THE HALT, THE LAME, AND THE BRAIN-DEAD:

Who's the Real Peace Candidate?: With Kucinich in, the anti-war vote is up for grabs (Doug Ireland, 2/21/03, LA Weekly)

Kucinich's late entry means he doesn't even have the bare bones of a campaign yet, and there are other problems. Although he's a passionate orator with red-white-and-blue rhetoric who can bring audiences to their feet, the diminutive, excitable Kucinich's demeanor provokes references to what journalists usually demurely call his “gravitas problem."

Then there's Kucinich's long record of voting against federal funding for abortions in Congress: A believer in "life from the moment of conception," Kucinich has gone so far as to vote against allowing female soldiers and military dependents to have an abortion in an overseas military hospital even if they pay for it themselves.

Kucinich is also considered a little flaky by the national media (a reputation not helped by his public embrace of New Age guru Marianne Williamson).

Kucinich is not alone in competing for the anti-war vote. There is, of course, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who scores points with anti-war audiences by scolding his opponents for voting the blank check. Yet Dean's shifting positions on Iraq leave one wondering if they aren't propelled more by his desire to position himself against the rest of the field than by deep analysis and conviction. [...]

Then there's Al Sharpton, whose opposition to the war in Iraq is without nuance (nor is it his principal message). Sharpton is weighted down by too much baggage. Whenever he is grilled by the news media, Rev. Al has to spend much of his time explaining his false accusations in the Tawana Brawley rape hoax, his years as an FBI informant, his past financial scams, and his previous remarks tinged with anti-Semitism--so much so that his substantive message just can't get through.

His vote will be further undercut by former Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile's scheme to run "favorite son" black candidates in those states where Sharpton is expected to make an important effort, to dilute Rev. Al's appeal. Brazile has now found a favorite daughter: Former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (who was chased from office by the voters in a hail of money and ethics scandals) is--at Brazile's urging--about to launch a presidential candidacy that would pit her against Sharpton in all the states. She, too, says she'll run as an anti-war candidate. [...]

As of now, it looks as though anti-war Democratic primary voters will have to choose among the unacceptable and the merely flawed.

Perhaps the message is attracting the messengers it deserves? Posted by Orrin Judd at February 20, 2003 8:56 PM