http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh061104.shtml<snip>
PERFECT GENTLEMEN: You’ll recall John Kerry’s surly behavior when he “paid his respects” to Reagan (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 6/9/04 <dh060904.shtml>). Let’s face it–character counts in a possible president. Luckily, the New York Times’ fearless scribe, David Halbfinger, was willing to report what he did:
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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/09/politics/09kerry.html> HALBFINGER (5/9/04): Mr. Kerry, who came to Los Angeles to see his daughter Alexandra, 30, graduate from the American Film Institute on Wednesday, briefly paid his respects to Mr. Reagan at the presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif., Tuesday afternoon. Momentarily cutting through a cordon of mourners, he saluted Mr. Reagan’s coffin with his hand over his heart, bowed his head, crossed himself, saluted again and left–all in the space of a minute.
Good God! But then,. it’s just like a Massachusetts liberal to engage in such fake, phony conduct. Halbfinger was shocked when Kerry refused to spend ten hours standing in line with the proles. And he wasn’t afraid to tell his readers about the “war hero’s” troubling conduct.
This morning, we finally see the sequel. Yesterday, President Bush and other Big Pols also paid their respects to Reagan. They certainly could have jumped the line too. But in Bush’s case, we saw real character! Here’s how Sheryl Gay Stolberg describes his visit in this morning’s Times:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/politics/11view.html>
STOLBERG (5/11/04): President Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, made a quick visit on Thursday evening, surprising some of the everyday people who were already in the Rotunda. They approached the coffin silently and bowed their heads. Then Mr. Bush put his hands on the flag, smoothing it, before he led Mrs. Bush away.
Clearly, the Bushes didn’t cut into line–or Stolberg, like Halbfinger, would have said so.
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