Decision ‘08

And Now, A Little More Kerry-Bashing

Hey, what can I say? The man is a gold mine. Susannah Meadows writes in Newsweek about John Kerry’s ‘epically flubbed joke’:

Chuck Schumer got right to the point. On Thursday afternoon, the New York Senator, who’s leading the Democrats’ efforts to win back the Senate, called John Kerry and let him have it. The Massachussetts Senator’s supposed “botched joke” about the president’s handling of Iraq had become a feast for Republicans—sucking up tons of airtime and knocking Democrats off message in the crucial remaining days before the midterm election. Kerry’s attempts to fight back, by calling the Republicans “stuffed suits” and “right wing nutjobs,” was only prolonging the story and making things worse. Apologize now, Schumer told him, according to a high-ranking party official who didn’t want to be named talking about a private conversation.

If that’s not enough to get you cackling gleefully and rubbing your hands saying “Excellent”, let me play Smithers to your Mr. Burns and provide the icing on the cake:

For the moment, at least, Kerry is simply radioactive among Democrats. Publicly, some activists were still sticking by him. Mark Gorenberg, his former finance chair for California, told NEWSWEEK he would definitely be with Kerry if he ran in ‘08. The influential Daily Kos blog tried to make the best of the gaffe with a post saying, “I haven’t been shy to pile on Kerry when warranted, but what a load of bulls— this is. And showing that he has learned from his Swiftboating days, Kerry hit back hard.” But not everyone was feeling so generous. On the ground in New Hampshire, some activists who’d been open to him pre-blunder, were now shutting their doors and turning out the lights. “It’s not that this gaffe was so bad,” says Ann McLane Kuster, a prominent New Hampshire activist, “But it plays into all the traits he has that are out of touch, like using intelligence as a way to distinguish himself rather than compassion. The underlying joke wasn’t funny.”

Not surprisingly, the judgments were a little less diplomatic inside the Beltway. “There is not a Democrat in Washington who thinks John Kerry is a viable presidential candidate after last week,” says a longtime Democratic strategist (who isn’t working for one of Kerry’s potential rivals). The strategist, who spoke freely and at length about Kerry on the condition of anonymity, says the gaffe reminds Democrats that he is politically inept. “This is not something that will linger in pool halls and bars and normal places in America,” he says, “but among the donors and activists who like to win, this memory will last a long time. Remember, his entire candidacy is based on electability. And when that’s the basis of your candidacy, and you’ve already lost once, amateur hour doesn’t begin to describe John Kerry. And that’s without even getting into the personal animus towards the guy.”

It’s Christmas in Cambodia…er, November…

One Response to “And Now, A Little More Kerry-Bashing”

1 Aaron Says:
November 5th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Maybe you should remove the John Kerry category from the blog, Mark (and George Allen while you’re at it). I wonder if any more 2008 hopefuls will blow their presidential chances by saying something idiotic before Tuesday.