February 5, 2004
NEITHER?:
The Two John Kerrys: Will we get the populist or the lord of special interests? (Doug Ireland, 2/05/04, LA Weekly)
John Kerry is a man with two faces. There’s the fire-breathing populist whose thundering stump speeches against special interests made him Comeback Kerry, who won in Iowa and New Hampshire and became the Democrats’ indisputable front-runner. And then there’s Corporate Kerry, who has taken more money from lobbyists in the last 15 years than any other senator, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) — and who has repeatedly carried water for the special interests that smothered him in campaign cash.Comeback Kerry would also like to be known as Campaign Reform Kerry, the principal co-sponsor, with the late Paul Wellstone, of the Clean Money, Clean Elections bill that would take special-interest cash out of politics in federal elections and replace it with full public financing of campaigns. Kerry has repeatedly boasted of this on the stump — as in the January 6
debate, when he said proudly, “Paul Wellstone and I together wrote the Clean Elections law.” In the 106th, 107th and 108th Congresses, Kerry’s name was on the bill, which has yet to become law. Then Wellstone, the Senate’s liberal conscience, died — and Kerry started running for president. Guess what? In the current, 108th Congress, Cautious Kerry, the decorated war hero, went AWOL, refusing to reintroduce the bill he now boasts about — leaving it with no sponsor in the Senate. [...]Kerry’s Janus-like profile isn’t confined just to serving the special interests while denouncing them to win the Democratic nomination. He voted for the blank check for war in Iraq — and now denounces Bush for “lies” he once believed. On October 9, 2002, Kerry told the Senate, “Why is Saddam Hussein attempting to develop nuclear weapons when most nations don’t even try? . . . Iraq has chemical and biological weapons . . . Iraq is developing unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering chemical- and biological-warfare agents.” Of course, every single one of those statements about Iraq has since been proved to be empty rhetoric.
So, the question before Democratic voters is: If you cast your ballot for John Kerry, which one will you get?
Well, at least with these botox treatments he is offering a third face... Posted by Orrin Judd at February 5, 2004 3:37 PM
Dye Kerry's hair white and fluff it up a bit and he'd look like Andy Jackson on the $20 bill. While that sober expression might work well for the hero of the Battle of New Orleans (and JFK II might even like the comparison to a man who defeated the incombent son of a former president who also was a one-termer) a serious face like that peering out at the American public for the next nine months i n the age of 24-hour all new channels may get a little tiring, especially if combined with a dour demeanor and hypocritical voting record.
Kerry needs something one step up from botox, that wouldn't just eliminate the frown lines but would somehow put smile lines and a happy face in its place. But outside of keeping the candidate drunk or high during all public appearances for the next 38 weeks I'm not sure how his handlers are going to pull off that miracle.
Posted by: John at February 5, 2004 3:53 PM