted to support a nuclear weapons program.

"This operation was a major achievement for the Bush Administration's goal to keep potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists," Secretary Abraham said. "It also puts this material out of reach for countries that may seek to develop their own nuclear weapons."

Twenty experts from DOE's national laboratory complex packaged 1.77 metric tons of low-enriched uranium and roughly 1000 highly radioactive sources from the former Iraq nuclear research facility. The DOD airlifted the material to the United States on June 23 and provided security, coordination, planning, ground transportation, and funding for the mission.

Hat Tip: Polipundit, via Something to Cry About

 
Good Kerry-Edwards Cartoon

Filibuster Cartoons finds the Democratic ticket a little familiar.

 
Kerry Edwards--Anti-Growth, Anti-Trade

Larry Kudlow looks at the Democrats' ticket and sees a weak economy if this pair of anti-growth, anti-trade clowns get the keys to the country.

In a January primary speech in Des Moines, Edwards said, “There are two Americas — one for the powerful insiders, and another for everyone else.” This became his signature line. He would also say, “One America that is struggling to get by, another America that can buy anything it wants — even a Congress and a president.”

Or a political party. After all, with Edwards — the tort bar’s man in Washington — on the ticket, the takeover of the Democratic party by the 60,000 member Association of Trial Lawyers of America is now complete.

Anybody else find it amusing that a wealthy lawyer/Senator is decrying the "powerful insiders"?

 
That Farm Story Again

Here's an additional tidbit I didn't notice:

Afterward, a spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, said Kerry was referring to two farm experiences, one when he and his parents lived on a farm in Millis, Mass., and later when he frequented a dairy farm straddling the Ipswich/Hamilton border that was owned by his aunt and uncle. The first farm was where Kerry rode a tractor with a hand who worked the family's property. At the dairy farm, he tilled the land himself.

Obvious question: How much tilling of the land needs to be done on a dairy farm?

 
Edwards Helps Kerry Bridge the Values Gap?

Nicholas Kristof thinks so.

Senator John Edwards is America's best natural politician since Bill Clinton, and he'll help with the Democrats' most crucial task: reconnecting the party to Middle American voters.

When Republicans charge that Democrats are out of touch with the "real America," they actually have a point. Democrats poll well on issues like the economy, but Republicans triumph on values — and for wavering Missourians, values trump issues.

The problem with Kristof's analysis is that he makes the assumption that liberal policies are better economically for working people, hence their interests lie with liberals rather than conservatives. I don't buy it.

And I certainly don't buy the notion that blue collar voters are going to flock to Kerry because he's got Edwards on the ticket. People don't vote for the VP, they vote for the President.

 
Kitty Corner

Kitty has a good post regarding the Breck Girl choice, and points out that the "Kerry's Choice" cover of the NY Post featuring Gephardt is getting bid up on ebay.

Doh! Original post said NY Daily News. Sorry for the goof!

 
Andrew Sullivan Likes the Pick

But he tears Nuancy Boy apart for the airy speech announcing it.

This paragraph is so vapid, so empty of any meaning, it almost defies commentary. It's about "fairness." What unfairness is he describing? We don't know. But we do know that this candidate is very much in favor of people being able to go to work and pay their bills. I'm sure he's also in favor of afternoon naps, ice cream, and new cars. Then he says that his campaign is about people being "able to be fair." So now the government is not only in favor of fairness; it's in favor of fairness "ability." You can hack away at this kind of verbiage for a very long time and the weeds of blather just keep growing back.

Read it all. Yeah, I know Andrew's not going to be on Bush's side at the end. But reading articles like this, it's hard to believe he's going to endorse the International Man of Apology either.

 
The Buzzword of 2000 Returns As Kerry Taps Edwards

Lynn Nofziger brings up the gravitas gap.

Kerry had been winnowing out possible choices for vice president for several months before deciding on Edwards and perhaps deciding that gravitas doesn't really matter. Edwards, however, was not his first choice and perhaps not even his second. Kerry openly wooed Arizona's maverick Republican senator, John McCain, who decided he'd rather remain a Republican, and, failing to get him, was thought to be eyeing others. McCain is known for his gravitas. Edwards, on the other hand, is not, even though he came in second behind Kerry in the Democratic presidential sweepstakes. He has not produced any significant legislation. Nor has he appeared to seize any leadership role.

 
This Says It All

Boston Herald Headline: They're Left of Ted!

 
WHAT A BOOB



The Silicon Implant
John Kerry's two-day campaign swing through Silicon Valley in late June was meant to raise broader awareness of his supposedly pro-innovation, pro-growth economic policies while, at the same time, padding the campaign coffers just one month before the Democratic National Convention in Boston. The gambit has had mixed results -- and for good reason. Silicon Valley executives were still more than a bit miffed over Kerry's bitter invective against the perils of IT outsourcing earlier in the election campaign.
…
At this point, one can only wonder whether Kerry will ever be able to win over tech industry executives after he referred to them as "Benedict Arnold CEOs" for sending IT jobs overseas.

 
LOSE THIS ONE FOR THE ZIPPER



Republicans may not be the only ones praying for Bush to win. The Breck Girl on Botox Boy’s ticket could mean doom for both Slick and Her Royal C … not to mention the business and the medical communities.

Norquist: Establishment Dems Hoping for Kerry Loss
“By choosing John Edwards over Dick Gephardt, the Democrats today transferred power in their party from the labor unions to the trial lawyers."
…
According to Norquist, Edward's background as a trial lawyer will inject tremendous energy into both the business and medical communities.
By choosing Edwards, Norquist said, Kerry declared war on on both groups. "This choice was a declaration of war on doctors, hospitals and the entire business community.
…
"On the Democrat side, should Kerry win, the presidency isn't open in 2008 - it won't be open until 2012. With Edwards as vice president, if Kerry wins, it's not open until 2016."
This, he said, was "bad news for Hillary Clinton. It means her career is over. She'll never be president. The whole point of being Hillary will be she's just another vote in the Senate unless everyone you talk to believes that someday you'll be president. Then you're not just another Senator from a liberal state, you're important.
…
"The biggest loser will be Bill Clinton who, if Kerry wins, will no longer be the titular head of the Democrat party, which he is today."
Norquist continued: "Kerry will take over the Democratic National Committee and put his own people in, and Bill Clinton will just be an interesting guy who used to be president. He'd have as much clout in the party as Jimmy Carter."

 
HOLLYWOOD BRAINTRUST FOR KERRY

A concert to benefit the Kerry Kampaign was held in LA yesterday, and the Hollywood Braintrust, never one to shun free publicity, showed up in their best bibs’n’tuckers.



Actress Eliza Dushku, Actress Krista Allen, Actor Wiliam H. Macy (L) and his wife, actress Felicity Hoffman, Actor Jason Ritter, Singer Lisa Loeb, Actor Jason Biggs, Singer Lance Bass (L) and actress Jennifer Gimenez, Actress Jessica Biel, Actor Colin Hanks, Actress Joy Bryant, Singer Liz Phair, and Actor David Spade .

 
A Couple More Hmmmms from the Time Article

Time mentions this tidbit:

Cam, on the other hand, recalls how John learned to swear in Italian. "That part I do remember. Him coming back from vacation and spouting 'Spaccare la faccia, porco!'" Cam says with a laugh. The phrase roughly translates as "Shove it in your face, pig" and was "probably one of the milder things he learned," says Cam. "I had to learn Italian to get food at the table," John recalls. "I could make a sailor blush in Italian, no question about it."

Oh, please! "Shove it in your face pig" is going to make a sailor blush? And what is it with Kerry's sudden need to tell us all where he learned to curse? It was only yesterday that we read this morsel:

On July 3rd, at a rally with farmers in Wisconsin, candidate John Kerry waxed poetic about growing up on a farm, learning his "first cuss word" from riding around with the hired help, and learning a respect for the land by tilling the soil with his own hands.

A less charitable person might ask whether that first cuss word was a verb or an exclamation from the hired help.

By the way, Time does NOT confirm the farm story:

"He was a very adventurous, outdoorsy person," says Peggy, who is two years older. "There was a farm next door, and John used to like to play there and in the woods."

Oops! Then where did this anecdote come from?

"When I was 12 years old, my passion was being allowed to go out and sit on the John Deere and drive it around the field and plow, and I learned, as a kid, what it was like to look in back of me and see those furrows, and see that pattern, and feel a sense of accomplishment, and end up dusty and dirty and tired but feeling great, looking back at that field that you plowed."

Now, that's not quite as impressive as Al Gore's 4H achievements:

"I learned how to plow a steep hillside with mules, hose out the hog waste and take up hay all day long in the hot sun."

See, in John's story, he had a good time--riding around in the tractor, learning all the cuss words. Whereas Al's story was more the Protestant work ethic in tone--there's no sense he's having fun, he's just doing what has to be done.

 
Edwards Received Some Illegal Donations--Are There More?



Dick Morris points where to look. Edwards got lots and lots of money from trial lawyers for his presidential campaign, and at least some of it was donated illegally according to this:

Tab Turner, for example, the eminent Little Rock trial lawyer, donated $200,000 to Edwards’s campaign and his 527 committees. Investigators interviewed the clerks in his firm in whose names many of the donations were made. Slate magazine reported, on Aug. 29, 2003, that “one clerk who gave $2,000 to Edwards said that Turner had ‘asked for people to support Edwards’ and assured them that ‘he would reimburse us.’”

Edwards had to return $10,000 to several Turner employees and attorney Tab claimed that he did not know it was illegal to reimburse his employees for their donations.

This should be pretty easy to check. First, look for $1000+ donations from persons employed by law firms, especially those from the plaintiff's bar. Check Martindale (or the firm's website) for listed lawyers at the firm. Figure they're probably capable of making a big donation, but the secretaries, paralegals and law librarian probably are not. Just for fun, I'd suggest checking, oh, North Carolina personal injury firms first.

 
Edwards' Voting Record Reveals a Liberal

I did a little research at the websites Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), a liberal activist group, and the American Conservative Union (ACU), a conservative activist group.

The ADA rates Edwards lifetime as an 81, which would appear to mark him as a liberal Democrat--not a way-out loony like John Kerry, but hardly a moderate. For example, Joe Lieberman had a lifetime rating of 79 from the ADA as of 2000 and has probably moved that up a notch with ratings of 95, 85, and 70 since. If we just look at the years they have both been in the Senate, Lieberman rates as a little more liberal according to ADA, with an 84 to Edwards' 81. Kerry is off in cloud cuckoo land with a 90 rating over the same period of time.

On an absolute basis Lieberman and Edwards' ratings may be mildly misleading. The ADA rates lawmakers on 20 bills each session, with senators picking up 5 points per correct (according to the ADA) vote. If you don't vote, you get zero points, exactly the same as if you'd voted against the ADA position (which is pretty moronic, but then, they're liberals)*. Edwards got a 65 rating in 2003, but that was with 13 good votes and seven times not voting. However, that matters little in the comparison with Lieberman because Joe missed six votes himself but otherwise was perfect. Neither he nor Edwards missed a lot of votes prior to that year, so the 2003 votes missed were clearly caused by their gearing up to run for president. Kerry missed three votes for the same reason. If we give all three of them credit for voting the ADA way in the votes they missed, their scores would be Kerry 93, Lieberman 90, and Edwards 88.

If you compare Edwards to a normal Southern Democrat senator, however, he sticks out quite a bit. John Breaux of Louisiana has averaged a 59 over the same five years that the Breck Girl has been in the Senate. Barbara Boxer, who is a flaming liberal if ever there was one, is an 89 for the same time period, so Edwards is a lot closer to her than he is to Breaux. And compared to a conservative Democrat like Zell Miller, Edwards is indistinguishable from Ted Kennedy, as Miller has compiled an approximate ADA rating of 25 since his appointment late in 2000 to finish Paul Coverdell's term.

This is of course why John Edwards was about to get kicked out of the Senate in 2004 before he got the bright idea of running for President (and now Vice President), because he did not act like he represented North Carolina.

Of course, the ADA ratings only tell one side of the story. What about the American Conservative Union Ratings? Pretty much the same thing--Kerry's more liberal than Lieberman, who's more liberal than Edwards, who's way more liberal than Breax, who's quite a bit more liberal than Zell Miller.

Overall, there's a little difference between Kerry and Edwards in terms of voting record, but nowhere near what you'd expect given that Edwards represents a fairly conservative state and Kerry perhaps the most liberal state. Edwards is not a moderate, by any means.

*To illustrate why an absent vote is somewhere in between an aye vote and a nay vote, consider a vote of 50-50 in the Senate. If we assume that on half of all 50-50 votes the Senate casts that the Vice President (who casts the deciding vote in these cases) votes aye and the other half nay, then half the time the ADA gets its wish on the vote and the other half it doesn't. Now, it is apparent that if a aye voter is absent or switches to an nay vote, the result is the same--the nays have it, so it may appear that being absent or being present and voting nay is the same. But suppose a different nay voter is then switched to an aye (happens all the time). Then in the case it was an absentee voter, the ayes have it at 50-49, whereas if it was a nay voter the vote is tied 50-50 and again it is up to the VP.

 
Edwards Nickname Roundup

The Breck Girl, the Silky Pony (Laura Ingraham), the Eddie Haskel of the Senate (Hugh Hewitt), Senator Lightweight (Hewitt again). I like the Silky Pony one as that gives us two neigh-sayers on the ticket with Mr. Ed.

 
Around the Horn with Edwards

More reactions are pouring in. My Take on Things suggests a campaign slogan/bumper sticker: Let's Flush These Two Johns!

Chicago Ray doesn't care who the nominee is.

Scrappleface has found out that John Edwards is Kerry's secret weapon in the battle against terror.

American Liberty Journal has a comprehensive list of Senator Edwards' qualifications to be vice president.

Captain Ed notes that Kerry skipped out on attending the NEA annual convention in favor of a meeting with the Breck Girl. Since the unions were generally supportive of Dick Gephardt for VP, this is a double slap in the face to Kerry's most loyal supporters.

 
Portrait of the Pol as a Young Man

Time Magazine has a looooong article on Kerry's youth.

Talk to Kerry about his childhood and he quickly goes on defense, making a point of describing his family as very normal and fun loving. When informed how consistently his friends and siblings described him as a serious kid ("not just serious; very serious," says brother Cameron), Kerry's features head in two directions: his lips smile but his brow knits, and he immediately pushes back. Rather than spin the quality into a virtue for anyone running for President, particularly in these serious times, Kerry makes himself out to be Huck Finn, recounts his childhood larks and prep school shenanigans and love of "vegging out" during college.

As Hugh Hewitt points out, the more we know about John Kerry, the weirder he seems.

 
Lurch & Leech

 
Why Edwards Hurts Kerry

Byron York has the same take as I did; that Edwards' two Americas speech is a throwback to the bad old days of the Democrats. More important, York notes that the speech has almost no foreign policy content.

A look at exit polls conducted after Democratic primaries shows just how little Edwards appealed to voters concerned about national security. In New Hampshire, for example, among voters who felt the war in Iraq was the major concern facing the United States, just three percent voted for Edwards, placing him barely ahead of fringe candidate Dennis Kucinich. Among those who felt that terrorism/national security was the top issue, just five percent voted for Edwards. The results were much the same in several other primary states.

This did not matter all that much in the Democratic primaries as Edwards was facing voters more concerned about the threat posed by George W. Bush than Osama Bin Laden. In the general election, there will be a lot more voters in the latter category.

 
Meanwhile, Kerry's Still the Candidate

The New York Times presents the sanitized version of Kerry's life circa 1965-1971. This one's not really worth reading; if you want to learn more about the Vietnam days, read the Boston Globe's series from last summer.

However, the Times does get one interesting detail that I didn't remember hearing about before:

NEW HAVEN--On Oct. 21, 1965, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey came here to address a group of New England mayors as opposition to the Vietnam War was heating up. A Yale senior named John Kerry presented him with a petition signed by 550 people condemning demonstrators who "impugn the integrity of U.S. leaders and political institutions through irresponsible protests," The Yale Daily News reported.

"All but a few of our fellow students realize that a reasonable debate on foreign policy must be kept free from fanaticism or emotional posturing, and must show a fundamental loyalty to our political institutions," the petition declared. "A position of protest justifies no one in an attempt to impede troop movements at home, to undermine morale abroad and to encourage our generation to repudiate its military duties."



However, that's about it. The Times completely ignores the story about how Kerry asked his local draft board for a one-year deferment to travel to France. Here's how they describe the decision to enlist:

Mr. Kerry's father, Richard, a veteran diplomat, also had serious early doubts about the war. Mr. Kerry himself had doubts about the policy but never seemed to question where his own duty lay. In late-night conversations with Mr. Bundy's uncle Bill, who was visiting New Haven, Mr. Kerry heard the refrain that the military needed officers like him. At the end of 1965, he enlisted in the Navy, with his service to start after graduation the next spring.

Like I said, the sanitized version.

 
FARMER L’FRAUDE



As usual, the press is giving L’Fraude a pass by not reporting all of what goes on at Kerry Kampaign Koffee Klatches. However, one source admitted, "We had to work hard to keep it out of the national press. If it got out that this was stuff Kerry was enjoying, even if it was in San Francisco, we'd be taking heat."

And there is this unbelievable bit of news that L’Fraude can’t even recall his childhood correctly!

STILL THE WINTER SOLDIER:
On July 3rd, at a rally with farmers in Wisconsin, candidate John Kerry waxed poetic about growing up on a farm, learning his "first cuss word" from riding around with the hired help, and learning a respect for the land by tilling the soil with his own hands.
It all sounded great, and should have, but before the candidate uttered those words, he made sure his staff researched it enough so that he wasn't caught in any inaccuracies.
"He had people check with his brother and others to make sure he could talk to the farmers on their level without having history come back to bite him," says a Kerry campaign staffer. "I don't know if he didn't recall his time on the family farm, or if he was just confirming his own recollections, but he definitely didn't have a lot imprinted on his memory. He needed help recalling what he did and maybe didn't do on the farm."

 
Legion Reaction to Edwards

Crush Kerry is impressed with Edwards' intelligence, wisdom and charm. Oh, no, wait a minute! They think Edwards is a blood-sucking plaintiff's attorney.

The Kerry Spot points us to this article by Rich Lowry back in January about the Breck Girl's silly populist rhetoric. Remember his ridiculous statements like, "If you want an America where workers are chained to their spots on the assembly line, then I'm not your candidate."

Catholic Kerry Watch says the selection of the ambulance chaser solidifies the ticket as pro-abortion, and notes that ironically, Edwards often spoke on behalf of the unborn--when suing doctors for botched or difficult deliveries. As with many other Southern Democrats, when trying to get elected locally he stressed his reservations about abortion, but when trying to get elected nationally all qualms evaporated.

Real Clear Politics is unimpressed. Like me they thought Gephardt, while unexciting, was likely to be a better pick for political reasons.

You may see polls in the next few weeks showing Kerry competitive or even ahead in North Carolina, forget about 'em, the Kerry-Edwards ticket will carry no southern states. Edwards may be enough to solidify a Bowles victory in the NC Senate race and help on the margin in a couple of the other open Senate seats in the South, but he is not going to turn Georgia, North Carolina or Florida into Kerry wins.

 
Blogger Driving Me Nuts

It's been sluggish all weekend, with posts disappearing (and then appearing 10 times), with blogspots failing to load until the fourth or fifth refresh. Sorry for any inconvenience. Now I know why the more established blogs have migrated away from Blogger.

 
Kerry's Pick Already Backfiring

The Wall Street Journal says the US Chamber of Commerce is going to abandon its traditional neutrality now that Edwards is the Veep nominee.

But Mr. Edwards is a trial lawyer. His campaign for the presidency was financed by trial lawyers. And there is nothing that makes America's CEOs see red these days like America's trial lawyers. "It's visceral," says one person who works with a group of chief executives. "You can feel it in a room." The nation's top executives view the plaintiff's bar as modern-day mobsters, shaking down corporations by bringing endless lawsuits that are too costly and too dangerous to litigate and that result in settlements costing billions to the corporate bottom line. The antipathy, while not new, has never been greater.

There is a tendency to say, "So what?" The Democrats have never been the party of big business. But this is not all that true anymore. There are plenty of heavy-hitting businessmen who vote for the Democrats--Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and the odious George Soros are just the most famous names. However, their support is liable to be tepid at best for a ticket including an ambulance chaser like Edwards.

 
Kerry Haters Now Incorporating Edwards' Enemies!

So the Breck Girl gets it after all. Kerry, with the typical East Coast mentality, releases the information at 6:00 AM on the West Coast. How many people are going to get up in the West, turn on the radio or TV and hear that the selection has been made before they get a chance to check their email? Dumb, dumb, dumb. Granted, the whole email announcement was overblown anyway, but if you're going to do it, at least do it right.

I don't think much of the pick either. Edwards is obviously a bright guy, but his "Two Americas" is straight out of the 1970s Democratic playbook. He's handsome but overly glib, and he seems unlikely to pursue the attack dog role of a Veep nominee. I suspect he's going to be named Mr Congeniality after the election by grateful Republicans.

This does certainly stir up the pot for 2008, though. Now the Democrats have three heirs apparent in Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and John Edwards.

 
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU …



What a bore this has been, what a rare mood I’m in. Why it’s almost like being zzzzzzzz.
The specualtion has been hilarious. Today’s New York Post took a gamble with Gephardt. Even TAS weighed in with a guess:

UPDATE: Now comes word the presumptive John Kerry is planning a major announcement in Pittsburgh at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, after which he'll fly to Indianapolis. That can mean only one thing. He's ready to choose Indiana Senator Evan Bayh as his running mate. If so it'll be an audacious choice (though watch the media instinctively begin comparing Bayh to Dan Quayle). Kerry will be comfortable with one of the few Democrats who hasn't compelled Zell Miller to split? It will mean Kerry really is playing to win.

But it’s official; it is the Breck Girl after all. The new kid on the block. New is right:

"In the Senate four years, and that is the full extent of public life - no international experience, no military experience - you can imagine what the advertising is going to be next year," Mr. Kerry said of Mr. Edwards just before the Iowa caucuses, adding: "When I came back from Vietnam in 1969, I don't know if John Edwards was out of diapers then. Well, I'm sure he was out of diapers."

And you’ve got to read Crush Kerry’s choice evaluation:

Blood Sucking Plaintiff's Attorney is Kerry's VP Pick

Wow, what a shock. The Democratic nominee for President taps the darling of a core constituency - trial lawyers - as his VP Pick. Not surprising when you consider the only real options to keep the party faithful happy would be the following: a teachers union official, ANSWER member, obese low-budget filmmaker Michael Moore, a NARAL official, or a minority.

And that’s just the opening paragraph! So buckle your seatbelts, kiddies; this will be fun!

 
POW Power!

Joel Gaines is back at the No Pundit Intended newsstand after a vacation (slacker!). He takes a good whack at Lurch for the comment about being disappointed that only $388 million of the $18 billion Congress approved for reconstruction has been spent. Of course, Nuancy Boy voted against the $18 billion himself, so he should actually be disappointed that any money has been spent at all, right? Joel also points us to this extraordinary article by a former Vietnam POW.

I have known Senator John McCain for 33 years. I have known Senator John Kerry for the same length of time. Sen. McCain I met in person, in a prisoner of war camp. In the same camp, I came to know about Senator Kerry, but only by reputation. In the Spring of 1971, Senator McCain was in the same camp with me, a camp the Communists told us was a punishment camp which we had been placed in because we were "reactionaries," with "bad attitudes." I only knew John Kerry through his words, but I encountered his words while in the same camp and at the same time as I met Senator McCain. In the 2000 presidential election I supported John McCain because, from my personal knowledge of him gained in that camp, I knew that he was fit to serve as President. In the 2004 presidential election, again based upon my knowledge gained in that camp, I oppose the election of John Kerry because I believe that he is unfit to serve as President.

Read it all, it's well-written and compelling. Welcome back, Joel!

 
Kerry's Op-Ed Piece in the WaPo

If there is anything more tedious than John F. Kerry on the stump, it's John F. Kerry writing an editorial column. Yesterday's stem-winder on Iraq in the WaPo was a classic example of his leaden prose.

In recent months the Bush administration has taken some of the needed steps. It has worked through the United Nations to legitimize the transition to an interim Iraqi government and to call for troop contributions and financial assistance. But we need a more far-reaching plan if we are to win the substantial help that is required. We have to move our allies beyond the resentment they feel about the Bush administration's failed diplomacy so they can focus on their interest in fighting terrorism and promoting peace. The best way to do that is to vest friends and allies in Iraq's future.

On the economic front, that means giving them fair access to the multibillion-dollar reconstruction contracts. It also means letting them be a part of putting Iraq's profitable oil industry back together. In return, they must forgive Hussein's multibillion-dollar debts to their countries and pay their fair share of the reconstruction bill.

Head... swimming... must keep eyelids open! As usual Kerry glides right over the fact that the French and the Germans (the only allies that the International Man of Mystery cares about) are not interested in helping out with Iraq. Oh, they'd be happy to get some of the reconstruction contracts, but they're not so keen on forgiving the debt or giving a hand in paying the bill. We've talked about his apology tour in the past, but it's going to have to be quite an apology in order to get Chirac and Schroeder to spend a couple billion.

We should also give them a leadership role in pursuing our wider strategic goals in the region. As partners, we should convene a regional conference with Iraq's neighbors. Such a conference would have two goals. First, it should secure a pledge from Iraq's neighbors to respect Iraq's borders and not to interfere in its internal affairs. And second, it should commit Iraq's leaders to provide clear protection for minorities, thus removing a major justification for possible outside intervention.

Slapping my face here to keep from nodding off--three cups of coffee wasn't enough! As for the pledge that Iraq's neighbors would give not to invade, remember that Neville Chamberlain brought back to England a pledge from Adolf Hitler in 1938.

Then, having taken these dramatic steps, we could realistically call on NATO to step up to its responsibilities. Our goal should be an alliance commitment to deploy a major portion of the peacekeeping force that will be needed in Iraq for a long time to come. Just as NATO came together to contain the Soviet Union and bring peace to Bosnia and Kosovo, with the right kind of leadership from us NATO can be mobilized to help stabilize Iraq and the region. And if NATO comes, others will too.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

 
Veepstakes Roundup (I Hope the Last!)

There are numerous reports that Kerry has made his decision.

Donald Lambro doesn't believe it's going to be John Edwards or Hillary Clinton--Edwards is a lightweight on foreign policy, and Hillary thinks Le Fraude is going to be French Toast.

BJ Ruddell suggests Max Cleland.

First, Cleland would balance the ticket geographically. In 2000, George W. Bush beat Al Gore in Georgia by 12 points. Adding Cleland to the mix would make Georgia and surrounding Southern states much more competitive, placing pressure on Bush to invest more time and money protecting his home region at the risk of becoming less competitive elsewhere.

Second, Cleland would balance the ticket politically. Kerry is one of the Senate's most liberal members, while Cleland sought out the middle ground during his one Senate term. According to Congressional Quarterly's Senate vote studies, Cleland supported Bush 74 percent of the time while in office (compared to Kerry's 56 percent).

Third, Cleland would be a bold choice that would generate all-important media buzz. U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) and U.S. Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) — two of the front-runners for the slot — would not give Kerry the boost that he and the party need. Gephardt, Edwards, Wesley Clark and other primary opponents may be well-vetted as former national candidates, but their status as "known quantities" makes them unimaginative choices.

Not sure I buy any of those three--Cleland couldn't win Georgia for himself in 2002, balancing a ticket ideologically is meaningless (since the president makes all the final decisions), and there are lots of bold choices that would general media buzz. Michael Moore would generate media buzz, and so would Arianna Huffington.

The KC Star reminds us that if Kerry picks Gephardt or Edwards, it will be the first time a Democrat has picked somebody who actively ran against him that year since 1932, when FDR chose John Nance Garner. Kennedy and Johnson both ran for president in 1960, but in those days candidates did not enter every primary, and apparently JFK and LBJ did not compete against each other directly. In 1956, Adlai Stevenson ran against Estes Kefauver in the primaries, but he had turned over the VP choice to the convention. Sounds like advantage Vilsack.

 
Milking the Midwest

Kerry announced that he was dropping his support for the Northeast Dairy Compact, a scheme which keeps the price of milk in New England much higher than it might otherwise be.

Of course, he managed to turn it into another Al Gore moment to talk about spending his boyhood on a farm.

''Let me tell you something: When I was a kid, this 'kid from the East' had an aunt and uncle who had a dairy farm, and one of my greatest joys in life -- in fact, I lived on a farm as a young kid. My parents, when we lived in Massachusetts, we lived on a farm, and I learned my first cuss word sitting on a tractor with the guy who was driving it," Kerry said as he stood, wearing jeans and new Timberland hiking boots, in the tractor shed at the Dejno family farm in this community, which was founded on Independence Day in 1876.

Of course, most of his boyhood was actually spent in Swiss boarding schools and at his family's mansion in France, but why let the facts get in the way of a good story? Kerry also manages to admit that he's doing it as a political calculation and that he'll probably go back to supporting the Northeast Dairy Compact if he doesn't win the presidency.

''I plead guilty. I did vote for it, because I represented Massachusetts," Kerry said. ''I was a United States senator, and I was working in a context that we were living in a number of years ago, and that's the way we saw the world.

''We don't see the world that way now," he told the crowd at the Dejno farm. ''I guarantee you that as president, I'm not going to be president of New England, or president of Massachusetts; I'm running to be president of the United States of America. And I'm going to stand up for farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota and Iowa and other parts of the country just as hard as I did before."

Lord only knows what his way of "seeing the world" has to do with it and as Jim Geraghty over at the Kerry Spot points out, Kerry did not stand up for farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota and Iowa in the past--he stood against them.

 
Kerry Hitting the Bars?



Could it be? Is he finally coming down to earth and hanging out with the common folk?

Uh, no. The caption tells it all:

Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), D-Mass., shakes hands with patrons at the All Star Sports Bar and Grill in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Sunday, July 4, 2004. Kerry was there to conduct an interview with GQ Magazine.

 
A SMILE ONLY HIS DENTIST COULD LOVE



As I was perusing the most recent photos of L'Fraude, it occurred to me that he's showing a lot of teeth these days. Obviously, his advisers are worried that his gruesome Lurch image (my apologies to the late-great Ted Cassidy) may cost him precious votes. Hence, the dental shots this past weekend.

See John clap.
See John make nice with the air crew.
See John hold a puppy.
See John hug a woman.
See John play guitar.

The problem is is that it's not genuine; it's scripted. If L'Fraude were to relax into being John Forbes Kerry, no one would vote for him except other elitist liberals, and there simply aren't sufficient elitist liberal votes to get him elected (thank you JEEEEEEE-zus!) . So, in the meantime, we must suffer the tortured toothy grimaces. I can't see how this works in his favor (hee hee hee).

 
Kerry Not Fonda Abortion; Refuses to Vote His Conscience

What can we make of this comment?

"I oppose abortion, personally," he told the newspaper. "I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist ...who doesn't share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America."

Of course, Nuancy Boy does not hesitate to let his personal beliefs guide his politics, only when it conflicts with a major constituency of the Democrats. Kerry opposes the death penalty, for example (at one point he even opposed it for terrorists, although he figured out that one wasn't going anywhere). We'll assume that is a matter of conscience for him; that he considers it wrong. But somehow he votes with his conscience on that one, even though he's legislating an article of his faith on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist.

 
Democrats Drinking Moore's Kool-Aid

Michael Barone questions whether the Democrats should be associating themselves with Fahrenheit 9/11. Not unusual, but Barone adds one humorous detail. You know how Moore's movie set the record for the highest first week gross for a documentary? Guess what movie it beat out?

Presumably, McAuliffe, Daschle, and the other Democrats had a good time laughing at Bush in Fahrenheit 9/11. And they might take comfort from the fact that it had the highest first-weekend gross of any documentary ever, beating out Jackass: the Movie.

 
So I Close My Eyes and Swing?



Kerry shows us the form that made him a hockey player.

 
Kerry: Bad for Business

That's the conclusion of Hugo Restall in the Wall Street Journal.

A big flip-flop on trade is one giveaway. Sen. Kerry's voting record in the Senate is respectable--he supported every major trade deal since 1993. But the famous "Benedict Arnold" rhetoric flung at companies offshoring jobs, far from being an aberration, was a turning point.

Sen. Kerry supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, but today he is attacking a similar deal with Central American countries on the ground that it doesn't include stringent labor and environmental provisions. These requirements are favored by the unions because they would hamper foreign competition, and a Kerry administration is committed to including them in all future deals. Such posturing would put the U.S. at odds with the developing world and torpedo the World Trade Organization's Doha Round talks--exactly what the protectionists would like.

 
Gun Owners Beware of John Kerry

Don't be fooled by the photo ops. Kerry is a gun grabber in the tradition of Dianne Feinstein.



Kerry, during his 20-year stint in the U.S. Senate, has been an always reliable vote for the anti-gunners and has routinely voted with the gun-ban movement since he was elected as the junior member from Massachusetts. At the heart of the real John Kerry is an unthinking zealot who has never missed an opportunity to work to diminish our rights.

For his long history of anti-gun rights votes and positions, he consistently receives a 100-percent rating from the Brady Campaign (Handgun Control Inc.), the American Bar Association`s Special Committee on Gun Violence and from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (formerly the National Coalition to Ban Handguns). All of these groups deny the existence of an individual right to keep and bear arms, and some are actively using the courts in an attempt to destroy Americans` Second Amendment freedoms.

 
Goofus Walks With the Gun Barrel Aimed at His Knee....

 
Happy Birthday USA!

 
You Go Left at the Silo, I'll Go Right By the NBC Camera Crew



Obvious problem here--looks like Botox Boy never heard of blocking.

 

 
Hmmmmmm



COCKTAIL CLUE
IS this a hint that Sen. John Edwards will be John Kerry's running mate? Invites just went out for a July 16 cocktail fundraiser in Beverly Hills where Edwards is filling in for Kerry. "Come and meet Senator John Edwards, a rising star in the Democratic Party and an active surrogate for John Kerry," the invite says. "Senator Edwards has been tirelessly traveling the country on behalf of the Kerry campaign, and he looks forward to sharing his experiences with you here in Los Angeles." Tickets to the event in a private mansion start at $250, and $1,000 includes a VIP pre-reception.

 
AN EMBARRASSMENT



[F]ormer president Jimmy Carter - in spite of winning the Nobel Peace Prize - won't be attending the Democratic National Convention. Carter was expecting to give a speech during prime time, but the John Kerry camp doesn't want to remind voters of the hostage crisis and the malaise that gripped the U.S. during the Carter years

 
$HADY DEALS


The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry … has returned a 2,000 dollar contribution made by Chun Jae-yong, seen here in February 2004 being arrested on tax evasion charges. (AFP/File/Jung Yeon-Je)

KERRY AIDE OUT IN $$ MESS
A staffer from Sen. John Kerry's camp has abruptly resigned after the campaign was forced to return a second shady donation he solicited.
Rick Yi — a former White House military attaché for President Bill Clinton who led Kerry's fund-raising from Korean-Americans — quit the Massachusetts senator's campaign Friday amid questions about the immigration status of a financial supporter Yi recruited.
Kerry officials returned a $2,000 check — the maximum under federal election law — that supporter Sang Ah Park gave after campaign staffers couldn't determine if she had permanent legal residency.
Yi collected Park's check last Aug. 11, the same day that he accepted a check from Chun Jae-yong, the jailed son of South Korea's disgraced former president.
Chun — who was partners with Yi in a business venture in Georgia — was arrested this winter for evading taxes on his $14 million inheritance.

 
Ahhhh … “PADDY-CAKE, PADDY-CAKE”


Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (L) sings a song with the crew of his 'John Kerry, The Real Deal 2004' plane en route to Phoenix, AZ. Kerry and his Republican opponent President George W. Bush were still running neck-and-neck just four months before the Novemebr presidential elections. (AFP/Hector Mata)