Kerry Haters: We're Not Fonda John

 
Vacation Report

Mosquitos 27, Pat 4. And the ones I killed left bloodstains. Phoenix doesn't have many mosquitos.

Miniature Golf News: Set a personal best with four holes-in-one out of nine holes played (my sister and I took turns golfing/keeping an eye on my five-year-old nephew who tends to wander).

Blogging: Via dialup at about 36 kbps. Positive: only one phone outlet in the rental house, and that was in the living room, so I could watch tv and blog--came in handy. Of course, most of the time the kids were playing GameCube on the TV so I concentrated on the news coverage on the web except for Monday and Thursday, when I successfully appropriated the time slots by wearing the kids out early. Increased respect for Kitty who blogs on dialup every day. Loved blogging the speech live, that was really, really fun, although I was disappointed that Kerry did not go for more points on our scorecard. It was a very cautious speech.

Weather: I actually enjoyed the sunny days less--the beach was more crowded and it's not like the sun is unknown to me in Phoenix--we get it something like 320 days a year. And yeah, the humidity is too much, not to mention the mosquitos.

 
Time Out of Mind

 
Surely This Is Kerry's "What if Kitty Dukakis Were Raped and Killed" Moment

Unbelievable. Kerry wants to try Osama bin Laden in the state courts.

"I want him tried for murder in New York City, and in Virginia and in Pennsylvania," where planes hijacked by al-Qaida operatives crashed Sept. 11, 2001, Kerry said in his first interview as the Democratic presidential nominee.

And he probably wants Osama to have full legal representation, including rights to appeal any death sentence for 20+ years. NY still does not have the death penalty. And unfortunately a change of venue motion would certainly be successful if the government decided to start by trying him in NYC.

This is simple. In the unlikely event of his capture (I think he's already dead, but if he isn't he would probably not be taken alive), Osama needs to be put to death virtually immediately. Every day he is in captivity, Americans will be at risk as hostages for his release. A military tribunal surely offers the quickest route to the 72-year-old virgin awaiting Osama.

 
What's Chili?



Heheh. As a followup on Kerry's misadventure in the Newburgh Wendy's (see Kitty's marvelous post just below), our buddies at Crush Kerry pointed us to this hilarious little tidbit. Teh-RAY-za, despite speaking five languages, did not know what chili is!

Teresa Heinz Kerry pointed at a picture of chili on the menu and asked the cashier what it was before ordering a bowl. Her husband had the same, along with a Frosty.

Remember how the media tore President Bush's father apart for not recognizing a supermarket scanner? Never mind that in fact he was remarking on a new kind of scanner, this showed how out of touch the plutocrat (far less wealthy than the Ketchup Queen) was with the common people.

BTW, credit the AP's Nedra Pickler on this one. She and Jodi Wilgoren of the Times are my favorite writers covering Kerry--they always have that funny detail that a blog like Kerry Haters absolutely depends on. I see far, far more stories than I comment on, because most just don't have an anti-Kerry hook. It's a rare story from those two that doesn't have something that is usable.

When you combine it with the blockbuster Kitty posts right below about Kerry's foolish attempt to suck up to some young marines who weren't having any of his BS, this could turn out to be a very expensive fast food meal for Kerry.

 
NOT BROTHERS OF THE BAND



Get that f’n finger out of that Marine’s way! I am seething looking at this photo. I’m tired of tip-toeing around Kerry’s military record. He was a "loose cannon" who made sure he got those three Purple Hearts as quickly as possible in any way possible so he could REQUEST to leave his tour after FOUR MONTHS while leaving the rest of his buddies there. Just because he went to Vietnam does NOT make him worthy of all this praise. He served; big deal. So didn’t thousands of others, many of whom were smeared with lies by Kerry when he returned home. He was an opportunist then, and he’s an opportunist now. Four months of service does not a commander-in-chief make.

DEM'S MARINE MISFIRE
SCRANTON, Pa. — John Kerry's heavily hyped cross-country bus tour stumbled out of the blocks yesterday, as a group of Marines publicly dissed the Vietnam War hero in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
Kerry was treating running mate Sen. John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, to a Wendy's lunch in Newburgh, N.Y., for their 27th wedding anniversary — an Edwards family tradition — when the candidate approached four Marines and asked them questions.
The Marines — two in uniform and two off-duty — were polite but curt while chatting with Kerry, answering most of his questions with a "yes, sir" or "no, sir."
But they turned downright nasty after the Massachusetts senator thanked them "for their service" and left.

 
JUDGING JOHN KERRY


Photograph of John Kerry meeting with Comrade Do Muoi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in Vietnam, July 15-18, 1993. Photo taken in the War Remnants Museum (formerly the "War Crimes Museum") in Saigon in May 2004.
"This photograph's unquestionable significance lies in its placement in the American protestors' section of the War Crimes Museum in Saigon. The Vietnamese communists clearly recognize John Kerry's contributions to their victory. This find can be compared to the discovery of a painting of Neville Chamberlain hanging in a place of honor in Hitler's Eagle's Nest in 1945."

Kerry said “Judge me by my record.”

 
Travel Day--Posting Light from Pat

I will be traveling most of today. Kitty may be posting and I may put up a couple more before leaving, but if there's nothing for awhile that's why.

 
Kerry's Production in the Senate

Just in case you think Nuancy Boy's been lazy in the Senate, the AFL-CIO has compiled a list of the 57 bills on which Kerry has been a sponsor. Among them are these critical pieces of legislation:
106th Congress (3)

1. S.791 : A bill to amend the Small Business Act with respect to the women's business center program.

Sponsor: Sen. Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 4/14/1999) Cosponsors: 30

Committees: Senate Small Business

Latest Major Action: 12/9/1999 Became Public Law No: 106-165.

2. S.918 : A bill to authorize the Small Business Administration to provide financial and business development assistance to military reservists' small businesses, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen. Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 4/29/1999) Cosponsors: 51

Committees: Senate Small Business; House Small Business

Latest Major Action: 7/29/1999 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

3. S.1569 : A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the Taunton River in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for study for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen. Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 9/8/1999) Cosponsors: 1

Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources; House Resources

Latest Major Action: 2/2/2000 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands.

Remember, this comes from a website that supports Kerry for President.

Hat Tip: Liberty News Forum

 
The Incomparable Steyn Sums It Up

You knew Mark would have something great for us in the wake of the DNC.

Commenting on Dean's speech, he notes the following sad anecdote from the Vermonster:

"I've seen it in the people I've met and their desire to take our country back for the American people. I saw it in a college student in Pennsylvania who sold her bicycle and sent us a cheque for $100 with a note that said, 'I sold my bicycle for democracy'."

Really? John F Kerry's bicycle cost $8,000. Why doesn't he sell his for democracy? If you throw in the designer French T-shirt buttock-hugging lemon-hued lycra shorts, you'd probably be up around an even 10 grand. When Howard Dean and John Kerry and John Edwards talk about "change", what they mean is you send these bazillionaire grandees the 100-dollar bill and they'll keep the change.

Hat Tip: The Nudnik File Will somebody please tell me why nobody links to this marvelous blog? Technorati says he's got three links, and two are from Kerry Haters.

 
More Kerry Fisking

Niall Ferguson tackles Kerry's romantic notion of getting the French and Germans to shoulder more of the load in Iraq.

Well, here's another reality for you, Mr Kerry. Even if you are elected in November, and even if the European leaders do fawn over you in a way not seen since the days of JFK, I don't expect much in the way of burden-sharing, least of all from the French. Sure, with you in the White House, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroder would spout all sorts of fine words about restoring transatlantic harmony. But I would be quite astonished if practical support, whether in the form of money or men, were to be forthcoming.

You know, by the time the Republican smear machine and Fox News get done tearing apart Kerry's speech, I have a hunch the only words left standing will be, "Hi, I'm John Kerry, reporting for duty."

 
“ENCLAVE OF ELITES”



See Y'All in New York
Why I skipped the Boston convention.
By Zell Miller
Twelve years ago, I delivered one of the keynote addresses on the first night at the Democratic National Convention in New York. It was a stinging rebuke of the administration of George H.W. Bush and a ringing endorsement of Bill Clinton. This summer I'll again be speaking in New York, but it will be to the Republican Convention that renominates George W. Bush.
…
After Hollywood elites profaned the president, [Kerry] didn't have the courage to put them in their place. Instead, he validated their remarks, claiming that they represent "the heart and soul of America."
…
All the speeches we heard this week weren't able to hide the truth of what today's Democratic Party has become: an enclave of elites paying lip service to middle-class values. Americans looking for a president who understands their struggles and their dreams should tune in next month, when we celebrate the leadership of George W. Bush.

 
FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY



G.I. Gigolo passed up a few beauties along the way and then found the mother lode in Stepmoney. I'd advise the Republicans to let the gossip columns deal with this issue, but it is fun to read.
MYSTERY OF KERRY'S OLD LOVE
Yesterday's Boston Herald reported: "In February of 1989, the now-defunct Boston Woman magazine published a story titled 'The Politics of Passion' that detailed the romance and breakup of a woman and a married U.S. senator. The woman, given the phony handle Nora Flax, described an opportunistic, narcissistic pol who went to Washington and quickly developed a love for the television cameras and Hollywood actresses. (Kerry has dated Morgan Fairchild and Catherine Oxenberg, among others.)"
…
An insider at the Enquirer told PAGE SIX's Tom Sykes that there's "more to come" from the tab on Kerry's love life.

Meanwhile, roberto reports good news in New Jersey.
Kerry Still Sucking Wind in New Jersey Polling
The latest Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll of New Jersey voters has Kerry leading Bush by 2 points, 45 to 43 percent.
…
Considering Bush lost by 16 points to Gore in 2000, this is a pathetic performance by Kerry in a state that should be a solid democrat state. Not good for Kerry.

 
Convention Notes

Bob Novak sums it up. Best bit:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton not only turned up one hour and 45 minutes late for a women's luncheon in Boston Tuesday honoring Teresa Heinz Kerry but appeared for the private affair accompanied by several staffers and a television news crew.

One thing that she has in common with the Kerrys--tardiness. It's a way of saying, "I'm more important than you."

 
The Grand Fisking

A Small Victory pointed us to Tacitus' superb fisking of Kerry's speech over at Red State. This is clearly the ne plus ultra review.

Lord help us, this is something different. When Clinton hearkened back, however obliquely, to the '60s, the subtext was one of youth, of something new, of something fresh in American life. Twelve years later -- and with a very different personality at the helm -- the invocation of that era evokes a tired past, a best-forgtten trauma (inflicted, thanks, in small part by the likes of Kerry), and a regrettable phase of liberal gigantism. As I look at the candidate and the delegates, and listen to him speak, I realize: they think those were good times. They think those were noble days of hope and glory. "We believed we could change the world," intones Kerry, "and you know what? We did." Yeah, you did. And it sucked: as your brand of liberalism heaved itself onto what we hoped was history's killing beach in the wreckage of the late '70s, it took one Ronald Reagan to come repair in part the psychic damage inflicted upon American society.

Read it all.

 
Superb Kerry Fisking

I don't think I've ever linked to a letter to the editor of a small paper, but this one was too good to pass up.

Sen. John Kerry's acceptance speech gave us great oratory - and great chutzpah. For his numbers do not add up and do not square with his record. Tax cuts and additional massive spending in area after area, all balanced by soaking a small group of the rich, thus cutting the deficit in half!

Oh, yes, there are also those attacks on bad corporations who internationalize. That will surely discourage their nefarious activities and make them submit to being plucked, all without cutting into the profits, which are supposed to be taxed to finance his schemes.

Additionally, he announces to the world a program of economic selfishness which will level the playing field for the American worker and keep the jobs at home. That will surely gain for us the friendship of the world. (Cheers! Cheers!)

Magically, we will no longer depend on the Saudi royal family for our oil - another example of his subtle mind and tactful diplomacy. Was I dozing when he explained how I would continue to fill my tank (other than long-range developments such as President Bush has also proposed)? Perhaps he suggested Alaskan oil, but I missed it. I do have a bicycle. Doesn't everyone?

And we will increase the size of the military by 40,000 - not enough in my personal guess. Families will no longer have to take collections to equip their sons and daughters in Iraq with bullet-proof vests - all this from the senator who year after year votes to cut the military budget, voting even against the last $87-billion supplemental appropriation (though he did vote for it before he voted against it - it's nice to be decisive).

Promises! Promises!

-- Gilbert R. Fischer, Clearwater

Mr. Fischer, that was just a superb job. We salute you!

 
How Can We Tell Nobody's Pitching the Ball?



Because Kerry hasn't shut his eyes yet.

 
And Now a Word from the Other Side

Want to see how deluded the Democrats are? Check out this editorial from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

For an hour Thursday night, Sen. John Kerry got to speak directly to the American people, unfiltered by the carping punditocracy, the Republican smear machine and Fox News. From this perspective, what the American people saw was a smart, serious and compassionate man. Kerry came across as a real human being -- a man of integrity who believes deeply in the promise of America and seeks to steer the nation to a more secure, more prosperous future.

Where to start on Fisking this absurd editorial? For starters, Kerry spoke for 46 minutes, not an hour. Second, it's not as if he never gets a chance to speak directly to the American people; they're called campaign ads. And his words are never filtered by the Republican smear machine, and they're only filtered by Fox News when people are actually watching Fox News. It should be obvious that far more people see Kerry filtered by ABCNNBCBS.

Kerry did not come across as a real human being; he came off as one of the flesheating ghouls from Night of the Living Dead. Okay, but despite our jokes about the Vampire Theory and the Invisible Man, does anybody doubt that Kerry's homo sapiens?

The rest of it is just as bad--it sounds almost like the Star-Tribune is trying to convince themselves that Kerry's not the worst major party candidate since Michael Dukakis.

 
Shut Those Firehouses in Iraq!

Christopher Hitchens takes on one of the fatuous things that Kerry said last night. Remember the line about how we shouldn't be spending money to build firehouses in Iraq while we're shutting firehouses in the USA?

The further implication is that this is a zero-sum game, and that a dollar spent in Iraq is a dollar not spent on domestic needs. In other words, that this hospital or school in New Jersey or Montana would now be fully funded if it wasn't for a crowd of Arab and Kurdish panhandlers. Could anything be more short-sighted than that? Have we not learned that failed states turn into rogue states, and then export their rage and misery? Would we not prosper ourselves—if the question has to be stated in this way—if the Iraqi economy recuperated to the point where it could become a serious trading partner?

 
Fun Time

The Hamster story gets a workout from Chicago Ray and Allah and Protein Wisdom.

The Commissar does some word association games.

Scrappleface reports on Kerry's plan to help "First America".

Filibuster Cartoons reminds us that there's another convention going on as we speak.

 
Turn Out the Lights, The Party's Over....

 
Parts of Kerry's Speech Fisked

Calvin Woodward does a good job of examining some of the claims in the speech and also highlights the years Kerry cut out of his resume.

He rhetorically asked, "What does it mean when 25 percent of the children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution? America can do better. And help is on the way."

A study by Harlem Hospital Center last year found 25 percent of the children in a 24-block area of Harlem had the disease. But blaming all of that on air pollution as part of a case against the Bush administration is not supported by the study.

Apart from genetic factors, the study found that the asthmatic children were about 50 percent more likely to live with a smoker. Pollen, dust, animal dander, cockroaches and cold air were thought to be among the contributing causes, along with urban air pollution.

 
Not Ready

Lawrence Kaplan tackles Kerry on the notion that his Vietnam service prepared him to be C-in-C.

Regarding his own Vietnam, as opposed to the Hollywood production staged around him, Kerry asked his audience "to judge me by my record." The question has been asked before, but Kerry did not answer it in his speech: If his Vietnam service offers proof that he is "decisive," then why is it that for two decades Kerry has been "only an average Senator," as pro-Kerry columnist Al Hunt wrote in yesterday's Wall Street Journal? If his wartime feats prove that Kerry is "strong" on national security, then why did he oppose virtually every stand-out weapons system in the U.S. arsenal today, speechify against the first Gulf War, and refuse to fund the second? Why, indeed, unless no correlation exists between his biography and his record?

 
Pants on Fire

David Horowitz takes on the phony convention.

In Boston the Democrats -- the party of Al Sharpton, Jimmy Carter, Teddy Kennedy and Michael Moore -- presented themselves as the party of patriotism and military glory and American military strength, and John Kerry as a man whose life has been one long preparation to be commander-in-chief. "I am John Kerry," he saluted his audience to begin his convention speech, "reporting for duty." Pardon me while I hurl. This is a man who came back from Vietnam to stab not only his country but his comrades-in-arms in the back. This is a man who to this very day has an honored place in the Communist enemy's "War Crimes Museum" -- that's American war crimes. This is a party and a wannabe commander in chief that has clamored and voted to oppose America's wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and in Iraq. This is a party and a commander in chief that lent comfort and aid to Communist dictators in Central America during the last years of the Cold War and nearly brought the Reagan presidency down for attempting to oppose the Communist tide.

 
Just Before the Kiss



Dang, looks like the photogs missed the actual buss.

 
Let's Build Unity in the American Family...



The Reverend Al didn't get the memo.

 
Speech Reactions--The Blogs

Crush Kerry says Nuancy Boy jumped the shark.

To say that he will "restore and credibility to the White House" and making the accusation that "saying there are WMD's doesn't make it so" borders on the pathological. I'm guessing those words were actually notes to himself not to meant to be heard by the general public given that in December, 2003 he discussed the need to disarm Saddam Hussein's WMD programs. And how is he going to ask "hard questions and demand hard evidence" and "reform the intelligence system" when he didn't even read the Intelligence report he so criticizes before voting to send young men into battle?

Just One Minute hits on general impressions to start, then fisks some lines in the speech.

I thought Kerry sounded angry for most of the speech. Maybe he is, but is that the tone he wanted?

His makeup man needs to be shot - Kerry looked better in the bunny suit. Kerry is trying to be Kennedy, but he's sweating like Nixon.

My sister caught that too--Kerry's forehead was just a bit too shiny.

Captain Ed thinks any bounce will be temporary.

Wound up his speech by getting wound up. Obviously the crowd loved it; he pretty much fed them the red meat they wanted and managed to get shots in at Bush despite the Kerry/Edwards insistence on maintaining a positive tone. Most of where Kerry defined himself relied on comparing himself to Bush, a sure sign that Kerry fears his ideas only stand up in opposition, not in leadership.

So endeth the convention. It remains to be seen whether Kerry did anything except excite the base with the four days that made up his fourth introduction to the US. I predict that in seven days, he'll still be tracking even at best with Bush.

The Nudnik File hits on a very good point.

In terms of the most important issue of the day, the War on Terror, Kerry basically said nothing. "Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required". But when exactly is that? For Kerry it seems to be only after we have been attacked. Once again we see that his view on the war on terror is a legalistic one - we need proof before we act. And the proof that Kerry needs is a smoldering building or city. This is simply not serious given the threat we are confronting.

Hugh Hewitt has the same take.

Second, it is clear that even on this night when America is asking what would Kerry do about growing threats like that in Iran, and Kerry's answer is clear: "Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response." The Kerry Doctrine: Once we get clobbered, I'll try and figure out how to strike back.

 
DAY 4: GRADES, REPORTS, HO-HUM



Kitty here: I didn’t watch “The Speech” last night. Had no interest. I mean, why bother? Kerry didn’t earn his various nicknames … Flip-Flopper, Waffler, L’Fraude, etc. … fer nuthin’ y’know. So why waste 55 minutes of my life, which I’ll never get back, to listen to a LIAR? Because let’s face it; Senator John F. Kerry is a liar. Instead, I snuggled up in bed with my cat and Stephanie Plum and TEN BIG ONES.

8 'WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU GUYS DOING UP THERE'
DNC CONVENTION DIRECTOR DON MISCHER AIRED ON CNN AS KERRY ENDS SPEECH, HEARD WORLDWIDE:
'Go balloons, go balloons! Go balloons! I don't see anything happening. Go balloons! Go balloons! Go balloons! Standby confetti. Keep coming, balloons. More balloons. Bring it- balloons, balloons, balloons! We want balloons, tons of them. Bring them down. Let them all come. No confetti. No confetti yet.
'No confetti. All right, go balloons, go balloons. We need more balloons. All balloons! All balloons! Keep going! Come on, guys, lets move it. Jesus! We need more balloons. I want all balloons to go, goddammit. Go confetti. Go confetti. More confetti. I want more balloons. What's happening to the balloons? We need more balloons.
'We need all of them coming down. Go balloons- balloons? What's happening balloons? There's not enough coming down! All balloons, what the hell! There's nothing falling! What the fuck are you guys doing up there? We want more balloons coming down, more balloons. More balloons. More balloons'...
AUDIO [MP3 FILE]...

8 Lorie Byrd’s Is That The Best He Could Do?
I was terribly unimpressed by the Kerry speech. I do think he will get a small bounce - a few points -- but I don't think it will last long. He won't get any bounce from the speech itself, but from the media surrounding it. The people who would not sit through a 55 minute speech (most everyone I know) will see Katie Couric, Tom Brokaw, the chicks on The View, etc., talking about what an incredible success it was.

8 John Hawkins’ Thoughts About The Convention, The Speech, & The Kerry Campaign:
As I turned off Adam Sandler's "50 First Dates" and turned to John Kerry blabbing about "trees being cathedrals", his dad, and his "pride in freedom"....I pondered the reported 55 minute length of Kerry's speech and was tempted to go back to the movie. But, I plodded on and did my duty as a blogger and listened to the whole speech. In retrospect, I'm not sure I would have missed much had I gone back to the movie.
…
After Howard Dean imploded, Democrats turned to John Kerry not because they loved him, but because they viewed him as "electable".
…
John Kerry's campaign thus far -- the "Republican-lite" convention included -- has had very little to do with his voting record, with the Democratic Party he leads, or how even his own supporters believe he's going to govern if he's elected.

8 KERRY'S BIG SPEECH: GOING NEGATIVE
By John Podhoretz
WAS it a good speech?
Sure. Just as, in 2000, George W. Bush met and exceeded the task of demonstrating that he could string two sentences together and read them with some fluency, last night John Kerry met and exceeded the task of demonstrating that he was flesh and blood and sinew and not just an animatronic robot that had somehow escaped from Disney World and become a major American political figure.
…
Kerry has every right to go after Bush with everything he's got. But in essence, while calling on the president to engage with Kerry in a battle of "great ideas," Kerry articulated only one big idea last night.
Kerry's big idea is this: He was a war hero and Bush is a lying scoundrel.

8 THE BAGEL CANDIDACY
By Dick Morris
Last time I checked, Sen. John Kerry was 60 years old. But to listen to his speech last night at the Democratic National Convention, you would think he was still in his 20s.
…
Then, after this long rendition of his childhood, he tells us at length what it was like to serve in Vietnam for the four months that he was there. So far, so good.
But then he spent only about one minute talking about what he has done since.
…
John Kerry? Oh yeah, he's the guy who fought in Vietnam and then he ran for president. That's not enough. Where did his 20 years in the Senate go?
Oddly, his absence of biography confirms the impression I formed of him during my White House years: He's a back-bencher. I never can recall a single time that his name came up in any discussion of White House strategy on anything. He was the man who wasn't there. We were always figuring out how to deal with Ted Kennedy or Pat Moynihan or Tom Daschle or Phil Gramm, or Al D'Amato or Bob Dole or Jesse Helms or Orin Hatch or Joe Biden. But nobody every asked about John Kerry.
He wasn't much there then, and he's not much there now. Only now he wants us to trust him to be president.

8 Hell Is on the Way
By George Neumayr
The last refuge of the modern liberal is patriotism. John Kerry clothed himself on Thursday night in the American flag that his friends used to boast of burning. He relied on ribbons he once flung at the White House as proof of his fitness to occupy it. And he accused the Republicans of anti-Americanism, a slur liberals once wore as a badge of honor.
Kerry perspired his way through the platitudes ably enough, but it was telling that he had to depend parasitically on Dick Cheney's line -- "help is on the way" -- to find an anthem of his own. The Democrats have decided to be a pale imitation of the Republicans even in their rhetorical constructs.
Kerry's daughters were saddled with the chore of having to humanize him.
…
What God has joined together, the Democrats are happy to put asunder. Barney Frank, speaking at the convention earlier, let the cat out of the bag when he said Democrats stand for letting homosexuals "marry," further proof that a Kerry presidency will mean same-sex marriage nationwide.

8 KERRY'S STRATEGIC MYOPIA
Give John Forbes Kerry credit for being honest as he accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president last night. Because in his 55 minutes at the mike, he was truthful about how he'd fight the War on Terror.
He won't.
…
Let's be frank: John Kerry spent four months in Vietnam — and an entire career finding reasons not to employ reasonable force in pursuit of his country's legitimate security objectives.
Until, that is, the fall of 2002, when he decided to run for president.
…
Kerry last night promised to "bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers and reduce the risk to American soldiers. . . . And bring our troops home."
That is not a plan. It is prelude to desertion under fire. (Last helicopter out of Baghdad, anyone?)

 
Speech Reactions: Big Media

Tom Oliphant says it was rushed and Kerry missed his opportunity.

At a Democratic convention planned to showcase a candidate and his basic approach to two huge situations -- a bogged-down military adventure in Iraq and a fragile economy -- Kerry obscured his presentation in a blizzard of hard-to-follow verbiage dictated by the clock.

Ron Brownstein says Kerry took the battle to Bush's side.

In a confident and combative address, Kerry signaled his determination to fight the fall campaign on terrain that the White House has long assumed would belong to President Bush: strength, integrity, values and the prosecution of the war on terror.

I don't buy it. Actually what Kerry was trying to do was to move those issues off the table so he could fight the campaign on jobs & the economy.

Chris Suellentrop picks up on our comment about Kerry being the generic candidate.

In a new twist, Kerry also took a moment to thank each of his primary opponents by name—Carol Moseley Braun, Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, Bob Graham, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman, and Al Sharpton. He thanked them for "teaching me and testing me—but mostly, we say thank you for standing up for our country and for giving us the unity to move America forward." But Kerry forgot to thank them for one other thing: writing his acceptance speech.

John Podhoretz points out that Kerry's call for a high-minded campaign is a bit disingenuous.

But that passage came only after Kerry had launched an astonishing volley of highly incendiary charges at George W. Bush and his administration.

He directly accused Bush of fighting a war not because it was in this country's national interest but basically because he "wanted" to.

He all but described the Iraq war in Michael Moore terms, as a war about oil, when he said that in his administration, "No young American in uniform will . . . be held hostage to our dependence on oil from the Middle East."

 
Speech Wrap-Up

Not an awful speech overall, but not a great speech either. The middle was a mish-mash. Media keep saying that it was a very successful speech, but I don't get that feeling. He did not end on a high point. Almost no humor except for the comment about his children not letting him get away with anything.

 
Post-Speech

Polite kiss with Teh-RAY-za. Claiming that the speech really charged up the crowd. Lots of things missing from Kerry's speech--no mention of support for Israel--30 points on pander to the crowd. No mention of support for affirmative action. Did not do much on the appeal to minorities. No speaking Spanish--that's a mistake. Ted on the podium. Switching over to Fox, Brooks is really starting to annoy me.

Bill Kristol talks about attempt to reclaim patriotism. Hume goes on about mastery of the theatrics. Sharpton right behind Kerry holding a sign that says Boot Bush.

 
Speech III

Don't misuse the constitution. Hillary looks unimpressed. Don't have a nasty campaign (tell it to Move-On).

Second Vietnam mention--10 points on weird scale.

Says we're exploring the stars?

The International Man of Science returns. Thumb thing again. Rocking back and forth again--very distracting. Speech ends at 10:56--nine minutes under budget. Not a great speech. Brooks liked it (rolling my eyes). Shields thinks it was the speech of his life.

Kerry & Edwards kiss! 50 points on the weirdness scale!

 
Speech Part II

Reclaim our democracy itself... Points to the flag. Doesn't belong to any party/ideology (not Democracy?). Hillary in an orange pantsuit. USA chant! (Who'd believe it was Democrats chanting that?) Values--causes that we champion start valuing families. Enron mention. We believe... blah blah blah. Not going to privatize social security. Lots of fluff here. Help is on the way theme.

Hair pollution causes asthma? Even if it's air pollution, it's hardly established that it causes asthma--my niece who lives in a very nice suburban area has asthma.

Won't raise taxes on the middle class. Liar.

Smaller class sizes--pander ten points.

Save families $1000 on health premiums. Buy less expensive prescription drugs from Canada.

Health care a basic right for all Americans. 10 points on liberal scale.

 
Kerry's Speech--Welcome, Fellow Crush Kerry Fans

Kerry Enters to Springsteen Music

Lots of hugs and grabbing necks.... (no points because it's not Edwards).

Speech starts at 10:10. "Reporting for duty".

Stronger at home and respected in the world. Thomas Wolfe mention (You Can't Go Home Again). Born in the West Wing (!). Mentions his mom's 50-year pin in the Girl Scouts (it was in the movie, dope!). Silly story about riding his bike into
East Germany (extremely dubious). I learned what it meant to be America at its best (?).

Rushing a bit--wants to end at 11:00? First Bush-bash--"that starts by telling the truth to the American people. Will restore trust to the White House." Says he made prosecuting violence against women a priority.

Vietnam mention--first one was a freebie.

Bashes Ashcroft--will appoint an AG who will respect the constitution. Says global war on terror. Middle class shrinking. Working two jobs. Thumb thing. We're the optimists. We did all these things in the 1990s. Says revolution started a few blocks away (Lexington and Concord are not a few blocks from the Fleet Center). Accepts the nomination--he can't spend his early money anymore.

Mentions Edwards, who does the thumb thing. Son of a mill worker nonsense (Edwards dad was a mill supervisor doing time and motion studies). Weird "what can I say about Teh-RAY-za" (like Edwards). "Our Children" (in fact, Teh-RAY-za and he have no children together).

Band of Brothers--20 points on the pander scale.

Good for him, mentioning Flight 93.

Mentions nuance. Saying weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so.

I know what we have to do in Iraq--get the French on our side. Won't give UN or France a veto. Double special forces. End the backdoor draft. Sister points out that he's rocking back and forth. Thumb thing again. The future doesn't belong to fear it belongs to freedom (good line).

Continued up above....

 
Rassmann's Introduction

"Not here because he saved my life 35 years ago." Except that again, he refers to Kerry's leadership in Vietnam.

Max Cleland. Lies about Kerry could have done anything--the world was his oyster. Except that Kerry had been told that he was going to be drafted by his local draft board. Does the thumb thing (what is that?). Forgets to mention that Kerry accused soldiers of committing atrocities.

It's after 10:00 and Kerry's not on yet. They wasted at least ten minutes after the film. Moderate anger from Cleland instead of passion. Mentions Crispus Attucks (says Atticus).

 
The Movie

Swift Boat Photo gets used; no mention that only two of his fellow Swift Boat skippers support his candidacy. Bogus bullets hitting the water. Phony clips of him striding through the jungle. Skips over his first run for Congress to the prosecutor years, and skipped the Lieutenant Governor for Dukakis. No mention of his divorce/annulment. For some reason they didn't show the Kennedy photos.

Wow, that was it?

 
The Hamster Story

Alexandra is on. Ohmigod, she's doing the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of the hamster story! I tried to find this story a week or two ago and wondered if I'd imagined reading it.

 
Blogging the Speech

His daughter Vanessa's speaking now. Posts will be pretty much stream of consciousness for the rest of tonight. There will probably not be headers mostly.

Reportedly the plan is for about 35 minutes of speaking with 20 minutes of applause. We'll see if Kerry does get the full 55 minutes in.

 
Democrats' Imam Has Terror Ties

Sometimes I wonder if the Democrats have decided there are enough anti-American votes out there for them to win. What else can you assume after reading this story?

The Muslim imam who gave a closing benediction at the Democratic National Convention in Boston also served as a character witness to Sami al-Arian, the Florida professor indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on 50 counts of terror-related charges.

On the second day of the Democratic National Convention, Imam Yahya Hendi said the closing prayer of the night with some verses from the Quran.

 
Book Burning Returns

Shock of shocks, at the Democratic National Convention.

When they arrived outside the fenced-in demonstration zone near the FleetCenter, the protesters set fire to a two-faced effigy — one side showing Bush, the other Kerry. As it burned, the protesters stomped on the puppet, while others burned copies of Bush's autobiography.

 
Will Kerry Tell Us Where He Stands?

The NY Times editorial page (!) wants to know.

Saddam Hussein was a vicious dictator, certainly, who was continuing to disdain United Nations resolutions on weapons of mass destruction and refusing to give full access to weapons inspectors. But we know now that because of the resolutions and the inspections, Mr. Hussein no longer had the forbidden weapons, even if he still harbored ambitions of getting them someday. Knowing that, Mr. Bush still insists that he was right to invade. He says the war was justified because of Mr. Hussein's military ambitions and because Iraq is better off without him.

Voters need to know whether Mr. Kerry agrees. Or would he have held back on invading Iraq and chosen instead to pursue the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the destruction of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and to focus diplomatic resources on places like North Korea and Iran? Mr. Kerry's advisers don't want more accusations of flip-flopping, and they've told him to avoid hypotheticals. But while voters are certainly prepared to accept a candidate with a complex worldview, they also value the courage that comes with occasionally taking a leap and giving an answer that's straight and simple.

 
Coulter Nails the Dems

Ann's not one of my favorites (her comment about the only thing Tim McVeigh did wrong was that he didn't blow up the NY Times building still rankles), but every now and then she comes up with a real gem of a column, as in this one on the Democrats.

Apparently, the nuts at the Democratic National Convention are going to be put in cages outside the convention hall. Sadly, they won't be fighting to the death as is done in W.W.F. caged matches. They're calling this the "protestor's area," although I suppose a better name would be the "truth-free zone."

I thought this was a great idea until I realized the "nut" category did not include Sharpton, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Teddy Kennedy – all featured speakers at the convention. I'd say the actual policy is only untelegenic nuts get the cages, but little Dennis Kucinich is speaking at the Convention, too. So it must be cages for "nuts who have not run for president as serious candidates for the Democratic Party."

 
Democrats Lousy for Business in Beantown

Reader Mike G. pointed us to this story of the economic impact of the DNC on businesses in Boston.

Never in the 33 years we've been here have we seen anything like it," said George George, co-owner of the Albany Sandwich Shop in the South End, who said his business this week is off by as much as 50 percent. "It's like a snowstorm in the middle of summer, only in a snowstorm we get the plow drivers."

Through all but the last day of the four-day convention, the event has not been a boon, interviews with dozens of Hub businesses revealed. In fact, many say they've lost out as residents and workers skipped town and delegates ate for free at high-end parties.

 
Democrats' Mob Ties

Get this:

As Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards arrived in Boston today for the Democratic National Convention, so did the California man who is their single biggest contributor.

He is Stephen Bing, a wealthy film producer who, with little fanfare, has managed to steer a total of more than $16 million of his money to Democratic candidates and the supposedly independent groups that support them.

In fact, Democratic Party officials said they knew nothing about the man who law enforcement officials tell ABC News is Bing's friend and business partner — Dominic Montemarano, a New York Mafia figure currently in federal prison on racketeering charges.

After a recent private lunch with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Edwards, Bing also declined to answer questions about his relationship with Montemarano.

Hat Tip: Right Wing News

Update: Lots more at Just One Minute. Tom asks the obvious question: Why did the Bush administration release this news today?

 
Kerry & His Pals

This is why Allah is one of the top bloggers out there.

Hat Tip: Hugh Hewitt via Powerline.

 
PROUD OF HIS “SERVICE”



I was surprised when I read that there are a lot of protest photos of Kerry hanging up at the convention. However, maybe they are there to deflect his vote for the current war, to appease the peaceniks.
Hall of Kerry
By Shawn Macomber
On the way to the press filing center an entire hallway has been lined with the images of John Kerry. This montage is part of "introducing John Kerry to America," a mantra his staffers here at the convention continue to chant. The picture the campaign is trying to paint is interesting because it is so transparently, crassly, utterly political.
…
John Edwards doesn't make out very well here. Kerry's staff has become so obsessed with letting everyone know who the Alpha John is that Edwards is reduced to a Dan Quayle double in the display. There's little Big Man John Kerry with one arm around little Johnny Edwards and pointing at something off the distance. Edwards looks on with the joyful wonder of a small child on his first visit to the zoo.
…
Kerry's protest photos actually take up a good deal of the exhibit space, including Kerry in tears after throwing away his medals that turned out not to be his. In his defense, throwing away other guys' medals is probably pretty traumatic.

 
UPDATE: STIFLING DISSENT



This message is post on CrushKerry. It concerns Chris’ WaffleHouse blog, and is a good summary of the situation.

Here's what we've been told by the (former) propreitor of the anti-Kerry site www.heinzkerry.org (a/k/a "The Waffle House"). He registered the domain name "heinzkerry.org. The Heinz Center (a non-profit charitable organization we believe is headed by Teresa) used "heinzkerry.org" as their email addresses. Some internal emails of the Heinz Center wer apparently redirected to the heinzkerry.org website by the site host, which came as a surprise to the website owner. The emails the website owner got showed possible cooridination between the Heinz Center and Heinz Foundation (charitable organizations which are not allowed to be political) and the highest levels of the Kerry campaign staff. These contacts raised questions about whether or not there were violations of CFR and tax laws.
When he published these emails on his site the website owner claims to have received death threats via email and a virus from the Heinz Center. His website host shut down his site, saying he violated the terms of service, and that there was impending legal action. The owner did not mention to us if he knew who was behind the impending legal action that the host referenced. We'll continue to keep you updated.

Chris’ New’n’Improved WaffleHouse site.

 
The Sharpton Democrats

The Democrats have gotten so far off the track that Al Sharpton has now become mainstream, according to the New York Times.

Hilariously, the Times forgets about Freddy's Fashion Mart (where Sharpton's incendiary rhetoric led directly to the deaths of 8 people), the Crown Heights riot, where a young Jewish man was killed, and the Tawana Brawley case, where Sharpton falsely accused whites of raping a young black woman, and instead confine their discussion of his flaws to the following:

The mere presence of Mr. Sharpton on the podium is a significant turn for someone once considered the quintessential outsider, one who led days of protests on the streets of New York and who served months in jail to protest the military's target bombing of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

The AP reports that Sharpton's speech drew standing ovations, not surprising at this modern-day Nurenberg rally.

"Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age," Sharpton said. "Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of (civil rights activists) Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us. This vote can't be bargained away. This vote can't be given away.

"In all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale."

He drew one of the biggest responses when he said: "The issue of government is not to determine who may sleep together in the bedroom, it's to help those that might not be eating in the kitchen."

The biggest problem facing the poor in America today is obesity. They may not be eating in the kitchen, but they seem to be eating in the living room while watching TV.

 
TUGBOAT JOHNNY

 
Boston Bummer
By The Prowler 
[A] number of his staff briefed him on the water taxi arrival in Boston (Kerry apparently complained that it wasn't a "sexy" boat he'd be traveling on and asked about something a bit more "manly") …
…
By far, the most upbeat moments came with the Obama keynote, but much of that momentum, from the DNC's viewpoint, was killed by the speech of Teresa Heinz Kerry. "Believe me, that was not a speech any of us wanted," says the DNC-er. "If people thought Bill and Hillary were a package deal, they have no idea what they are getting with John and Teresa."

 
Repost--Kerry Campaign Speech Scorecard & Drinking Game

Okay, seems like everybody expects a drinking game, so here's how it works:

Everybody gets their favorite drink and a scale at random or chosen. Convert points into drinks as follows: 10 points=large sip,, 20 points two large sips 30 points=finish drink, 50 points=drink whole new drink. Ignore negative points, they count for nothing in the drinking game.

I'm still looking for more suggestions. We want a mix of things that are bound to happen but will be somewhat funny nonetheless, and goofy things that you can imagine Nuancy Boy throwing into his speech. Remember, this is weirdo Kerry, he could quote Langston Hughes ("Let America Be America Again") or he could quote Jerry Garcia ("Friend of the Devil is a friend of mine"), and neither would be particularly surprising. But Langston Hughes is certainly more likely to get mentioned than Garcia. Feel free to suggest corrections to the drink suggestions as well--maybe we should have Chardonnay for the Liberal Scale, beer for the Pander Scale, Creme de menthe for the Weirdness Scale, and Whiskey for the hate scale?

Liberal Scale
"[insert cause here] should be a basic right for all Americans" (or substantially equivalent) +10 points each time
Says "Two Americas" +10 points
Says "The Other America" (all three words must be in the phrase, in that order) +30 points.
Says "Too Many People In Prison" +20 points (or equivalent; accept more specificity--like "too many of our young people")
Uses Vietnam as allegory or metaphor or era (not a place). +20 points once, +40 points second time. Include "the lessons of Vietnam", "mistakes of Vietnam", etc.
Mentions UN +10 points each.
Speaks Spanish +0 points.
Speaks French +50 points. (Include any French terms commonly used in English as well, such as faux pas).
Says "will work/fight for the people/you/America" +10 points
Says "will not work for the special interests" +10 points

Weirdness Scale
Deep Kiss with Teh-RAY-za +10 points
Kiss with Edwards (even an air kiss) +50 points
Plays Guitar +40 points (include after speech is over)
"The Other America" +30 points (in addition to points on the Liberal Scale)
"Vietnam" +10 points each (geographic location--"When I was in Vietnam"). Spot Kerry the first mention--no points for that one.
Mentions Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie +20 points.
Mentions "This Land is Your Land" +10 points
Sings (or plays) "This Land is Your Land" +50 points (include if recorded version plays after speech)
Mentions Eddie Yost +10 points
Speaks French +20 points
Mentions Edwards' looks +20 points
Talks about learning to curse from a farmer +20 points
Places his hand on John Edward's head/face/neck +10 points
Places his hand on John Edward's shoulders/back +0 points
Places his hand on John Edwards below the waist +20 points
Shakes Edwards (or anybody's) hand using the Revolutionary Drug Brothers' Handshake +50 points.

Pander Scale
Reaffirms support for affirmative action +20 points
Reaffirms support for Israel -10 points
Fails to reaffirm support for Israel +30 points
Mentions Higher Salaries/smaller class sizes for teachers +10 points
Mentions tort reform -30 points
Fails to mention tort reform +10 points
says "Band of Brothers" +10 points
says "increase veterans' benefits" (or equivalent) +10 points
Mentions unions +10 points
Speaks language other than English or Spanish +25 points
Mentions farms/farmers +10 points

Hatred Scale
Mentions "Bush" without "President" +10 points
Says "Bush lied" +30 points
Mentions Ashcroft +10 points
Mentions Patriot Act +10 points
Mentions Firing Ashcroft or Cheney +20 points (include equivalents--"This administration will have an Attorney General who is not named Ashcroft", for example).
Mentions Abu Ghraib +30 points
says "squandered worldwide goodwill after 9-11" (or substantial equivalent)+50 points

Thanks to Mike G and Crush Kerry for suggestions. I chose Mike's value of 10 points for "Band of Brothers" over Crush Kerry's 20 points because while it's a cool prediction, it's not terribly unlikely. And I 86'ed Mike's suggestion of -10 points for a "Teh-REE-za" versus +10 for Teh-RAY-za. Kerry will pronounce it correctly; she's still "The Stepmoney".

 
DAY 3: REPORT CARDS



8 From CrushKerry
Since the real biggie tonight is the John Edwards speech, we thought it best to split up the articles to review the "Before John" stuff separate from the "After John Stuff"
Convention Recap-Day 3 (Before John Jr. Edition)
What is really amazing is that utterly no one is talking about what John Kerry will actually do.
Convention Recap-Day 3 (John Jr. Edition) - ''Two Americas-One Huckster''
Here's the word for that speech: Pedestrian. He didn't live up the very big hype. Stylistically the speech was not well delivered (way to fast), and was utterly lacking in substance.
Do the words "Empty Suit" mean anything? They do after tonight. There wasn't as much sizzle as expected and not surprisingly, no steak.

8 COTTON CANDY
By John Podhoretz
All candidates make promises at conventions. Last night, the promises came so fast and furious out of Edwards' mouth that it was hard to keep up with them. He spun them around and around and around like a guy at an amusement park putting cotton candy onto a stick for a 5-year-old.
Who doesn't love cotton candy? Edwards' speech was pleasing exactly in the manner of cotton candy. It was sweet and light and fun and a little sticky.
With cotton candy, you begin to notice how it just evaporates as soon as it hits your tongue. Then your mouth begins to ache from the sugar, almost as though you can feel your teeth rotting away.

8 Johnny Comes Marching
By Wlady Pleszczynski
If John Edwards is such a smart lawyer, how come one of the first questions he asked in his big speech was, "And by the way, how great was Teresa Heinz Kerry last night?" Unless someone was playing with the mute button on my TV, I didn't detect much of a response. I think I heard more groans than anything else.
Hah, I thought. So much for Edwards the clever trial lawyer. But then I remembered he'd flashed his killer smile as he asked about Teresa. He knew exactly what he was doing. The yokels -- and Edwards talks down to most everyone as if that's what they were -- would think, oh, what a nice young man to say something sweet about Mrs. Kerry. As for the sophisticated rest, they'd know Edwards was already paying John Kerry back for the numerous indignities he has already suffered at his hands as his running mate. Why not remind this world of the Teresa fiasco? Note how he worded the question: "how great was Teresa...?" -- not, "wasn't she great?" He was noncommittal, in short, merely asking for information, sticking the knife in.
The rest of the speech never rose to greater heights.

 
Waffle House's New Address

Chris is back up, albeit drastically reduced for now. Please update your blogrolls. Chris is courageously battling against the Heinz-Kerry legal machine and deserves all of our support.

 
SNEAK PEAK



Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson reveals the truth about Kerry as a soldier in his new book Reckless Disregard and deals with the reenactment issue specifically.
Who Would Osama Vote For?
Bestselling author Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson exposes the irresponsible ways in which Democrats turn a blind eye to American security -- and why the 2004 election may determine our very survival as a nation.

Preview Regnery Publishing’s new blockbuster -- the just released Reckless Disregard: How Liberal Democrats Undercut Our Military, Endanger Our Soldiers, and Jeopardize Our Security.

(We don't get a penny for this shameless plug.)

 
Stifling of Dissent--Let's Raise a Stink!

Kitty has a post up about the shut-down of the Waffle House, one of our favorite websites. It appears likely that the Ketchup Queen's lawyers are responsible. This is unfortunately all too typical of today's Democrats, who sue first and ask questions later. Please, pass the word on to all the bloggers that you can! Chris has put a great deal of hard work into his site and deserves better than this.

 
To Know, Know, Know Him...

As predicted here, Kerry is suffering from his introduction to the American people.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has lost the ground he gained on President Bush in recent months in five of six key election issues, as well as in personal likability, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released yesterday.

One month ago, Mr. Kerry had cut Mr. Bush's lead on who would best handle the war on terrorism to just one point, 48 percent to 47 percent.

Today, the poll shows Mr. Bush with a commanding 18 percentage point lead on that issue, 55 percent to just 37 percent for Mr. Kerry.

At this rate, Kerry will be down 30 points following his speech.

 
Doesn't That Part Over There Remind You of Vietnam?

 
G.I. HOLLYWOOD update



CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS KERRY CONVENTION FILM: WAR SCENES REENACTED
A bombshell new book written by the man who took over John Kerry's Swift Boat charges: Kerry reenacted combat scenes for film while in Vietnam!
The footage is at the center of a growing controversy in Boston.
The official convention video introducing Kerry is directed by Steven Spielberg protégé James Moll.
…

"Kerry would revisit ambush locations for reenacting combat scenes where he would portray the hero, catching it all on film. Kerry would take movies of himself walking around in combat gear, sometimes dressed as an infantryman walking resolutely through the terrain. He even filmed mock interviews of himself narrating his exploits. A joke circulated among Swiftees was that Kerry left Vietnam early not because he received three Purple Hearts, but because he had recorded enough film of himself to take home for his planned political campaigns."

…
The BOSTON GLOBE reported in 1996 that the Kerry home movies "reveal something indelible about the man who shot them - the tall, thin, handsome Naval officer seen striding through the reeds in flak jacket and helmet, holding aloft the captured B-40 rocket. The young man so unconscious of risk in the heat of battle, yet so focused on his future ambitions that he would reenact the moment for film. It is as if he had cast himself in the sequel to the experience of his hero, John F. Kennedy, on the PT-109."

"John was thinking Camelot when he shot that film, absolutely," says Thomas Vallely, a fellow veteran and one of Kerry's closest political advisers and friends.

NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson in his new book RECKLESS DISREGARD, details one of the claimed Kerry reenactments for film:

"On February 28, 1969, now in charge of PCF 94, Kerry came under fire from an enemy location on the shore. The crew's gunner returned fire, hitting and wounding the lone gunman. Kerry directed the boat to charge the enemy position. Beaching his boat, Kerry jumped off, chased the wounded insurgent behind a thatched hutch, and killed him. Kerry and his crew returned within days, armed with a Super 8 video camera he had purchased at the post exchange at Cam Ranh Bay, and reenacted the skirmish on film."

Developing...

 
Cookie-Gate?

Somebody's been sabotaging the Ketchup Queen.

Ever since voters began telling Teresa Heinz Kerry that they didn't think much of the pumpkin spice cookie recipe her office had submitted to Family Circle's presidential cookie bake-off, an aide said, Mrs. Heinz Kerry, the wife of the about-to-be Democratic nominee, has been thinking how she could tell America the truth: the recipe isn't hers.

In an interview on National Public Radio that was broadcast yesterday, the cookies came up in conversation and in the direct, unvarnished style that people have come to expect, Mrs. Heinz Kerry said: "Somebody at my office gave that recipe out and, in fact, I think somebody really made it on purpose to give a nasty recipe. I never made pumpkin cookies; I don't like pumpkin spice cookies."

LOL! There goes the pumpkin cookie fan vote!

 
G.I. HOLLYWOOD



Drudge is reporting:
A bombshell new book written by the man who took over John Kerry's Swift Boat charges: Kerry reenacted combat scenes for film while in Vietnam! The footage is at the center of a growing controversy in Boston... MORE...

The fact that L’Fraude re-enacted combat scenes is not new. The book should be good, though.
John Kerry: Stuck in a Vietnam-era time warp
By Byron York
2/26/04
Why does Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) talk incessantly about Vietnam?
Obviously, it has given him a great political advantage in past campaigns, and he hopes it will do the same in his race for the White House.
But there might be another reason. Perhaps more than any other presidential candidate in recent memory, Kerry seems to be living in another time, playing a movie of Vietnam over and over in his mind.
In fact, he is often playing an actual movie of Vietnam over and over on his television.
…
“The future senator was so “focused on his future ambitions,” Sennott reported, that he bought a Super-8 movie camera, returned to the scene, and re-enacted the skirmish on film.”

 
Behind the Mask of Unity

There are a couple good articles regarding the facade that the Democrats are putting on of being unified. Tony Blankley points out that Nuancy Boy is out of step with his party.

What is one to make of a political party in which, according to the Boston Globe, more than 90 percent of the delegates oppose the Iraq war — the defining issue of this election — while the candidate and the platform support it. And there isn't even a murmur of complaint? The easy answer is that it's just about power. The Democrats will do anything to get back into power, so it is said. But that is not it. Of course, both the Democratic and Republican parties can't stand being out of power and yearn to regain the power, the patronage and the sheer pleasure of being in office. But until now, neither party has been willing to go against its most heartfelt convictions to gain power.

The Christian Science Monitor makes a similar point.

From the podium, Democratic leaders past and present are working to do that, casting the reserved Vietnam war hero as a man of strength and wisdom. On Monday night, Bill Clinton sought to portray Mr. Kerry as a restorer of the two-term president's "new Democrat" approach - a moderate, broadly appealing politician who is tough on crime, fiscally disciplined, understanding of people's health and job needs, and mindful of America's friends in the world.

Yet, an increasingly vociferous and financially powerful segment of the party is not convinced the "new Democrat" legacy of Mr. Clinton will reignite the party. It was, after all, under the moderation model that the Democrats lost control of Congress and the White House.

I don't know if I buy that last argument. The Democrats lost Congress when they tried to socialize 1/7th of the economy, and they lost the White House when Al Gore decided to become a firebrand populist.

 
Could It Be Because She's More Mature Than the People Listening?

What else can you say about this headline:

Twelve-Year-Old Wows Convention Delegates

 
Dems Angry Over Spaceman Photo

Can you say, they know he looked like a demented Easter bunny?

The campaign of Sen. John Kerry yesterday accused NASA of leaking a widely circulated photo that shows the candidate wrapped from top to bottom in a baby blue "bunny suit," implying that it was a "dirty trick."

It could have been worse; it could have been pink.

 
“DON’T CRY FOR ME MASSACHUSETTS”



I couldn't help but think of Evita, when I saw these all these pictures of Teraaaaaza, as though she's looking out at all of her adoring subjects. What an ego this woman has!
TERESA HAS 20/20 'I'SIGHT
By DEBORAH ORIN
Teresa Heinz Kerry last night delivered a somber speech like no other would-be first lady — lecturing Americans on morality, her right to be "opinionated" and the need to listen to the "wise voices" of women.
…
The crowd sat silently through much of her speech and applause was scattered, as if the delegates didn't quite know what to make of the exotic, Mozambique-born woman who gave none of the personal insights or anecdotes that spouses usually offer.
…
"It has to rank among the most bizarre convention speeches in history. It was a chance for her to give a glimpse into what John Kerry is all about — and she didn't mention him for the first 13 minutes," said a Republican strategist.

 
“HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!”


"We want him and his buddies on the prow of a boat, just cruising into Boston. It will look awesome,"

Kerry Camera Ready
According to a Kerry campaign source, staffers have arranged for Kerry and his so-called "Vietnam Brothers in Arms" to meet up at Logan Airport upon his arrival there, and to then ride across the Boston Harbor to the Charlestown Navy Yard, where supporters will meet him.
"We want him and his buddies on the prow of a boat, just cruising into Boston. It will look awesome," says a staffer. "After Clinton in L.A., you can't just have a guy arrive in town, there has to be something else added."
…
NOT FOR LACK OF trying. According to a Kerry advance staffer on the way back from Florida, where Kerry spent part of Monday, the candidate saw a Brevard County Sheriff deputy, who was part of his security motorcade, crash his motorcycle.
The motorcade continued past. But according to the advance staffer, Kerry wanted to turn around. According to the staffer, Kerry asked handlers if there were news cameras around. And insisted that if there were, they had to go back to check on the officer so they didn't look uncaring.
Kerry's motorcade did stop and, in front of several cameras, the candidate did check to see if Sgt. Eric Daddow of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office was okay. But the candidate didn't hang around to find out if the officer was badly injured. He was, with a broken shoulder and serious scrapes all over his body from hitting the roadway.

 
DAY 2: REPORT CARDS

 
“She reminds me of a Spelling Bee Champion on crack.”

It’s time for CrushKerry to had out grades for last night’s performances, and once again they pull no punches.
Convention Recap-Day 2: Losers on Parade
Pretty much everyone on the dais tonight was a loser: Kennedy in 1980; Daschle lost the Senate Majority in 2002; Gephart lost the House 4 straight times and the Dem Presidential primary twice; Moseley Braun lost IN ILLINOIS; Dean lost all but his home state in 2004 and Te-RAY-za lost her self respect and sanity a long time ago.

 
Kerry's Aborted Principles

The LA Times (!) prints an excellent article by Crispin Sartwell on Kerry's nuanced position on abortion.

But by an odd coincidence, though his personal (antiabortion) "convictions" contradict those of most of the people whose votes he wants, his (pro-choice) policies do not. One can only conclude — as one must on other grounds as well (for example, his vote for the Iraq war) — that there is absolutely no belief of his own that he would not compromise to be president.

Exactly. Remember what comes up when you do a Google search for John Kerry's Principled Positions.

 
Babbling Brooks

Although I was not impressed with David Brooks' take on Al Gore's speech during PBS's coverage (describing it as an outreach to centrists was pretty hilarious), his column two days ago in the NY Times and his "push-back" on Carter's idiotic speech more than made up for it.

I also didn't sense that the Democratic Party is just sober enough to realize it needs a designated driver like John Kerry to get it home at night. This is a whacked-out party that has spent the past year throwing back Howard Dean hurricanes, being gripped with Michael Moore fever and indulging in Whoopi-esque animosity binges.

 
Knee-Deep in the Big Kerry

One of the things that I admire about others' blog posts is when they can tie two separate stories or photos together. Kitty, for example, is positively brilliant at tying together a story and a separate photo. Tying three things together is even more impressive, and four or more is positively scary.

So what can I say about our buddy Chris over at Waffle House? He regularly ties together five or six stories with funny pictures and audio. Today he mentioned a page he's put together on some of the International Man of Mystery's best friends, the terrorists. Great stuff as usual.

 
The Thumb Thing Is Catching

 
She'd Vote for Kerry If She Could



Unfortunately, she's about 11 years old.

 
My Favorite Blogs III

Right Wing News. John Hawkins is one of the most influential bloggers out there. We were thrilled when he included us on a list of blogs he had read that day and linked to one of Kitty's posts. We're back on his top 20 referrers list this week, which means record traffic for us again--today's our first day over 700 visitors and it looks like we'll hit 800 or more before the clock strikes midnight.

Man Without Qualities. Robert Musil does a great job with his blog. The series "Pathetic... and Bound to Lose" is as good a set of pieces on John Kerry as I've read.

Double Plus Good Infotainment. J Crue was another early linker to Kerry Haters (we don't forget things like that). He's got a great series of posts on the first day of the Democrat's convention.

Ramblings' Journal. Michael King was the first of the big bloggers to link to us. He's also the only blogger I've seen on TV. One of my daily must-reads.

Fried Man. Michael Friedman first attracted my attention when he posted the email addresses of the Daily Kos' advertisers after Kos' bizarre post about how the contractors murdered in Fallujah got what they had coming to them.

More of my favorite blogs to come tomorrow.

 
Kerry Goes Vote Hunting

Mark Steyn has his usual brilliant column up today.

He was in Wisconsin the other day, pretending to be a regular guy, and was asked what kind of hunting he preferred. "I'd have to say deer," said the senator. "I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel, crawl around on my stomach... That's hunting."

Steyn points out that nobody goes deer hunting by crawling around on his stomach, and I would add that you don't use a double-barrel shotgun. Steyn wonders what would be more unelectable than a boring Senator from Massachusetts.

But what do I know? My ne plus ultra of unelectability was chosen by Democratic primary voters this spring mainly because he was perceived to be "electable". I don't know where they got that idea from. Probably from the American media, who seem barely to recognise Kerry's principal defect – his boring self-righteousness – perhaps because it's also theirs. Nevertheless, if this week the senator gives the kind of speech he's given for the last year, Americans will flee in horror from the prospect of spending four years listening to this guy.

Exactly. As Michael Kinsley pointed out earlier this year, picking a presidential candidate because he's supposed to be electable is like picking a wife because she's supposed to be a good cook.

 
NPR Covers Kerry's Pitch

Reader YaMon pointed us to this priceless Real Audio clip of an NPR reporter covering Kerry's disastrous first pitch at the Yankees-Red Sox game. A youngster at the game described Kerry's pitching style excellently, if a trifle politically incorrect: "He throws like a girl!" Thanks YaMon!

 
My Impressions of the First Night

Best speech: Bill Clinton. I picked this one because he came on so late that I missed it. I was having dinner at my brother's house, but I had to get back to my sister's vacation rental because her husband needed to go into the city today. So I cut out at 10:00. Caught Hillary's introduction on NPR but by the time Bill was due to come on the NYC station was cutting out.

Worst speech: Jimmy Carter. You know, we laugh at Kerry's botox-frozen face, but what is it with Carter? The only expression he managed was by lifting his eyelids a little. Although the theme of the day was supposed to be outreach, the only applause he received was for the Bush-bashing moments. Indulge yourself away, floor delegates. We'll remember in November.

Bizarro moment: Al Gore. My brother, who voted for Gore the last election and will be voting for Bush this time around was chortling with me as Algore went on and on about the 2000 election. About the only thing that can be said for this speech is that Gork did not start yelling (his idea of passion).

Bizarro moment II. Did anybody else catch how Hillary referred to Bill? "The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton". No mention of "my husband". Perhaps she forgets who got her invited to the top rungs of power?