More nastiness about Kerry

[Mass]

I imagine that Kerry was really sick, but, even then, this is not good because it reinforces the image that Kerry does not connect with the local Democrats anymore than with people in the South (of course, it is from the Herald, but I am getting worried about the effect).

http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=175881&srvc=home

Even Mass. Dems don’t nod for Kerry
By Rachelle Cohen
Monday, January 8, 2007 - Updated: 05:57 AM EST

WASHINGTON - You just never know what will happen in a roomful of Massachusetts political movers and shakers gathered together in the nation’s seat of power.
First there’s the chit-chat, the sharing of political gossip at this reception to celebrate Sen. Ted Kennedy’s ninth swearing in last Thursday.
“Did you know John Kerry really thinks he’s running again,” one local office holder confides. What follows is a lot of eye-rolling. And dontcha just hate when that happens. You can’t quote eye-rolling.
Then Teddy Jr. goes to the podium to start the speaking part of the festivities.

He looks around, attempting to introduce Kerry, but Kerry isn’t there.
“Oh, he’s sick, I’m told,” young Ted recovers.
The assembled multitude of Massachusetts Democrats, Kennedy fans all, laughs. Not a mere ripple of laughter, but guffaws.
It’s the laughter of “Yeah, we’ve heard that one before.”
Sure, it was a little cruel, a little cynical, and yet downright honest and spontaneous
...

This is the type of very silly piece that could have been avoided easily, so, if somebody knows the true story, it would be interesting to know it.

[Mass]

1. One more, for the road.

http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/530056.html

Politics Home / Politics

Topics: Elections | Legislature | Politicians Columns: Christensen | Under the Dome Photo Column: Jones Street

John Kerry said he couldn't get his vice presidential running mate, John Edwards, to go after President Bush during the 2004 campaign.

Edwards said Kerry wouldn't let him take the wraps off.

Both accounts come from Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, who talks about the 2004 presidential campaign in his new book, "What a Party."

McAuliffe recounts having dinner with Edwards after the 2004 election. He notes that Kerry sent Edwards to a lot of small markets, leading to criticism that Edwards was not visible enough.

"Terry, they wouldn't let me," Edwards told McAuliffe. "I wanted to go after the Swift Boat guys. I wanted to go after Bush. They wouldn't let me."

...

First, I do not recall Kerry saying that, but I would not blame him if he did. I heard the only interview Edwards did on this issue and it was so toothless that I was relieved when I saw Dean and Clark go after him.

The other point to remember is that McAuliffe is one of those who were pushing Edwards even before the primary, so, no surprise that he would defend him. More CYA odopcu.

[Mass]

2. And of course, the unavoidable Rangel snappy remark,

What did Kerry ever do to Rangel?

http://nymag.com/news/politics/26290/

...
And here comes Hillary, charging down the buffed hallways of the Capitol Building, with a hearty “Mr. Chairman!” Just the other day, Rangel ate breakfast with the senator in Harlem. Rangel figures he’ll overlook Hillary’s early pro-war stance. “If I swallowed John Kerry, I can swallow that,” he says. Rangel (who told Barack Obama to “go for it if you want; if you don’t, you’ll wind up hating yourself”) doesn’t think Rudy’s running (“He’s just building up his billings”) but hopes he does because “it’ll be fun, kicking the crap out of him.”
...

[wisteria]

14. I wonder what else Rangel swallows. n/t

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. I noticed in the swearing in

that he was sick. Look at the video about 2:20 or around there you can see him sneezing and coughing up a storm. As usual quotes with no names attached and opinionated journalism if you can even call it that I call it tabloid garbage. My God he can't even be sick without getting ridiculed. How lame.


First video on page.

http://c-span.org/VideoArchives.asp?CatCodePairs=,&ArchiveDays=100&Page=5

[Mass]

4. "He is often sick - Is he fit to be president?" :sarcasm:

This is exactly the problem. He should probably have made an apparition, only for a few minutes. This way people would have noticed he was sick and the comments would have disappeared.

I think this is part of the problem. How could they not guess that his absence at Kennedy's party would be noticed and commented negatively? Those are the little details that drive me crazy because they would be so easy to avoid.

[karynnj]

5. Judging from Fed-ups comment, Kerry was sick

The account is clearly written by a biased reporter and is very subjective. I seriously doubt that a room full of Democratic officials and power people are all that infatuated with McCain.

It likely was just what Kennedy said - Kerry was sick. The response could just as likely have been dissapointment not to see him. I assume they would rather Kerry not be there if he was sick. They don't need to catch whatever he has and it is more important for him to take care of himself and be able to do his job well grilling the Bush people.

[beachmom]

7. Agree with Karynnj -- there is nothing more annoying than having

someone show up for work visibly and very sick. How is that being a good sport, if you're just spreading the virus to everyone around you?

Judging from the "Lonely Guy" photo and "story", it is obvious that right wingers (and, yes the Herald is a RW rag) will distort everything and anything about John Kerry. So "nobody" liked him because he was having a private conversation with reporters where they sought out an empty table. And, now "nobody" likes him because he was too sick to attend a party.

I don't see how or why he would "set the record straight" on this. Best solution to this problem -- lots of Vitamin C.

[ProSense]

8. I'm sure that if he had gone to the party

BoHerd would have written an article about him coughing all over the guests.

Does he have to go to every party? Are Americans going to vote for a candidate who missed a party? Intriguing?

What a POS writing.

[wisteria]

13. That was my thought. They were after a smear of Kerry, anything would do. n/t

[ProSense]

6. This doesn't even make sense.

The senator himself attempted to soften the blow, explaining that Kerry “left a sick bed” to appear an hour earlier to walk Kennedy down the Senate aisle for his swearing in, a long-standing Senate tradition.

“He’s my friend. He’s my colleague. He’s a great patriot and what a difference he would have made if he was leading this country,” Kennedy said.

Ted Kennedy is nothing if not a good team player, and the crowd dutifully applauded. And it didn’t hurt to invoke the image of the dreaded alternative - the current occupant of the White House.

What's BoHerd trying to do: paint Mass Dems as a bunch of callous assholes?

Dutifully applauded? BS! So when they laugh it's guffaws, but when they applaud it's dutifully?

Oh, it's another typically stupid BoHerd article.

[fedupinBushcountry]

9. Thanks for the REST of the REAL comment

by Kennedy. I didn't bother to go to the :puke: Herald link. I'm with you Prosense what BS.

[karynnj]

10. Good point

Also, I don't think a group of MA politicians are that easilly "herded" even by Ted Kennedy. I also bet most of them have seen Kerry often before. This was a party, not a campaign event or a Senate hearing. Also, Kennedy said more than he had to say, especially to the group he was with - he could have simply said that Kerry, as could be seen at the swearing in was sick.

In all the Kerry comments lately, they seem to have gone out of their way to diminish the actual newsmaking comment. Kennedy's comment on who he supported was twisted beyond recognition. It seems like it was a comment that he won't wait forever for Kerry - which implies he was STILL with Kerry and would be with him NOW if he declared. Patrick's comment was new support, but it was reported as if it was just supporting someone from MA. The real story is that Kerry has the support of Kennedy and Patrick.

I just hope he gets over this quickly - so he can be in top form questioning people in his job on the SFRC. He does seem to get nasty colds.

[whometense]

11. MA is the land of snark,

and MA politicos are even snarkier than the rest of us.

Note all of Tay's posts about the St. Patrick's Day roasts. It ain't news, but if it's anti-Kerry you can be sure it will find its way into print.

[TayTay]

18. This is true.

Ahm, Here are some truths about Massachusetts:

1: Everything, at every time, is on the verge of going to hell in a hand-basket. (Man the barricades, the Philistines are at the gates. We are under attack. We are always under attack. That's because we are noisy, loud, pushy and propose new and irritating things all the time and piss people off. That is the history of this peculiar state.)
2: Arguments are one of the reasons for living. If you can't argue with someone, why bother getting up in the morning?
3: Things are hopeless, but they are not serious. (This completely undercuts 1 & 2 and is utterly true nevertheless.) Lighten up or you won't have any energy leftover for tomorrow's no-holds barred argument. Let me buy you a beer, you no-good, piece of crap, friggin bastid. How about them Patriots.

We are a snarky, argumentative, opinionated and angry people. It was ever thus. It will always be so. Everyone and anyone is a potential target. This is part of the debate in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You want to play? Fine, grow a thicker skin. This is true from the highest levels of State Government, down to the Town Meetings in the smaller locales. It's who we are as a people.

Sen. Kerry got re-elected in 2002 with over 80% of the vote. No one challenged him because there is no one who can. (That is his seat for as long as he wants it.) The Senator got the highest vote count that a Mass pol has ever gotten in a run for the Presidency in MA. (Better than JFK got in '60.) In the last real poll in the State, in Oct of 2006, he had approval ratings of 55% or more.

Sen. Kennedy just had an editorial against him again in the Boston Herald. The little cartoon depiction of Teddy K showed him with buck teeth, bad hair, and looking like a blimp who just swallowed Hyannis. I bet Teddy K shook it off. This is what the BHerald does. If Teddy or Big Jawn had a fit every time the Herald made fun of them, they would have long ago died of heart failure and stress. Since they both like running in Massachusetts, I am forced to conclude that they have gotten used to it, let it roll off them and don't let it get inside too much.

Lighten up. These are 'big boys' and they can deal with the Herald and with snark. They can dish it and they can take it as well. Otherwise, they never would have voluntarily entered the world of Massachusetts politics and excelled at it.

[MBS]

24. the problem is that people don't understand this nationally. . .

in most states, it's expected that local people will support local candidates, and that there is something "wrong" if they don't. Yes, there are exceptions (Tennessee didn't go for Gore in 2000. .etc), but the usual expectation nevertheless is that locals support their guys. I'm certainly no stranger to nasty , corrupt, and just plain strange local politics, but, the level of snark in MA (or is it really BOSTON metropolitan area that's really the nucleus of the problem?) is really unparalleled in my experience. In MA, people may understand that this is the game.

The real problem is when this local Stuff gets transmitted nationally. MA people may get it (though, speaking for myself, not necessarily all MA people. .), but people from other states don't. They figure that local people "know John Kerry best" and that local press coverage should be more supportive than anyone''s. .That's yet another reason why JK's PR people have to be VERY VERY sharp and VERY VERY vigilant and VERY VERY effective , as they need not only to counteract all this garbage and put the real JK out there, but they also have to explain the uniquely Bostonian local context of these ridiculous local stories.

[whometense]

25. You make an excellent point.

I expect it, and I guess to a degree understand it - but cringe when I see Vennochi being syndicated around the planet.

Of course, it's too much to ask the media to check and see what percentage of MA residents vote for the guy, isn't it?

[kerrygoddess]

27. I don't know

Local people in CA don't always feel compelled to support local people and fact is this entire country is filled with snarky people these days. It's everywhere, not just in MA. There are plenty of local papers that write trash about local pols all over this country and the partisan divide does not help. I see similar stuff in the LA Times about CA pols.

Some of this stuff you just have to roll your eyes and move on. It's part and parcel of politics all around the country and the world. Always has been.

[Firespirit]

12. How despicable

He WAS sick -- practically bedridden. The entire office was sick. The Herald people are a nasty piece of work. Some things and some people are f***ing OFF LIMITS, and making cruel fun of the ill is one of them.

I have no words.

[wisteria]

16. What comes around goes around. n/t

[wisteria]

15. This piece is obvious a smear in response to your new Governors comments in support of Kerry.

I am sure that got a lot of good press. Well, they had to find something to counter the good new with.
If he was sick, he was sick.I know I wouldn't want to be inconsiderate and infect everyone. Frankly, they would of complained about him infecting everyone else if he was as bad as reported.
It apparently is open season on Kerry. Obviously, there are Dem's and re pubs that don't want him to try again. He gets good press, then he gets bad press. I think the time will come when the people going negative will give up and move on to another victim.
Maybe, some good Mass people could write the Herald and explain how childish this nonsense is.

[Firespirit]

17. It's such bullshit

I am really potty-mouthed today, but this just enrages me. For EVERY candidate out there, there are supporters and detractors within both parties. But you don't see those pieces.

Somewhat OT, apparently the Hillary people have bought edwards08.com. (Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/01/06/click-on-edwards08com-an_n_37997.html) This and the Herald article are the playground-level mindset of the corporatist wing of the party. So childish. I hope that the people wise up to them, and fast.

[karynnj]

20. I hope this backfires big time

It is both stupid and obnoxious. If I wanted Edwards info - I would be annoyed. I seriously doubt I would spend time reqading Hillary's site (her Senate election one).

[Mass]

21. It is so stupid that I am not sure it is the Hillary's people who did that.

Anyway, today, it does not point to Hillary's website anymore.

[wisteria]

22. Why don't we hear these little details about everything every other

candidate does? Why is it news that he was sick. What was the Harold trying to imply by suggesting there was another reason he wasn't there with Senator Kennedy.
Frankly, it is obvious there is a major effort from the Democratic side (DLC) and Republicans to try to effectively discourage him from running.
Why, I really I don't know except they want his money backers and are trying to persuade those backers that he is too many negatives to win.
I have said this before, he needs to get great, great PR and some major press on his side. He is the only candidate that continues to be attacked on personality issues, and likability. It isn't fair, but the jackals see a vulnerability and are going after it big time.

Being the our party is backward thinking and is superstitious about running a candidate more than once, they want him out with out a chance. It is a real shame, because what they are offering as acceptable alternatives are NOT on par with Senator Kerry. They are doing our country a great disservice offing up these less than Kerry candidates during a time of our history when we need real leadership and knowledge.
I hope Kerry's backers ignore this crap and see through it for what it is. I have decided one way or another, Senator Kerry will have my vote in 08. I don't like any in the current crop of 08er, the media and our party are trying to force on us.

Lincoln, Abe that is, was ridiculed and brushed aside also,made fun of because of his walk, his appearance etc. and not expected to have a chance to win the Presidency when there were at least three other more popular candidates than himself. One Stewart, from NY was the front runner and was by all accounts expected to win the Presidency. Those in NY and the man himself were so certain, they had planned a celebration the likes of the city had not seen before. Well, we all know what happened don't we?

[kerrygoddess]

28. The domain is registered to someone in NC

No connection to HC. Misleading at best.

[Blaukraut]

19. I'd like to have been in that room

To see how things really transpired. However; I'm with you on this, Mass. The piece makes me angry and worries me, too. There has been entirely too much of this going on lately.

[politicasista]

23. Yuck

I do agree about the need for a strong PR. :puke: :grr:

[fedupinBushcountry]

26. You did exactly what I did

You just read what was posted and didn't go to the Herald :puke: link.

Luckily Prosense did just that and further down in the article Kennedy says: The senator himself attempted to soften the blow, explaining that Kerry “left a sick bed” to appear an hour earlier to walk Kennedy down the Senate aisle for his swearing in, a long-standing Senate tradition.

“He’s my friend. He’s my colleague. He’s a great patriot and what a difference he would have made if he was leading this country,” Kennedy said.

As you see even when it is said why he wasn't there in full, this so called journalist ( tabloid journalism ) still adds snark. I think I read somewhere that the National Enquirer is losing some of their readers, wonder why ? Because all you have to do is open up a conservative rag and get the same tabloid news.