(I think it's pretty obvious that he's the other kind of right.)
From John Hawkins:
John Kerry's ultra-liberal mentor, Ted Kennedy, has been out on the campaign trail talking about the war on terror and George Bush.Kennedy has been, as per usual, wrong about almost EVERYTHING...incidentally, what does it say about John Kerry that he has an ultra-left-wing dove out on the stump enunciating what he thinks about Iraq?
In any case, I wanted to discuss this particular remark that Kennedy made...
"It's a campaign of anger and insult and the most egregious examples are the examples of Vice President Cheney. When he even goes on to suggest that the al-Qaida wants John Kerry to win, that is the most outrageous charge. It's the most anti-American — it's McCarthyism of the first order."
First off, let me point out that Dick Cheney has never said that, "al-Qaida wants John Kerry to win". However, that being said, I'M SAYING that, "al-Qaida wants John Kerry to win".
John goes on in detail, and by use of analogy, to explain that this is a rather obvious conclusion to draw. He wants to know, as I do, why people think it's so horrible to say? I mean, unless you seriously believe that al-Qaeda is huddled in fear at the thought of President Kerry *snicker*, then you have to be aware that this is the most logical conclusion to draw.
On another note, is Kennedy totally oblivious to the irony of accusing someone of "anti-Americanism" and "McCarthyism" at the same time? Just asking.
We should keep in mind that Kerry needs to "keep his base energized" and that base demonizes Bush and is in total opposition to the Iraqi War. Like the pretty assistant a magician uses to distract his audience while he sets up the next trick, Kerry needs Kennedy to distract the Deaniacs, while he appeals to the middle by claiming to be able to fight the war and its aftermath better than Bush. (Yeah, I'm aware that Kennedy isn't pretty, young or female. But there are those who consider him the 'soul of liberalism.')
My own suspicion is that this ranting will backfire. I know my own politicization traces back the the last days of the 1980 campaign when a pseudo-pious Carter went ballastic, accusing Reagan of leading us into WWIII.
There is a difference of course. In 1980, most of us knew that Carter was in the running for being the worst President of the twentieth century. On the other hand, most Americans did not know that much about Reagan. Today, they know Bush quite well, which is probably why the mud isn't sticking.
Posted by: Mike Perry | Thursday, September 30, 2004 at 02:57 PM