Kerry Haters: We're Not Fonda John

 
Appreciation

 
Teh-RAY-za Locked Up In Attic

Thanks for the money, honey.

Democratic election advisers have ordered Teresa Heinz Kerry to adopt a lower profile in the final stages of the campaign by her husband, Senator John Kerry, for the White House because they fear that she may be alienating voters.

Mrs Heinz Kerry, who as the heiress to the Heinz fortune is one of the world's richest women, has been told to keep out of the spotlight because her outspoken and unpredictable manner is regarded as an electoral liability.

Gee, you think?

 
Steyn on Conservatives

On the mark as usual:

So one of the lessons of 9/11 is that in the end citizen initiative is more reliable than nanny-state regulation. That’s one reason no Democrat in a competitive district wants to run on an anti-gun platform. In the weeks after 9/11, gun sales in some states were up over 20 per cent, especially sales to women. ‘Let’s roll!’ beats gun control any day. The supposedly opposite ends on the conservative continuum — the foreign-policy think-tanks fussing over geopolitical trends in post-Soviet Central Asia and the stump- toothed guys in plaid with full gun-racks in their pick-ups — turn out to have an identical world view: the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Three years ago, I got a flurry of emails from Yorkshire, Oslo, Marseilles and elsewhere recounting incidents of gangs of Muslim youths enthusiastically celebrating the glorious victory of 9/11 by swarming around cars, banging on the windows, intimidating the drivers, yelling Osama’s name. If you tried that in Texas, the guy would reach in his glove box and blow your head off. Second Amendment conservatism is more secure and better integrated with the bespoke mainstream than it’s been in years. The government can’t tell you you’ve got to be on full alert and at the same time announce new restrictions on the right to defend yourself and your home.

 
THE KERRY DOCTRINE

 
The Kerry Doctrine

This may prove hard for Kerry to shake:

`When he laid out the Kerry doctrine, he said that America has to pass a global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves,'' Bush said, drawing loud boos from a friendly crowd at a National Association of Home Builders meeting. ``When our country is in danger, it is not the president's job to take an international poll, the president's job is to defend America.''

 
Digital Brownshirts News--Part IV



Part I by Kitty is here.
Part II by Passionate America is here
Part III by Aaron is here.

 
More Evidence On Kerry's Foreign Friends

This is disturbing, but not shocking:

Congressional investigators say that France, Russia and China systematically sabotaged the former United Nations oil-for-food program in Iraq by preventing the United States and Britain from investigating whether Saddam Hussein was diverting billions of dollars.

In a briefing paper given yesterday to members of the House subcommittee investigating the program, the investigators said their review of the minutes of a United Nations Security Council subcommittee meeting showed that the three nations "continually refused to support the U.S. and U.K. efforts to maintain the integrity" of the program.

The program, set up in 1996, was an effort to keep pressure on Mr. Hussein to disarm while helping the Iraqi people survive the sanctions imposed after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The briefing paper was prepared by the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, before hearings scheduled for Tuesday on the scandal-ridden program.

The paper suggests that France, Russia and China blocked inquiries into Iraq's manipulation of the program because their companies "had much to gain from maintaining'' the status quo. "Their businesses made billions of dollars through their involvement with the Hussein regime and O.F.F.P.," the document states, using the initials for the program. No officials of the three governments could be reached for comment.

About the only shocking thing there is that Germany's not involved. This is the community of nations that Kerry wants to rejoin? No thanks.

 
No Excuses: Sloppy Journalism at Harvard

I don't usually bother fisking college papers, but this article from the Harvard Crimson just begs for it.

Here are a few reasons that John Kerry will be elected President on Nov. 2: 140 Harvard students made 10,000 phone calls in two hours for New Mexico; nearly 100 Harvard students campaigned in New Hampshire in the span of two weeks; nearly a third of the freshman class signed up to volunteer for John Kerry. Although we would love to give Harvard Democrats the credit, the truth is that this level of activism can be seen throughout the country.

Those of course are not reasons that John Kerry will be elected President, they are just a laundry list of things that Harvard students have done. Ten thousand phone calls to New Mexico sounds impressive, but working the numbers out reveals that they spent about 90 seconds on the phone with each voter, not counting the dialing time, waiting for someone to pick up, etc. Suppose you're a New Mexico voter and you get a call from a Harvard frosh; how impressed are you going to be? And 100 students swarming over New Hampshire doesn't exactly blow me away; Dean had 3,000 students in Iowa and we all know how well he did there. Eeeeyyyaahhhh!

While the national polls show a close race, with Kerry and Bush only a couple points from each other, there are other signs that reveal John Kerry’s tremendous support. Recent news articles have highlighted the amazing Democratic voter registration drives that have occurred in swing states, and major absentee voting pushes have ensured thousands of mail-in votes for Kerry in crucial states.

Yes, indeed, those Democratic voter registration drives have been quite amazing.

John Kerry accepts the grim facts about Iraq, but he also has real solutions to turn the situation around. As Kerry said in his speech last week in Philadelphia, “just because [President Bush] can’t do it, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

No, indeed. And just because John Kerry won't tell us what his plan is, doesn't mean that he doesn't have one.

I could fisk the rest of it, but it would just be an exercise.

 
KERRY’S IRAQ POLICY!

Kitty, at KittyLitter, has an audio link of Kerry, in his own words and in context, explaining his Iraq policy. Kerry, the only man who has THE COURAGE TO TAKE ALL SIDES!

 
Our Favorite Third-Rate Hack

Mark Steyn has an amusing column up on the debates. He takes apart Nuancy Boy's intent to have a summit:

Oh, and he'll call a summit. ''I have a plan to have a summit. . . . I'm going to hold that summit ... we can be successful in Iraq with a summit . . . the kind of statesman-like summits that pull people together ...'' Summit old, summit new, summit borrowed, summit blue, he's got summit for everyone. Summit-chanted evening, you may see a stranger, you may see a stranger across a crowded room. But, in John Kerry's world, there are no strangers, just EU deputy defense ministers who haven't yet contributed 10,000 troops because they haven't been invited to a summit. And once John Kerry holds that summit all our troubles are over. Summit time and the livin' is easy, fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin' ... No, hang on, your wife is rich and your manicure's good-lookin' ...

 
Kerry Shows The Position He Would Assume For Bilateral Talks With North Korea

 
The Global Test

You can only protect America as President if you pass the Global Test. For the benefit of Kerry Haters who've never heard of the Global Test, I thought I'd provide it:

1. If you haven't passed the Kyoto Treaty, you fail the Global Test.
2. If you refuse to raise your tax rates to French levels, you fail the Global Test.
3. If you decide that US military bases are not protecting much in Germany, you fail the Global Test.
4. If you don't deride your current friends in favor of your future friends, you fail the Global Test.
5. If you don't have as many troops from Senegal as from the US, you fail the Global Test.
6. If half your citizens don't commute to work by energy efficient means like wind-surfing, you fail the Global Test.

 
OVERSTAYING MY WELCOME

Humor always comes in handy when you're overstaying your welcome--like me today as a guest blogger. Here is a great joke; tell me what you think:

John Kerry meets with the Queen of England.

He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?" "Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people." Kerry frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"

The Queen takes a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle."

The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?"

Tony Blair walks into the room. "Yes, my Queen?"

The Queen smiles."Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"

Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answers, "That would be me."

"Yes! Very good," says the Queen.

Kerry goes back home to ask John Edwards, his vice-presidential choice the same question.

"John. Answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure," says John Edwards. "Let me get back to you
on that one."

Edwards goes to his advisors and asks every one, but none can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall. Edwards shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!"

Edwards smiles, and says, "Thanks!" Then, Edwards goes back tospeak with Kerry. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell."

Kerry gets up, stomps over to John Edwards, and angrily yells into his face, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"

 
Kerry Silver Star Incident Written Up By Kerry?

(Oops! That should be Bronze Star Incident)

Tom Lipscomb raises the possibility in the Chicago Sun Times today.

The head of the Operational Archives Branch of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, Kathy Lloyd, has verified Hoffman's operations order. Neither Kerry's campaign nor his swift boat veteran critics contest the validity of the after-action report by "TE 194.5.4.4/1." Kerry spokesmen have repeatedly insisted that Kerry denies writing the report and that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were arguing with the official Navy record.

But if "the official Navy record" now turns out to have been written by Kerry himself, the principal beneficiary of its glowing references to his performance, the swift boat critics' charges look far more consequential.

After all, the report completely leaves out how Kerry's own boat, PCF-94, ran down river leaving James Rassmann overboard and the other three boats to deal with the ambush and the sinking PCF-3. All of the living boat commanders on that mission are in firm agreement on that action by Kerry and agree that the report is a fraudulent misrepresentation of an action they remember well.

Kerry's medal problems just won't go away.

Hat Tip: Chuck, aka Phillies Fan

 
His Mouth Isn't The Only Thing He Shoots Off

Kerry Waffles has a page up on The International Man of Firearms' love of guns.

 
Secretary of State?

 
Shortest. Post. Ever.

The Wit & Wisdom of John Kerry

 
Other Debate Reactions--Updated!

Crush Kerry has a similar take to ours; if you score like a college debating competition Kerry won, if you score it like bloggers, with fisking of the statements by each candidate, Bush won. Overall, they score it a tie to a slight Kerry win.

Captain Ed's live-blogging is a little more articulate than mine. He catches a comment I hadn't noticed; apparently Kerry compared the Iraq war to attacking North Africa after Pearl Harbor. Here's the punchline, though. What did FDR do after Pearl Harbor? Well, the bulk of US land fighting in 1942 took place where, class? That's right, North Africa! (Update: I read this wrong; it was Captain Ed comparing our going to Iraq to the North Africa Campaign.)

Roger L. Simon notes the curious "Treblinka Square" for "Lubyanka Square" mistake by Nuancy Boy that longtime Kerry Hater Phil Averbuck caught, and wonders if it isn't a sign of something deeper in Kerry.

I don't see anyone other than Hugh Hewitt calling it a big win for the President. Still, it's like a football game where the home team is up by 28-0 at the half, but they lose the third quarter 7-6; in terms of winning the game their chances have gone up because there's that much less time left on the clock, and they're still leading by 27 points.

 
SAY WHAT?

So much for Bush’s pronunciation of the word nuclear.
So there!
Hat tip to LoanCat!

 
KITTY’S REVIEW

PRESIDENT vs. POLTROON
Last night was Kerry’s big important audition. Last night was important to Bush as well, but not the most important. Kerry had one good night; he did shine last night, while Bush has been shining daily for three and a half years now. Last night Kerry showed that he wears his hand-made shirts well, while Bush showed that he wears his office well, especially while putting up with a petty poltroon like Botox Boy.

 
Debate Aftermath

As time goes by, people are going to realize that President Bush was right on substance and Kerry, glib as he sounded, was wrong. So wrong that the President seemed to have difficulty explaining the arguments against Kerry's positions. It was like suddenly coming up against somebody who believes the world is flat; it can be hard to debate issues that most folks consider settled.

On North Korea, Kerry's endorsement of bilateral talks was a huge mistake. On Iraq, he doesn't have a policy. Iraq was the wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place, and he's going to get the French and Germans to contribute soldiers and money, and by the way, it's a good thing Saddam's gone, but it hasn't made us any safer and we could have spent the money to build some more fire stations. Richard Holbrooke, spinning after the debate made it even worse by saying that somehow, if the inspectors had proven their were no WMD, we would have gotten rid of Saddam by applying pressure. How much support for increased pressure would there have been?

However, on style Kerry did very well, and that is what the Kerry people are emphasizing. The TV reports said that Kerry will put out an ad showing the President's reactions to Kerry's comments, which is of course emphasizing style over substance. Kerry's voice sounded different; Thurston Howell III was gone.

Republicans say the President won, and Democrats say Kerry won. When I want to see what a more independent view is, I check out the Iowa Electronics Market. As you can see, there was no net change last night after the debate. Kerry's stock moved up modestly, as did the President's, but there's no big move into Kerry Preferred.

 
POWERLINE’S SCORE BOARD

Hindrocket gives a blow-by-blow account and then summarizes:
SCORING THE FIGHT: I have Bush by 107-103, with no knockdowns. But, candidly, I don't think it went that well for the President. I think Kerry helped himself tonight. He came across as a credible candidate, and he was usually on the offensive. Bush's demeanor while Kerry was talking wasn't good; anything but commanding. Kerry's was better, in an odd reversal of what happened four years ago. I think Kerry made headway, and there is plenty of material there for the mainstream media to proclaim the beginning of Kerry's comeback. An unknown is how Kerry's pompous style will strike people who haven't had to listen to him for more than a few seconds at a time, until now.
On the whole, though, I think Kerry helped himself tonight.

 
New to the Blogroll

Here's a blog with a cool name: The Cabal of Doom! Joey covers a story that I hadn't heard about before; apparently a reporter for the New York Times called a terror-funding Islamic charity to warn that it was about to be raided by the FBI! Perhaps most astonishingly, this happened in December of 2001, only a few months after the terrorist attacks.

 
HEWITT'S SCORE BOARD

Hugh Hewitt has a great chart listing questions, then his opinions and letter grades. If I counted correctly:
Bush: 17 A’s, 5 B’s
Kerry: 3 A’s, 6 B’s, 4 C’s, 5 D’s, 3 F’s

Overall: Bush gets a big win, by hiting all his messages over and over again. He wins on substance. Biggest mistake by Kerry: "The Global Test." Sorry, the American voters aren't interested in passing any global tests. Bush stresses steadfastness and resolve. Kerry firmed up the hard-left vote, but you can't win on this.
Lehrer started poorly, but came on strong.

 
NBC Does SeeBS

NBC cut to six "undecided voters" asking them questions about the debate. All of them said Kerry won. Why? Maybe because they were not undecided!

First, there were two black people and one student in the group of six. As a black person and a former student, I know that these three people were NOT undecided voters. Black people NEVER vote Republican. So to ask them who won as if they were undecided is completely bogus.

Then you hear the UNEMPLOYED "undecided" voter in Ohio. Then cut to the man that says Kerry sounded better because he talked about allies...I feel sorry for him too.

What does this show? NBC cannot find undecided voters that support Kerry. They find people who support Kerry who will check "undecided" on a form.

 
WOW! NBC calls Kerry on the lie of $200 Billion wasted in Iraq.

Brian Williams says that only $119 Billion were spent in Iraq.

I love facts!

 
Kerry Said Treblinka?

Longtime Kerry Hater Phil Averbuck writes that Kerry mentioned Treblinka in Moscow, but it was actually the Lubyanka. Treblinka was a Nazi death camp in Poland.

I have to admit I missed this, but Phil is clearly right.

 
Closing Statement

I have a plan... I have a plan... so tell us, what's the plan?

Good closing statement by the President. He recovered his cool in the last half hour or so.

Overall: Kerry's the better debater, but I wonder if he wasn't too clever, to sharp with the elbows. Really negative the whole time; I think that will cost him no matter what happens in the short run.

I don't think Kerry got the homerun he was looking for.

 
Overall, it's a wash, just like all the pundits predicted.

The Dems think Kerry won.

The Repubs think Bush won.

Old media agrees with the Dems.

Talk-radio agrees with the Repubs.

The pajama-wearing ankle-biters are divided over who won, but really defend their positions well.

Michael Moore is a jackass.

That pretty much covers it.

So says the mighty Buzz Machine.

 
Debate Way Too Long

Sixty minutes would have been plenty.

No Nukes! What a goofball!

 
Kerry Endorses Pre-Emptive War?

But you gotta do it right. Zzzzzz! The Secretary of State had to apologize to the world?

If only the French had joined. Iran and North Korea are now more dangerous. Global warming crappola.

Good catch on passing some sort of global test--how is that preemptive. Brings up International Criminal Court!

 
Bush Hits Back Calmly on Allawi

We'll see if Kerry tries to justify his statements on Allawi.

 
Vietnam! Vietnam! Vietnam! Never confuse the war with the warriors. That's sounds like liberal claptrap to me.

If I hear the word "Summit" on more time I am going to puke. What is more of a "summit" than the UN?

JohnKerry.com...same mistake Bob Dole made with Clinton in 1996.

The Pottery Barn rule! More bookselling.

Bush needs to be careful; he is looking mad.

Kerry keeps saying that we have not secured the "nuclear facilities" in Iraq. WHAT NUCLEAR FACILITIES???

 
Kerry Says Don't Confuse War With Warrior

Terrible mistake on his part, because he's the one who's responsible for just that happening to the Vietnam Vets.

Bush is not counterpunching effectively. Repeating that you can't say it's the wrong war in the wrong place is a mistake, and I think he's now said it three times.

 
"The only thing consistent about [John Kerry] is that he has been inconsistent."

Line of the night so far!

 
Kerry Going Too Negative Now

I know how to bring 'em back to the table. (Please!)

Assertions without evidence are not convincing.

Alliances thing. Kerry says that he has been consistent?

Good, President Bush goes after him on that.

 
Kerry Offers To Transfer Authority To UN

Bush getting angry again. Lots of mentions by Kerry of UN, not a good idea.

 
So far...

Bush is blowing Kerry out of the water. Bush is not letting any of the "haze" of liberalisms lies about no allies or no terrorism in Iraq stick.

 
Kerry Congratulates President Bush

Unfortunately it's the first one. Of course, he's congratulating President Bush for an action he voted against.

First Vietnam mention. Doesn't apologize. Missed opportunity.

Kerry starts to explain the Iraq vote. A strict series of things. Kerry disses the allies again. Shinseki only said that after he was retired. Clarke gets mentioned, just as the Terrorism Czar.

Bush slams him on the Allies! YES!

 
Kerry Trying to Get Bush Angry

Seems to be working. This could be problematic. He needs to calm down.

 
Debate IV

Kerry's sneaking his accusations into the rebuttals, where they can't be answered because we're onto the next question.

What message does that send? Oooh, killer!

 
Debate III

Audience deserves credit for remaining silent. Wish Bush had hit on the fake alliance thing, that really bugs me about Kerry.

 
Robert Novak: Oracle of Delphi

John Kerry did exactly what Robert Novak just predicted--mentioned that Bush took troops from Tommy Franks in Afghanistan for Iraq. Tommy Franks already said that was a lie. Link comes later.

 
Debate II

Like the refusal to accept the premise of the question on whether Kerry's election would endanger us.

Kerry goes nasty on rebuttal. Next question Kerry steps into the "fake alliance trap". Bush should unload on him!

 
Live Blogging the Debate

The silly extra cheering when Kerry entered--just a step or two behind the President. Kerry forces Bush closer with the handshake (emphasizing the size difference). Kerry's voice sounds different--not quite the foghorn. A little too fast-talking I suspect.

 
Put Your Debate Predictions Here

1. Will Kerry come out nasty or nice? A lot of people are saying that he's gotta hit hard, others are saying that he needs to act nice to reduce his negatives. I say nasty.

2. Will Bush make a joke about Kerry's "sportsman" photo ops? I would bet that he's got a windsurfing gag in there somewhere.

3. Will Kerry finally explain his position on Iraq? My guess is no, and he'll once again refuse to divulge his plan.

4. Will Lehrer ask about the draft rumors? Obviously he will.

5. What pundit will be first to break with their side to claim that the other guy won? David Brooks is the chalk. Special bonus prediction: No Democrat will admit that Kerry lost.

 
If Kerry Were Honest

Here are a few questions that Kerry will undoubtedly be asked in some form or another. I thought it might be instructive if we slipped Kerry some truth serum and forced him to give honest answers:

Q. In the past you have said you were for the war in Iraq, that you were against the war in Iraq, that you supported the $87 billion, but then you opposed the war in Iraq. What is your actual position on Iraq?

A. The answer is of course that I don't have an actual position, Jim. I have advisors who said that in order to be electable I had to vote in favor of the war, but when Dean came along and seemed to be winning, so I voted against the funding. Since then I have tied myself up in knots on Iraq because I just follow the polls. The American people should elect me because I not only listen to the polls, I follow them slavishly. Should they decide that it's time for us to get out, I will get out. Should they decide that it's time to invade Iran, I will invade Iran. Should they decide a week later that it was a mistake, I will waive the white flag.

Q. You claim that 98% of all Americans will receive a tax cut under your plan. Isn't it true that most of the cuts in your tax plan merely extend President Bush's tax cuts, which he wants to make permanent?

A. That's true as far as it goes, Jim, but there's more. We're obviously going to have to raise taxes on the middle class in order to fund my college-tuition tax break. We'll need a little more investment from them in order to fund my health care scheme. And of course we have lots of other plans for their money as well. The good news is that the rich will pay much more than the middle class, so it's really not costing the average middle class person as much as it is costing those rich guys like me, except of course Teresa and I have tax-free income, so it won't cost us much.

Q. How will you fight the War on Terrorism?

A. We're not going to fight the War on Terrorism. We're going to push Arab governments to adopt socialism to bring up the living standards of their people. We're going to insist that Israel pull down the security fence and live in pieces with their good friends the Palestinians.

Q. What will be your foreign policy?

A. We're going to suck up to France and Germany, and the new Socialist government in Spain. And my old buddies, the North Vietnamese and the Chinese, whose financial assistance has really helped in this year's campaign. Did I mention I have a Chinese assault rifle?

Okay, I guess the honesty serum is wearing off; the rest of Kerry's answers will be phony as usual.

 
Students serving as backdrop on MSNBC

Here are some of the signs students are holding:

"Vote for Bush if You Want the Universe to End" (the Bush-Hater creed)

"Curious George" (old, dusty, lame)

"Debate Nader" (only after all the lawsuits filed by the DNC are appealed)

"Kerry Flip Flops" (written inside of a Heinz Ketchup bottle)

"Cubans for Kerry" (from the Return Elian Gonzales to Tryanny Committee)

"More Trees, Less Bush" (yes, John Kerry is like a hollow tree)

 
I would like to thank Pat and Kitty for allowing me to invite myself onto Kerry Haters. I will be joining them in live blogging during the debates this evening in Miami.

They have been my tutors on blogging for months; I've been a good grasshopper so I get to join the masters!

 
New Blogger in Da House!

We're pleased to welcome guest-blogger STCA (aka Aaron of Something to Cry About) to Kerry Haters. Aaron's been doing a great job on his blog and we are happy to show off his work to our readers.

 
Of Pumpkins and Cookies

The Blogspirator connects the dots on CookieGate and PumpkinheadGate.

 
The Campaign With No Sense of Humor

Maybe Kerry is the joker in his campaign. Lynn Cheney made a little quip about Kerry's orange look, and this was the reply:

Responding to her comments, Kerry campaign spokesman Bill Burton said, "Is Mrs. Cheney jealous considering how hard it is to get sun in the undisclosed location with her husband Dick? Or is she distracted over how red-in-the-face George Bush should be considering his failed presidency?"

 
Condition Orange!



For more Sean Delonas cartoons, click here.

 
Dated Dean, Married Kerry, Now Seeking Divorce

The inevitable "Would we have been better off with Howard?" questions are being asked.

Slate's Chris Suellentrop looks at the phenomenon of Dean nostalgia, pointing out that one of the would-be divorcees is Peter Beinart of the New Republic, which did much to torpedo the Dean phenomenon. He even mentions the Dean-O-Phobe column which (along with Kausfiles) was one of the major inspirations for Kerry Haters.

As for the question, I don't think there's any doubt that the Democrats would have been better off with Dean, who doesn't have Kerry's antiwar baggage. The Swift Boat Vets would be unknown, Stolen Honor would not have been made, etc. Dean had executive experience, he could more reasonably position himself as a moderate Democrat (as, by all accounts, he governed Vermont), and he seemed to genuinely inspire the Democratic base, as compared to Kerry who puts everybody to sleep.

 
Kerry Waffles Back Up--For Now

(Note: This post will be promoted to the top of the blog periodically throughout Thursday. Please scroll down for newer posts.)

Our favorite multimedia extravanganza on John Kerry is back up and running... for a couple of weeks at least. Chris has sacrificed like nobody else for this campaign, with two websites shut down by Kerry's lawyers, necessitating legal bills of his own, along with bandwidth charges of $800 per month. He does it because he loves his country and he wants to make sure it does not make the terrible mistake of electing Le Fraude.

Chris wants to thank those of you who responded to our last plea for donations; your generosity definitely helped him defray some of last month's expenses. Please, consider stopping over there and making a small contribution so that this site can stay running for the next 33 days. Kitty and I are able to do this for free only because we stayed on blogger, which has definitely limited what we can accomplish in terms of multimedia.

Thanks for your consideration!

 
Lots of Good Stuff

Our buddy John over at My Take on Things has been busy. He's got lots of good posts on Nuancy Boy, including the hilarious windsurfing pic with Jaws in the background, and a good take on Kerry's tan from a can.

John also wants me to plug Beer for Soldiers, a great way to show your appreciation for the men and women serving our country overseas. The webmaster, Sgt. Dale Rogers, is currently in Iraq, outside Fallujah.

 
Kerry To Blow Off Iraq

John Hawkins points out that if Kerry wins, he'll make sure that all the money and lives we've spent in Iraq goes for naught.

Would the Iraqi people trust a man like John Kerry who is now in effect saying that if he had his way, Saddam would still be in power? As if that weren't bad enough, when Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi came to the US to give a speech to a Joint Session of Congress, John Kerry in essence called him a liar, made it clear that he doesn't think elections will go forward in January of next year, and sent his senior adviser Joe Lockhart out to gratuitously insult Allawi by calling him a "puppet of the United States". Were John Kerry to become President, the Iraqi people could very well become panicky and lose all confidence that the United States still intends to help them become a Democracy.

Yep. If you want to make sure that all of those 1,000 American lives lost counts for nothing, be sure to vote for John Kerry.

 
Good Joke about Kerry

Kitty got it from our friend Blue. Thanks Blue!

 
New To the Blogroll

KH reader Gladys suggested that we check out Chronically Biased, a media criticism blog focusing on the Houston Chronicle. You may recall that a few days ago we commented on the Chronicle's interesting filenaming slam at an imaginative young girl who made her pigtails in the shape of a W; the Chronicle named the file "brainwashedchild.jpg", for which they were forced to apologize.

This is a very professional and polished site, probably most interesting to Texans, but the bias they expose is nationwide; only the bylines are changed.

We also noticed a few comments by Superhawk lately, surfed over to his blog and found that like most KH readers, he's intelligent and informed on the issues. He has an excellent post on the unanswered questions from RatherGate.

 
Help Stop Voter Fraud

Scary Kerry has a very long and informative post up about the potential of voter fraud in this election and what you can do to help stamp it out. If you've been listening to talk radio in the last day or so, you know that this has suddenly become a hot topic. Perhaps Hugh Hewitt should revise the title of his book to "If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat (But They're Gonna Try Anyway)".

 
Stolen Honor--See It!

I promised a review of this movie last night, but it took me awhile to regain my composure after watching it. A very professional production for the most part (see bugs).

The film is narrated by Carlton Sherwood, a reporter and Vietnam veteran. It opens with bits from Kerry's Senate testimony, although smartly, they start with a different clip than the familiar "They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads,..." bit and instead use these words:

"We are more guilty than any other body of violations of those Geneva Conventions, in the use of free fire zones, harassment interdiction fire, search and destroy missions..."

The early part of the movie tells the story of the POWs--the torture these brave men endured then and talk matter-of-factly about today is quite stunning. It's not graphic for those who might feel a little squeamish, but it's detailed enough that you will definitely feel for the men. They show the famous clip of Jeremiah Denton, who was forced to make a false confession that the North Vietnamese then broadcast as evidence of US war crimes. What they didn't know was that Denton had carefully blinked his eyes to spell out the word T-O-R-T-U-R-E in Morse Code.

The bulk of the movie is made up of condemnation of Kerry for his antiwar activities. The main charges are that Kerry's testimony was used against them by their captors; that the antiwar protests lengthened the war, because the communists were encouraged that they might win on the streets of the US what they were losing in the jungles of Southeast Asia; and that Kerry's testimony was directly responsible for the image of American soldiers as baby killers and rapists.

Louise Harris and Mary Jane McManus, the wives of the POWs, are particularly effective. When you see the film you will absolutely know why they were chosen for the latest Swift Boat Vets ad. They deflate the notion that American soldiers were war criminals.

There is an acknowledgement that My Lai happened, bit it's also noted that was the exception, not the rule, contrary to what Kerry said.

The film demolishes some of the defenses that Kerry supporters (although oddly, not Kerry himself) offer in defense of his claims of US soldiers committing murder and rape and acting in a fashion reminiscent of Jenjhis Khan. They claim that Kerry was just repeating what he had been told at the Winter Soldier investigation. But the film shows a few clips of the Winter Soldier "investigation" which comes off as a complete farce. In one particularly devastating bit, an interviewer asks a "soldier" if he'd ever heard of Quang Tre (sp), and gets a "Oh, yeah, I was there man, first we burned all the huts and then we killed all the people," from the "soldier". However, his credibility is rather damaged when he says "I forgot all about that one," and the interviewer asks, "How could you forget about that one? I remember it and I wasn't even in on it."

This is a devastating film for Kerry. I strongly recommend that you consider purchasing a DVD of it, watching it, and passing it on to your friends and neighbors, especially if they are wavering. I cannot believe that anybody with an open mind would watch this film and decide to vote for Kerry.

I heartily recommend this film. I actually enjoyed watching it better the second time through as I was writing this review.

Bugs: There were three spots of 10-15 seconds where the voices vanished on my computer, but I could still hear background music.

 
Vanishing Middle Class Getting Richer

Here's a good rebuttal to Kerry's argument that the Middle Class are slipping back into poverty:

Looking at the Post story, we can see many ways in which the data have been manipulated to give it a liberal spin. For example, on page one there is a graph showing that the percentage of households earning between $35,000 and $49,999 (in 2003 dollars) has fallen sharply from 22.3 percent in 1967 to just 15 percent in 2003. At first glance, this would seem to be powerful evidence for the Post/Kerry thesis that the middle class is disappearing.

In the pre-Internet age, people might have bought this argument, since they lacked any way of checking it. But today, anyone with an Internet connection can log on and find the facts for themselves.

They will discover that the Post data are accurate, but leave out what is really important. Over this same period, 1967 to 2003, the percentage of families making less than $35,000 (in 2003 dollars) also fell from 52.8 percent of households to just 40.9 percent. In short, the ranks of the middle class could not have fallen because they became poor, as the Post implies, because the ranks of the poor also fell.

The truth is that poor and middle class households alike became better off, which increased the ranks of the "rich" (those making over $49,999 in 2003 dollars in the Post's view) as a share of the population. In 1967, those with such an income constituted 24.9 percent of households. By 2003 this had increased to 44.1 percent. The inescapable conclusion is that the declining ranks of the middle class result from one thing only--more of them are now "rich."

 
YOUR DAILY CRUSH KERRY FIX



Y’gotta love a site who devotes hard-earned $$ to crush Kerry. I say “who,” as opposed to “which,” because like any other site (like KerryWaffles), it is composed of living breathing pajama-clad people, some with growing families. They have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed like the rest of us, without the benefit of Mother Kerry’s billion$. Daily they’ve provided some of the best writing and reporting online, laced with their own brand of wit, all for free. However, there are those mortgages to pay and those mouths to feed, which prompted the CrushKerry gang to decide to “sell out.” Congratulations, CrushKerry, on joining the capitalist ranks! Pat and I wish you all the best!

SITE UPDATE - CRUSHKERRY.COM "SELLS OUT" You will notice our new blogads to your right. We've happily decided to do what aged rock and roll bands get accused of doing when they let some car company use their songs in commericals - we've "sold out" for profit. We're capitalists, and if we can make some money for ourselves doing what we love then damn it we're going to do it with smiles on our faces and no apologies. If you wish, we ask you to patronize our advertisers

Now, on to their news:
CrushKerry takes one of its own to the woodshed today, in calling for Congressman Barton and anyone else in the GOP thinking of having Congressional hearings on Rathergate to take a hike and go find something worthwhile to do - preferably something that doesn't impinge on the 1st amendment. Besides, the blogs (exercising their free speech) are taking care of the Dan Rather's of the world, as are the viewers that are tuning him out.

Need a good thriller to read?
At Any Price
A novel by CrushKerry founder Patrick Hynes.
Read it free online or print your own copy.

 
What's the One Question Kerry Should Be Asked At the Debate?

Here's your chance to play Jim Lehrer. What's the one question Kerry should be asked tonight?

Here's mine: Senator Kerry, you have claimed on several occasions to have authorized the release of all information on your military career, yet the Naval Archives claims to have approximately 100 more documents that have not been released because of your refusal to sign a Form 180. I have here a Form 180. Will you sign it tonight?

 
GOT MILK?

Then check the carton!

Milk Carton: CommunistsForKerry

 
DEBATE TIPS FOR KERRY



Our Kerry Iraq Guide
[W]e hope Mr. Kerry steers clear of his vow that, unlike President Bush, he will get the French and Germans to send forces to Iraq. This would give Mr. Bush the opening to quote Peter Struck, the German Defense Minister, who recently told Der Spiegel that "No German soldier shall enter Iraq."
Or Mr. Bush could cite Monday's article in the Financial Times: "French and German government officials say they will not significantly increase military assistance in Iraq even if John Kerry, the Democratic presidential challenger, is elected."
…
Mr. Kerry will also want to avoid his frequent claim that the U.S. has "borne nearly 90% of the casualties" and is providing 90% of the troops.

 
MYTHS? TRY LIES

Kerry's myth making
By Bob Novak
John Kerry in a press conference last week repeated his accusation that Gen. Eric Shinseki was "forced out" as U.S. Army chief of staff because he wanted more troops for Iraq. The trouble is that the Democratic presidential nominee was spreading an urban myth. The bigger trouble is that it was no isolated incident.
Sen. Kerry last week also said the Bush administration may push reinstatement of the military draft, when in fact that idea comes only from anti-war Democrats. At the same time, he said retired Gen. Tommy Franks complained that Iraq was draining troops from Afghanistan, when the truth is he never did. Over a week earlier, Kerry blamed Bush for higher Medicare premiums when in fact they are mandated by law (one that Kerry voted for).

 
Seriously Funny

I came across the newest addition to the Funny Folks section of our blogroll in our comments section. Check out Serious Fake, which is seriously funny as this bit should illustrate:

(9-29-2004) (BS) Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards has been found. He is alive and in good health and was found in a spiderhole near Robbins, North Carolina. His absence in the presidential campaign had caused many to wonder what happened to the senator. “We saw him last at the convention but since then he has disappeared,” said Kerry-Edwards supporter Saddam Earhart, “Thank goodness he’s been found. Now he can inject some life in our campaign.”

 
WILL Y'JUST END IT ALREADY?

Ouch! This must have hurt the chi-chi liberal, Tina.
Waiting for Kerry's Big Finish to Start
By Tina Brown
On the eve of the debates people are so on edge in New York that every gathering has become like a visit to the dentist.
…
With all the mythology about Kerry's gift of coming from behind, New Yorkers are watching and hoping like fundamentalists awaiting the rapture. "What will it be like?"
…
Among the big-donor crowd, the good-closer cliché has worn out its welcome. They have had it with reading in the New York Times that the past two months of flubs were part of some weird subliminal strategy. Who does Kerry think he is? Bob Dylan? Enough already with the near-death experiences. Mr. Closer, give us closure.

 
Poll Fault

I put up a post on Brainster's about the problems with randomness of polls that could show wild fluctuations from one candidate to the other despite no real change in public opinion.

 
Kerry's Reputation as a Closer

The New York Times ran a silly little piece Wednesday to give hope to the partisans about Kerry being a strong closer. We've heard about it before many times, that he can't seem to focus until he's in danger of losing, then he gets it all together and wins. Actually it sounds more like attention deficit disorder to me, and there are certainly other symptoms of that--Kerry is constantly late, sometimes for the only event on his schedule.

But as to Kerry being a great closer, this seems a bit overwrought. Kerry comes from Massachusetts, which is the most liberal state in the nation. And while the citizens of Massachusetts do seem to like having a Republican governor (the last Democrat to run the state was Dukakis) for themselves, they prefer to inflict Democrats on the rest of us. Massachusetts has 10 congressional districts; all of them belong to Democrats, and in the Senate... well, you already know that.

The article does mention that when Kerry won by 6 points against Governor William Weld in 1996, Bill Clinton was taking that same state by 33 points. This means that something like 14 percent of all voters cast ballots for Clinton, then crossed over to vote against John Kerry. To congratulate Kerry for a comeback win in that case seems a little overdoing it.

 
A Whiter Shade of Orange



But he's starting to wrinkle again--time for some more Botox!

 
Stolen Honor Review Tomorrow Morning

Short Version: Wow! Anybody on the fence will not be after seeing this film!

 
Rather Credulous

Dan Rather, apparently deciding that he might as well go out in a blaze of glory, ran with another stupid story last night. The story was so hot that it has apparently fried two websites this morning, Little Green Footballs (which was linked by Drudge) and Rather Biased (linked by Lucianne and most other blogs).

The "story", of course, is the bogus imminent return of the draft if President Bush is reelected.

The Commissar has an most excellent post that craves your attention on Dan Rather's next big scoop.

 
Wow, Check Out David Limbaugh's Blog

I thought I'd surf over there again, seeing as how he was kind enough to respond to us and post the "Oh Pumpkinhead" poem on his blog. Holy smoke! I was familiar with his writings from Town Hall, but I had no idea he was this prolific!. Since this morning, he's put up an excellent post on the "discredited" Swift Boat Vets.

I need to respond to this. The Swiftees' claims most certainly are noble and lofty. Their claims were not contradicted by documentary evidence, independent investigations, or any Naval records. This is simply a recycling of the same myths.

I am going to be taking a long look at the Swift Boat Veterans tomorrow.

Then he's got a couple shorter posts, followed by this excellent fisking of the NY Times article on Kerry's reputation as a fast closer.

I doubt that there's any political strategist that deliberately tries to hold back in order to avoid peaking too early. And there is not one shred of evidence in fact to indicate that John Kerry has held back one bit during this campaign. He and his thugs have been hitting President Bush as hard as they could ever since this thing began. The idea that he's been holding back is just a lame excuse for his poor showing to date.

I agree, but I have a slightly different take on the NY Times piece which I'll post a little later this evening.

Two simply superb posts, read them both!

 
The Vietnamese in America

Nuclear Beef, a new blog to me, has a post up about a radio interview on the San Francisco NPR affiliate that looked at how Vietnamese in America think about John Kerry, including a link to the interview in MP3 format and a partial transcript.

NGO NHAN DUNG: I think that the Vietnamese voters have made up their mind. Many of them are inclined to vote for Republicans because they all will believe that the Republicans are more Anti-Communist than the Democrats.

Those who escaped the workers' paradise in Cuba have the same voting pattern for the same reason.

Hat Tip: Bill at In Bill's World, who's really been forwarding us some great material lately. Thanks Bill!

 
Blogger Roundup

Yamon's got a funny look at the book Kerry will be writing after the election. (Language warning).

Those wacky Bolshies at Communists for Kerry discover that CBS employees trust Bush explicitly.

Dawn at Flyover Country has some new details about the "Draft Fear" story.

Daschle v. Thune has an amusing post on how Tiny Tom Daschle managed to sit a little taller in his chair for the debate against John Thune on Meet the Press two weekends.

 
ONE IS A LONELY NUMBER

Heck, Kerry’s rarely even seen with his running mate, What’s-his-name.
No Kerry coattails in key Senate states
Daschle is one of several candidates with a common political problem as Democrats nurse fragile hopes of gaining Senate control this fall.
From the South to South Dakota and Alaska, they are running in areas where Bush is popular — and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry not so much.

 
Kerry's Late Night Ramblings At Noon

A lot of other people have covered this story, but we should note it in passing.

On Today's "Good Morning America," Kerry Defended His "I Actually Did Vote For The $87 Billion Before I Voted Against It" Quote By Saying It Occurred "Late In The Evening When I Was Dead Tired." KERRY: "No, it wasn't classic at all. It just was a very inarticulate way of saying something, and I had one of those inarticulate moments late in the evening when I was dead tired in the primaries and I didn't say something very clearly." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 9/29/04)

But Kerry's Defense Of Vote Against $87 Billion Actually Came At "Noontime Appearance At Marshall University." "'I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it,' he told a group of veterans at a noontime appearance at Marshall University. He went on to explain that he preliminarily backed the request, so long as it was financed not by deficit spending but with a tax surcharge on the wealthy that Bush opposed." (John F. Harris, "Campaign Gets More Personal," The Washington Post, 3/17/04)

This should have been obvious; IIRC the Bush Campaign tacked the quote onto the end of an ad that was already running and had it ready by mid-afternoon.

 
Kerry Not Planning a Draft, Just Mandatory Service

The CBS draft story, like Rathergate, appears to be backfiring on Nuancy Boy. Captain Ed and Swimming Through the Spin have long posts about Kerry's proposal for a mandatory service requirement to graduate from high school, a proposal that seems to have mysteriously disappeared from his website.

The Commissar has a look at Dan Rather's next scoop, on how Americans can get rich quick.

 
New to the Blogroll

But the writer is not new to us or our readers. Lorie Byrd, one of the regulars at Polipundit, has her own blog, called Byrd Droppings, which she describes as "Political commentary with a Southern drawl." I'm probably the last person to link to her post on how she should be the poster child for Kerry's health care plan (but isn't).

 
PumpkinGate Explained?

Lorie Byrd thought to check the archives of Polipundit for "pumpkin" stories and found this one. I'm embarrassed to admit that we covered the story as well, way back in the dog days of July.

 
Never Forget

The new ad by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is up!

First impressions: This one features the wives of POWs during the Vietnam War. It's a tough ad, but perhaps not as hard-hitting as some of the others. I suspect this is intentional, that the ad this time is aimed at women.

As I've said before, I'm in awe of the Swiftees and what they have accomplished. They have made Move-On and the Democrat's other 527s look like silly little kids making mudpies.

 
Watch Stolen Honor Online!

The movie "Stolen Honor" is being offered for viewing online for only $4.99. As you may have heard, some of the chain bookstores, including our old friends, Borders Books (my local outlet of which still, amazingly, can't seem to find a copy of Unfit for Command), are refusing to stock the DVD, although I have heard that both Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are carrying it.

I have not seen it, but I intend to do the PPV thing tonight and will report my impressions.

Hat Tip: Polipundit

 
The Oompa Loompa Clan

Cadet Happy has a look at the orange-skinned one and his pals.

 
New To the Legion

Go pay a call on Scary Kerry for Dictator 2004, an intelligent new blog with LOTS of content. Looks like Scary Kerry's got the blogging routine down. Here's a post with a copy of a "Draft Fear" flyer that popped up at the University of Colorado. Of course, any college students worried about the draft would be very smart to vote Republican, since it is the Democrats Kook Caucus (Charles Rangel, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Jim McDermott, Jim Moran among others) pushing for the return of the draft.

 
The Quiet Heroes

A nurse talks about the soldiers she has known in her family and contrasts them to John Kerry. A very moving post.

Hat Tip: In Bill's World

 
Three Cheers for Poland!

That was my reaction after reading this:

If Europeans had a vote on Nov. 2, John Kerry would be leisurely planning his next four years in the White House.

In Europe, the home of the United States' most solid allies during the past decades, the people of only one country would rather see George W. Bush win the election in November; that is Poland. The citizens of other new allies such as the Czech Republic and old allies such as France and Germany overwhelmingly want Kerry to win. Even in Britain, the most important U.S. ally in the war in Iraq, people are clamoring to see Kerry in the White House.

 
Kerry Haters Gets Mentioned on David Limbaugh's Blog!

I sent out a copy of the "Oh Pumpkinhead" parody to a mailing list that we are on, and was very pleased when David Limbaugh himself responded and posted a copy of the poem on his blog.

 
More Terrible News for Kerry

USA Today says likability is an important factor.

For the people and barbers of Charles Town, named for Charles Washington, the brother of the nation's first president, the votes appear cast. No GQ article or a visit in August by Bush is likely to change opinions.

"I made up my mind when they passed the Patriot Act. It doesn't matter who's running (against Bush), I'm voting for the other guy," said 65-year-old James Barney, who was getting a trim from Republican barber Paul Edwards.

I guess he's not voting for Kerry then, because Kerry voted in favor of the Patriot Act.

"I'm partial to Bush because I liked his daddy," Edwards said.

To Charles Town's Trish Helmut, a 36-year-old Catholic mother of five, it doesn't matter that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq or that the war still rages. She was at the Bush rally in nearby Hedgesville this summer.

"I like the man," she said firmly. "I believe him. I trust him. ... I'd like to have him over (for) dinner."

 
THE PARTY’S FINIS?


John Kerry, November 3rd

CrushKerry is happy to count David Carney as one of its friends. David is a national political consultant for the GOP and has worked as a senior advisor in 2 national Presidential campaigns.
He gave permission for a recent article he published to be posted on CrushKerry which expresses the sentiment CrushKerry’s been hearing from top GOP polling firms with whom they are in daily contact - that the race is essentially over and Kerry is finished. In fact, some of the insider numbers are looking so good, grizzled vets are getting nervous that it can't be as good on Election Day as it looks now but are afraid to say so publicly so as to "jinx it". Carney has no such superstition. And how does he know a losing campaign when he sees it? He was involved in Bush 92 and Dole 96. He's happy the Kerry people will replace those as the worst campaigns ever.
You can check out David's article here.

 
KERRY ON THE “QT”


John Kerry reporting for duty.

ORANGE ALERT: A Fake Tan is on the Campaign Trail
"John Kerry's tan is temporary - just like people say his opinions are," said Cynthia House, CEO of Enhance Me, a brand of spray-on tanning products.
…
Mr. Kerry appears to be trying to tap into the image-making power of television - just as John F. Kennedy did against Richard Nixon in 1960 during the first televised presidential debate. Kennedy showed up looking fit with a healthy tan and allowed his aides to apply light makeup. The pale, unmade-up Richard Nixon and his 5-o'clock shadow came across poorly on television.

 
Dick Morris Lays It Out

Kerry's essential problem:

Bush enters the debate empowered by three fundamental facts:

* Virtually all of his own voters agree with his positions on these vital issues.

* About one in three Kerry voters also approves of Bush's policy in these regions.

* Kerry, for some inexplicable reason, has chosen to attack Bush on these very issues — his strongest point.

It's desperation time in the Kerry campaign.

 
More Pictures of John Kerry's Tongue Than Anybody Wants to See

I don't know why but this really cracked me up.

 
Condition Orange--Updated & Promoted



You know, I really do feel sorry for the folks who have to make fun of President Bush. Yeah, they had the fall off the Segway, and they have the malapropisms, but Kerry has been a non-stop comedy show. It's almost as if Rob Reiner had decided after "This is Spinal Tap" to try the same material on a Presidential campaign. I almost expect Kerry to fire all his experts and make Teh-RAY-za his manager next.

Update: KH commenter Sidtara put this little ditty in the comments (to Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree):

O Pumpkinhead, O Pumkinhead
In all the polls W's ahead.

Just yesterday you were so white
But now your face is orange bright.

O Pumpkinhead, O Pumpkinhead
Freak accident in tanning bed?

Edwards will soon the makers sue,
That made a pumpkin pie of you.

O Pumpkinhead, O Pumpkinhead
There are no orange states, just red.
O Pumpkinhead, O Pumkinhead
Your candidacy is surely dead.

O Pumpkinhead, O Pumpkinhead
You wish we had Saddam instead.

PM Allawi you attack,
And Dean was right about Iraq.
The French and Germans you would woo,
And say to Tony Blair, Screw you.

O Pumkinhead, O Pumpkinhead,
I'll vote for Mr Bush instead.

Not sure if Sidtara made that up himself or if it's something he got somewhere else, but that is funny!

 
Sine Wave Journalism Coming Up

No matter how the debate turns out Thursday, expect the media take over the weekend that Kerry is surging, says Mike Murphy.

The signs of this pending storyline are already apparent in the coverage of Kerry's new team of savvy advisors. Their decision to bet the entire Kerry campaign on a debate over the Iraq war--a strategic suicide note in my view--is the required "big move" such stories demand and is being applauded as a masterstroke. This is where narrative and reality truly differ. If President Bush wins this campaign, the decision to focus the entire Kerry campaign on a debate over the war, instead of on domestic issues, will be a key ingredient to the president's success. Kerry's mistake is that it is impossible to have a serious campaign-winning political victory over the administration without a serious policy difference between the two. Howard Dean had a policy difference with the Bush administration on Iraq; Kerry essentially does not.

 
New Posts at Bush or Kerry

Paul has his post on the Kerry position on Homeland Security, while I post the Bush position.

 
The Wit of John Kerry

Anybody want to guess what the AP had to threaten Nedra Pickler with before she agreed to write this ridiculous column?

Not only is the sometimes aloof senator from Massachusetts dropping an occasional laugh-line into his stump speech, his audiences are chuckling.

And who can blame them, with quips like these?

Kerry said the occupation of Iraq is riddled with problems, "yet today, President Bush tells us that he would do everything all over again, the same way." Kerry paused for affect (sic) before asking sarcastically, "How can he possibly be serious?"

After hearing that one, NBC may already regret its decision to announce that Conan O'Brien will be hosting the Tonight Show in five years. But wait, as Ron Popeil says, there's more:

"You're going to hear all this talk, `Oh, we've turned the corner, we're doing better, blah, blah,'" he said, running on the phrase as his Wisconsin audience erupted in laughter. "You know, blah and blah and blah."

Erupted? In laughter? Was it a crowd of Ed McMahon clones?

Kerry isn't just using the lingo of the younger generation. He's thrown in a couple of old-fashioned folksy phrases, too. "Heavens to Betsy," he said earlier this month when remarking on Republicans' failure to reinstate the assault weapons ban. "You bet your boots I know what I'm talking about," Kerry said Monday when promising to be more fiscally responsible than Bush.

 
The Story Behind Kerry's Cheesehead Photo Op At the Bar?

Longtime KH reader Mike G spotted this story about why Kerry turned up at a local watering hole in Wisconsin to have a beer with the peons and watch a little Packer football. Turns out that Susan Lampert Smith, a columnist for a Madison, Wisconsin paper challenged Kerry to show a little more of his human side.

Smith wrote her piece "more tongue-in-cheek," she said, not expecting Kerry to act on it. Reviewing her experience in a column on Monday, she asked, "What if I had suggested that Kerry wear a hula skirt and dance on Main Street?"

Is there any doubt that Kerry would have been passing out leis and saying "Aloha"?

 
Guest Commentary--Saddam Incubated Terrorists

This one comes to us from longtime Kerry Hater Phil Averbuck, who really should be blogging:

Sometimes we need to GET OFF-LINE and OPEN A BOOK. Specifically, the awesome autobiography of Gen. Tommy Franks, "American Soldier." And more specifically, page 519, where he describes a battle on 5 April 2003:

"[The 1 MEF] had also encountered several hundred foreign fighters from Egypt, the Sudan, Syria, and Libya who were being trained by the regime in a camp south of Baghdad. Those foreign volunteers fought with suicidal ferocity, but they did not fight well. The Marines killed them all."

A few observations:

1. Uhhhhhhhh, sounds like Saddam had, in a single camp, at a single time, several hundred terrorists-in-training, all of whom fought to the death--"with suicidal ferocity." But how can this be? Saddam had NOTHING TO DO with the War on Terror, right?

2. I will bet this camp, and the Ansar camps in Northern Iraq (where Zarqawi was based), were not the only camps hosted by the non-terrorist linked Saddam.

3. I haven't seen a single reference to this fact anywhere, although Gen. Franks' book has been at the top of the bestseller lists for weeks.

4. If Hussein was willing to keep these camps up and running as the Coalition forces threatened to annihilate him, what was he up to in earlier, less trying times?

5. What would these hundreds of suicidal fighters have been able to accomplish had our noble Marines not "killed them all?" What about the hundred--or thousands-- that would have been trained after them?

(Pat again: Great catch on the terrorist training camp, Phil!)

 
Kerry's September to Remember

About halfway through this month I commented that it appeared September was going to be a worse month than August for the Kerry campaign. Now, as the days wind down, it appears that I understated things. September might be one of the worst months for any political campaign, ever. Kerry is Florida, and the campaign has been hit by multiple hurricanes over the course of the last 30 days.

For a look at the extent of the damage, check out this graph from the Iowa Electronic Markets. Remember we are still over a month away from the elections, and the stampede out of Kerry Preferred makes Black Monday look like a bull market.

Chris Lynch, who provided a day-by-day examination of the disaster that was August for the Kerry campaign, follows up with an equally detailed look at September.

 
Kerry Lying to the Mirror

Cadet Happy has another funny photo.

 
Even The Babies Dissing Kerry

Check out what John saw as he went to do the baby-smooching routine.

 
Ol' Orange Face

Drudge is highlighting Kerry's new look. As Aaron of Something to Cry About pointed out in an email, he looks something like a demented Jack o' Lantern.

 
New to the Legion

We welcome The Kerry Record to the Legion of Kerry Haters. D. LaTourette has put up an excellent page with posts on several issues along with a slew of photographs from Kerry's Antiwar Criminal days. Well worth the click!

 
Blogger Sluggish Again

Trying to post this as it won't let me edit any prior posts right now. We've got more posts coming, just waiting for blogger to get its act together.

 
Kerry Has Been Good For One Thing

Bill at In Bill's World came up with this one, and all I can say is that he's right on the money. A lot of people like me were antiwar at the time, and have had some problems reconciling that with our current conservatism. This blog has been for me a kind of expiation of the guilt I have felt over the years at my youthful stupidity, and I thank people like John O'Neill, our many current military and retired military commenters, the Mil-bloggers and Bill for helping me to finally come to grips with Vietnam. I was wrong and they were right.

 
Al Qaeda Rooting for Kerry

John Hawkins slaps down Ted Kennedy, who said that such claims are the new McCarthyism.

Think back to the Civil War. Who do you think the South was rooting for when Lincoln went head to head with McClellan? Gee, there was Lincoln who intended to prosecute the war to the finish and then there was McClellan who in essence wanted to call it a draw. Boy, that would have been a tough call huh?

When I was a kid, my liberal mother told me that McCarthyism amounted to seeing communists lurking under every bed. Nowadays liberalism amounts to seeing McCarthy lurking under every bed.

 
See It Says Right Here That The Swift Boat Vets Are Discredited



Relying on old media trips up yet another dinosaur.

 
Rooting for the Enemy

Chris Hitchens says that's what the Democrats are doing, and it's hard to disagree with him, what with Teh-RAY-za saying that Bin Laden will be "captured" in October (the implication being that the Bush Administration could capture him anytime, but are holding off until the best moment just before the election.

I think that this detail is very important because the Kerry camp often strives to give the impression that its difference with the president is one of degree but not of kind. Of course we all welcome the end of Taliban rule and even the departure of Saddam Hussein, but we can't remain silent about the way policy has been messed up and compromised and even lied about. I know what it's like to feel that way because it is the way I actually do feel. But I also know the difference when I see it, and I have known some of the liberal world quite well and for a long time, and there are quite obviously people close to the leadership of today's Democratic Party who do not at all hope that the battle goes well in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I remember well the plaintive sobbing from the Dean blog when Saddam was captured; and at that time, the Deaniacs were still thinking that they were going to steamroll to the Democratic nomination. They were just upset because they knew that an American victory of any sorts hurt their candidate against President Bush.

 
Rather Tanking In New York

The New York Post reports:

The "CBS Evening News" averaged 160,000 viewers last week on WCBS/Channel 2 — down from 231,000 viewers the week before.

Rather apologized for the National Guard documents debacle on the Sept. 20 newscast, and his numbers actually rose the next two days, reaching a high of 241,000 viewers Wednesday.

In the week before Rather's on-air mea culpa, viewership was off a staggering 49 percent.

The numbers spiraled downward since Wednesday, with Thursday's "Evening News" pulling only 140,000 viewers on Channel 2, and a measly 108,000 viewers Friday, according to Nielsen numbers.

Hey Dan, if a frog had long enough lips, he'd kiss his butt goodbye!

 
KERRY’S LOSING STRATEGY

He insults our military as well as our allies, not to mention his pessimistic bilge. This is Kerry's "winning" strategy?
REALITY IN IRAQ
By John Podhoretz
JOHN Kerry has taken a new tack on Iraq. He accuses the president and Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi of refusing to face "reality" because they express an upbeat view of Iraq's political future.
The "reality," say Kerry and his surrogates, is that the security situation is deteriorating, attacks on coalition forces are increasing and things are getting worse.
Question No. 1 is — worse than when?
…
No one is denying, least of all President Bush, that these are dangerous days in Iraq. There is a case for pessimism, but then, there is always a case for pessimism. There's a case for optimism as well, a case based not in hope but in fact.
Oh, and if we're wondering whether things are worse in Iraq, all we need do is look back two years, when Saddam Hussein was in power and an estimated 50,000 Iraqis (most of them children) were dying every year of malnutrition.
Not to mention having their limbs cut off and their families killed in front of them if they dared displease one of Saddam's psychotic sons.

And speaking of losers:
Wartime politics shameful
With friends like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry can just kiss the votes of middle America goodbye
Last week the Democratic presidential contender staked out his own position as the anti-war candidate. This week the state's senior senator (and Kerry mentor) took that position over the rhetorical top.
Calling President Bush's handling of the war ``a toxic mix of ignorance, arrogance and stubborn ideology,'' Kennedy used all the Vietnam-era buzz words, insisting, ``Our soldiers will be bogged down in a continuing quagmire with no end in sight.''

 
GOT ANY LAWYER JOKES?


Click for a larger view.

 
Some Thoughts Heading Into the Debate

I didn't see the President on O'Reilly last night, but I did hear excerpts on the Hugh Hewitt show. Obviously Bill raked him hard, but I was impressed with the President's grasp of the issues and his ability to articulate them. I'm sure a lot of commenters are upset at O'Reilly, but it was a good warmup for Thursday night.

And as I listened, I realized something important. We all know that President Bush wasn't prepared for office on the foreign policy front. That's why his team mattered so much; Dr Rice, General Powell and Secretary Rumsfeld overcame the concerns about the inexperience of then-Governor Bush. This is not that unusual; Bill Clinton had even less foreign policy experience than W, who had at least run a border state and had his father's service to draw upon.

But it's four years later, and President Bush, despite the chuckles from the chuckleheads at DU is not a dumb man. He has had to learn foreign policy intimately, and it seems quite obvious that he has. One of the better moments in last night's appearance was when O'Reilly tried to nail down the President on Iran.

O’REILLY: Iran. Uh, said yesterday, hey, we’re going to develop this nuclear stuff, we don’t care what you think. You ready to use military force against Iran if they continue to defy the world on nuclear?

PRESIDENT BUSH: My hope is that we can solve this diplomatically.

O’REILLY: But if you can’t.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, let me try to solve it diplomatically first. All options are on the table, of course, in any situation. But diplomacy is the first option.

O’REILLY: Would you allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We, we are working our hearts out so that they don’t develop a nuclear weapon, and the best way to do so is to continue to keep international pressure on them.

O’REILLY: Is it conceivable that you would allow them to develop a nuclear weapon?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Uh, no, we’ve made it clear, our position is that they won’t have a nuclear weapon.

O’REILLY: Period.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yeah.

Magnificent! Just diplomatic enough while making sure that you don't send the wrong signals.

More important, everybody can tell the President is telling the truth. I don't think you can overstate the importance of that. Kerry is bobbing and weaving because he doesn't want to admit what he really thinks. Bush may bob and weave a bit in an effort to be diplomatic, but he's not doing it deceptively.

 
Primary News Sources and Secondary News Sources

Laura Ingraham was talking about this on the way into the office; somebody had written that they hoped nobody used Rush Limbaugh as their primary news source. Laura was quick to defend her fellow radio talk show host, but in reality I didn't see anything that bad with what had been written. Rush is not intended to be a primary news source, any more than Sports Illustrated or Playboy is. Rush is a secondary news source, or as some have put it, a news accumulator. Rush accumulates news on some of the sillier stuff left wingers are up to, packages it with his own take and leavens it with the opinions of his callers.

Kerry Haters is much the same way. If there is one question that left-wingers leave here more than any other, it's "Why aren't you covering X?", with X being some news story that purports to show President Bush in a bad light.

Hellooooo! I'm not interested in X, because it's not why my readers come here. You might as well ask Sports Illustrated why they haven't been covering the massacre in Darfur. It's not that it isn't important, it's not that the editors at SI aren't appalled. It's just not what their readers are looking for.

It's the same with Kerry Haters. We are not here to bash Republicans; if you want that, go check out Matt Yglesias or Josh Marshall or Atrios or Daily Kos. We are here to gather together as much anti-Kerry news in one place as we can find and as we can post. And I doubt very much whether our readers are using us as their primary news source.

 
KERRY vs. KERRY


Hat tip for cartoon to Luis!

Bush Mocks Kerry for 'Changing Positions' on Iraq
President Bush on Monday mocked his Democratic rival John Kerry for shifting his positions on Iraq so many times he could "debate himself" in this week's face-off between the two candidates.
…
"It's been a little tough to prepare because (Kerry) keeps changing positions on the war on the terror," he joked.
"He voted for the use of force in Iraq and then didn't vote to fund the troops," Bush said. "He complained that we're not spending enough money to help in reconstruction in Iraq and now he's saying we're spending too much. He said it was the right decision to go into Iraq and now he calls it the wrong war.
"He could probably spend 90 minutes debating himself," Bush added to hoots of laughter from his supporters.

 
Dan Rather Must Go

Conservative businessman and former Senate candidate from New Jersey Doug Forrester has put together some radio and TV advertising to say that Dan Rather must go. Amusingly, he's apparently bought time on the NY CBS affiliate during the Evening News. Here's the page where you can hear and watch the ads.

Hat Tip: Chuck aka Phillies Fan