Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
scott@scottlongonline.com
The most lively debate we've had at thejuiceblog all year was when I wrote that the number 1 qualitfication for the next President is charisma. I took a lot of shots for discussing how John Kerry lacked this quality. Specific to him contemplating running for President again, I offered this point.
Dude, even though our ex-boyfriend (Bush) was an idiot and treated us badly, half us still went back with him because you were such a boring first date. You had your chance and you were unable to make us laugh and at the end of the date the warmest thing you could manage was a firm handshake. Sorry, but there are better prospects, so John Kerry, quit calling us!
So the Kerry robot strikes again, yesterday trying to deliver a line he was incapable of and in the meantime, possibly destroying the Democrats chances of taking over the house and senate. I know many of the intellectuals who check in here are able to judge a candidate on their academic merit, but winning a national election takes a lot more than that.
The Republican party holds Ronald Reagan in such esteem that I'm surprised that they don't refer to him as Pope Ronnie. Bill Clinton is the only living Democrat that proved he could win in the North and the South. Their accomplishments can be argued, but their ability to connect with Independent voters cannnot. Both of them had charisma and the ability to deliver a joke.
While I don't completely buy the whole Playmate Centerfold cliche that their biggest turn-on is "a sense of humor", most women connect with people who have a warm, fun sense about them. To become President, you need to focus on women voters and Kerry and Gore gave up too many votes to Bush, by not being able to project this type of personality.
I think John Kerry is a very smart guy and I don't for a second think he was denigrating the troops. He's a decent Senator and that's all he should be, as the job of President of United States is more than just a SAT exam. Being a successful President is much of the time being able to connect on a human level with people who you might have little in common with. The best way to do this is by being able to convey a sense of humor. Kerry's lack of skill at telling a joke just might have hurt his party once again. It's beginning to smell like 2004 all over again.
Let me finish by answering those of you that say that John Kerry should be cut a little slack, as it was just a misunderstanding. My rebuttal is that when you put yourself out there in the public square, especially if you are running for President, you have to be held to a higher standard. Everyone is capable of making a mistake in such an atmosphere, as even Clinton and Reagan proved, but they had the charm to get themselves out of it.
Just watch Kerry's response to his botched joke and then compare it to Bill Clinton's tirade against Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. Both were fiery in their tone, but while Kerry came off bitter and defensive, Clinton seemed like a leader. Clinton manipulated a bad situation into a good one for him, by admitting some mistakes. He showed his humanity and by doing this he was able to point the finger at his accusers. Hey, very few people have it, while most of us don't. Put Kerry in the latter category.
(Stay tuned for my next post entitled "George W. Bush Can Tell A Bad Joke and He Is An Even Worse Joke As A President.")
People can (and may) argue Kerry's intent from now to doomsday. That isn't the problem.
The problem is the outcome, and I know many people who took it as Kerry denigrating the troops. Why they did doesn't matter. That they did does. I don't agree with that interpretation, but its pretty easy to see how you could see it that way.
Hopefully this will kill any thoughts Kerry has had of running for President again in '08.
And more importantly, I can see how, were Kerry running for office, this flap would affect him. But seriously, are there voters in, say, Colorado who were thinking "You know what, screw the Republicans, I'm voting for a Democrat" who are now going to change their minds because a Senator from Mass. can't read a script right? Really? Are there Red Sox fans who are giving up baseball because Steve Lyons sorta vaguely made a remark about Lou Pinella's heritage? If people are dumb enough to change their minds IN ANOTHER STATE based on that, they deserve the government they get.
agreed, but i'm sure everybody knows he didn't mean anything bad by his comment the guy is a war hero for crying out loud!!
Though I agree with your post, I think its been clearly established that people are dumb enough to do just that.
Not to steal your thunder or anything but if anyone's looking for further debate on this:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/008401.php
Living relatively close to a fort, and having several friends in the military, I think many of them feel denigrated by a certain part of the democratic party, and the fact that the leadership is what is doesn't help. Kerry might not have meant it that way but to them, and to me really, it sure sounded that way. And his unwillingness to acknowledge it doesn't help.
As to #3, it may be that what the Republicans are really playing here is another chance to motivate the "base". In other words people like me, who are likely to get pissed off about something like this. I'm not saying this to be snide or entice people into some flame war, but here in relatively liberal Nashville, it's like being bombarded with hate. The anti-Bush, anti-Republican bumpers stickers are in-your-face-name-calling. For instance if I had a poster of Harold Ford Jr morphed to look like a monkey, I'd probably be publicly flayed and have an 'R' branded on my forehead. Yet in my work environment a lady has a poster like this of Bush. I must say it's difficult to be polite, but I do it. I guess what I'm getting at is that to some people, Kerry's remarks are indicative to a perceived hate/derision.
It's very tiring. As a good friend of mine says, "I don't care who wins anymore I just want it to be over so I don't have to listen to it anymore." He's pretty hard core, meaning he really does care, but that shows the level of, er, uh-hmm, "rhetoric" that's going on around here.
I recently told a lady I appreciated her Harold Ford bumper sticker and the lack of a mean one. I'm not sure she understood, but I figured it can help to try and encourage a little civility.
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/tmj4/20061101-iraq.jpg
Hypocrisy is a well guarded American value.
BTW, a lot of his detractors enjoy calling him an idiot and a moron, but the reality of it is he is much better educated than most of them are. A well meaning clown would have a better chance of getting elected than the person who talks about nothing but gloom and doom.
Unfortunately, these days elections are won and lost because of those highly negative 30 second sound bites the may be the truth but are not the whole truth. I often vote for a candidate that has run a good clean campaign even if I don't agree with all of his stances on the issues. I figure they will at least try to do the right thing when in office.
10, is that in refrence to 7? If you in you're is supposed to be me, then my answer is no. I'm not sure about Santorum, but I know Allen HAS been effected, and with good reason (in my opinion). I don't agree with you on Frist, and I can't be sure obviously, but I also don't think he did that as a politcal ploy. I don't know, my point wasn't really to argue but just offer my perspective. I don't like the idea of Hypocrisy as an American value, although, it certainly does seem like it thrives in politics.
11, oh, trust me, civility in politics was being tested long, long before that.
I'm right with you on the bumper sticker thing, though... support is always more civil than attack. But as the Republican machine has shown the last five years... it doesn't win elections.
Here's the tally, if you are interested.
I voted for Kerry. Not a fan of the guy, but didn't feel like I had a choice.
I'm a big fan of Harold Ford, but I think if he had a chance, Kerry might have been the final factor, as John Forbes Kerry reminds a lot of people what they don't like about Democrats. Especially in southern swing states. By the way, Ford definitely has the charisma thing down. He has run a masterful campaign, which strategists should study.
I hate Allen and think he's a bigger phony than even Dubya, considering the guy grew up the son of a coach for the Redskins in SoCal, but behaves like he's a Cowboy. Once again, in a close race, any loss of momentum during the final week is a killer. Kerry caused a loss in momentum.
Not saying Kerry is the sole reason that either of these men will lose, as they were facing incredibly tough odds, but what the hell was he doing? In regards to the cancelled events that Kerry is not part of now, who thought he was good choice to bring in anyway?
Here's my Democratic Scale to Energize a Crowd.
A+++++ Bill Clinton
B+ Barack Obama
B- John Edwards
C- Al Gore
The rest of the Dems either don't have the name recognition or just aren't charismatic.
Time for John Kerry to join Dukakis in the stay in Massachusetts and try to make as little noise as possible.
Here's the tally, if you are interested.
I voted for Kerry. Not a fan of the guy, but didn't feel like I had a choice.
I'm a big fan of Harold Ford, but I think if he had a chance, Kerry might have been the final factor, as John Forbes Kerry reminds a lot of people what they don't like about Democrats. Especially in southern swing states. By the way, Ford definitely has the charisma thing down. He has run a masterful campaign, which strategists should study.
I hate Allen and think he's a bigger phony than even Dubya, considering the guy grew up the son of a coach for the Redskins in SoCal, but behaves like he's a Cowboy. Once again, in a close race, any loss of momentum during the final week is a killer. Kerry caused a loss in momentum.
Not saying Kerry is the sole reason that either of these men will lose, as they were facing incredibly tough odds, but what the hell was he doing? In regards to the cancelled events that Kerry is not part of now, who thought he was good choice to bring in anyway?
Here's my Democratic Scale to Energize a Crowd.
A+++++ Bill Clinton
B+ Barack Obama
B- John Edwards
C- Al Gore
The rest of the Dems either don't have the name recognition or just aren't charismatic.
Time for John Kerry to join Dukakis in the stay in Massachusetts and try to make as little noise as possible.
The main element of my post was how underrated it is in life to be able to deliver a joke. In our current 24 hour news channel society, being able to kickass on Oprah and the Tonight Show means a lot more than how you do on Meet the Press.
i know a couple of Vietnam vet's & believe me!! there not proud of some of the things they did over there. war sucks there's no two ways about it.
My favorite quote of the day came from the link I posted earlier: "Kerry was against apologizing before he was for it."
Kerry wasn't talking about the troops; he was talking about Bush.
Amazing what that little word will do, and also amazing that the GOPpers can miss the distinction with such intent and ferocity.
I'm just glad I moved from the District to Alexandria in June so that I can vote for the other guy and try to send George Allen packing.
vr, Xei
This is like Trent Lott's moronic birthday benediction. I don't think Lott really believed the world would be better if Thurmond had beaten Truman in '48, but it's not like nobody believes it would have been. You have to admit that it was a dumb thing to say, and that you don't, and, if possible, didn't mean it. That's step zero. Until such time as step zero is accomplished, everything else is fuel for the fire.
Like I said above, I'd like to see Kerry run the strategy he pulled on this with Theresa when he accidentally says something that could be interpreted as meaning that he found her fat. Would he spend two days calling her friends harpies for refusing to admit that that's not what he meant? After all, he's the one who married her; her friends are just backseat, Monday morning, chicken-husbands.
Seriously, you can't make stuff up like this if you're Dave Barry, Carl Hiassen and Aaron Sorkin combined.
This is very clearly the Republicans trying to grasp on to whatever puffs of smoke they can to distract everyone from the real issues. "Let's Swift Boat Kerry again, that worked last time!" The only difference is, quite a few more Americans this time aren't buying it - including many brave members of our armed forces, who knew immediately that Kerry was not talking about them whatsoever. (This includes both my cousin in Iraq, and my g/f's brother in Afghanistan, who thought Kerry was spot on.)
But go ahead and continue trying to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Anyone who thinks this desperate smokescreen is going to change what's going to happen next week is in a serious state of... yeah, denial.
As for me, I feel bad only for talking about this non-issue because now I'm just contributing to these attempts to stretch it out.
Civility? Yeah, the right's got that in spades. Just ask Michael J. Fox.
The skeptic in me wonders if this country is fully ready to support a Black president, but I try not to worry about it at this point. As someone pointed out recently, he not only hasn't declared officially, but if he does his only competition so far would be San Diego's Duncan Hunter, a bit of a nut.
Unless you want to make global warming movies. Then you're allowed to show your face...
28 I'd be ashamed of losing an election to GWB, too. But don't think that means permanent exile, nor that one should hold back from speaking out. The bigger question is where was this Kerry with a voice and a spine when he was running for election? Why are Kerry and Gore more lively when not running? Why aren't their campaign managers flipping burgers somewhere? ;-)
Yeah. I think Kerry and Gore are more comfortable "being nice" than otherwise. But the current political milieu requires candidates to appear "tough," and I think Clinton and Kerry are on the right track when they refuse to let Republicans intimidate them or make them retreat with their tails between their legs. If they can "stay the course," they just might make things interesting.
You know how he really feels about the military so why is he trying to hide it. His true self comes out in these statements.
He hates the military. That's fine. Just be honest about it.
The problem with Democrat politicians is that they cannot be who they really are. So they lie and fudge.
They can't come out and just say "we are against all wars. we are against all troops. we dont want to fight or defend anything. we want to raise taxes to pay for bigger gov't. we want to expand the constitution. we want no religions. we want gays to be married. we want no guns and total gun control."
so they go out and fake it.
The smart ones understood what he meant. Only the dumb ones thought he was insulting them. The ones who were dumber than O'Reilly. Which, well, what can you do?
Thank you, Captain Generalization. Yes, thank God nobody in the GOP has demonstrated any ethical transgressions these days. They're all honest as the (winter) day is long. (If you'd like, though, I can list a pile of links to stories about GOP "fibs" just over the past 2 years.)
The problem with a LOT of politicians regardless of party is they cannot always be who they really are. There are some other fundamental problems with our electoral process that goes beyond party affiliation.
IMO, the Democratic problem is an amazing lack of leadership over the years. Reagan was successful because he was able to unite the political conservatives with the moral conservatives (personifies, quite nicely, by Bush the elder and Bush the younger). Bush II was able to do the same, his cabinent is a bunch of hardcore neo-cons while he personifies the softer, Christian side of the party.
When the Democrats find someone who can unite the various elements in their party under one leader or perhaps one message, they'll have a good presidential candidate. So far they haven't because the only message the Democrats have had this decades is "Don't you hate Bush?" How about some issues, how about some policy proposals, how about giving me some reason to think, "Wow, I'd really like to see these guys in charge and to see how they'd do things." Because, right now, I have no idea what the Democratic party would do if they came into power, either in the legislature or in the presidency.
1. Well, first, they would abort all babies.
2. Among remaining non-babies, heterosexuals would be handed over to Osama Bin Laden for torture and execution, while homosexuals would all be married in one giant wedding conducted by the ACLU.
Isn't it obvious...?
(I just like typing, 'step zero.' Feel free to ignore me.)
No prominent character in American politics is an 'idiot.' They may say idiotic things from time to time, (you know, like everybody) and because they are under the media microscope and because they have political opponents those comments become clear for all to see. But to extrapolate those moments as being representative of a persons true state of being, is like watching Barry Bonds strike out once and concluding that he doesn't know how to hit.
You see this an all sides of the political spectrum, mainly because people will see what they want to see. For example, many on the left honestly think Bush is an idiot. Really? A guy that had the political savy and leadership to win every election he's ever run in is an idiot? If that's true, I think we need to redifine what an idiot is.
Was "step zero" really that much fun to type? Let's see:
step zero
step zero
step zero
Nothin'. Well, to each their own I guess...
But you made a good point. The guns will be first to go in a massive "guns for drugs" program.
[shiver]
Only if we can't get Joycelyn Elders back
it's just sad,sick & disgusting
It's the American way...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52747
I'm the "right-wing-nut-job" in my family and my wife is the "hippy liberal" I was telling her how much I like Harold Ford Jr, (though she knows I'd never vote for him) and she looked at me like I was an alien... I said "what?" Roughly paraphrasing, she said "I don't like the way he looks, he's not trustworthy." To which I busted out laughing.
Bluebleeder, don't let it get you down, it's been going on a long, long, time and whichever side wins Tuesday, the other side will still carry on the fight.
Also, despite the explanation of the "joke" the military community here is not amused. My friends in are really smarter than anyone I know in politics, which is sort of weird, but then they are either intelligence or so, or socom. One thing I notice generally is that left-or-right they are alot more considerate (or reserved maybe) in voicing their political viewpoint. I love those guys. And I think about them all the time and feel I should be with them in the stink listening to their BS than be here listening to all the blather.
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