July 30, 2004
CARTERESQUE:
Glitch delays release of balloons after Kerry speech (AP, 7/30/04)
"Go balloons," said convention producer Don Mischer, instructing the balloon droppers. "Go balloons. Go balloons!" His voice was becoming increasingly frantic — and it was going out over CNN."I don't see anything happening," he said angrily. Unknown to him, CNN was running his name and title across the bottom of the screen.
Long minutes after the place was supposed to be a blizzard of balloons and confetti, Mischer was still shouting that it wasn't happening, at least it wasn't right. Viewers saw a lot of balloons, in fact, and Kerry, family members and delegates happily batted them around. But nothing like the 100,000 that had been supposed to cascade down.
At one point Mischer used a profanity to rebuke his balloon-dropping crew. CNN was still broadcasting his voice.
The quality of Mr. Kerry's frantic speech was such that you had to be worried that if a balloon popped he'd dive to the ground shrieking: "Here comes Charlie!" And if they'd only dangled a Queen of Diamonds from the ceiling the scene would have been complete. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 30, 2004 9:48 AM
Things like this, the NASA jump suit picture, Teresa yelling at a reporter, etc. make you wonder how Kerry can win (barring a Bush implosion). Then you remember thinking the same about Clinton in '92 (draft dodger, no foreign policy experience, slick, etc) and you realize its possible.
Posted by: AWW at July 30, 2004 10:00 AMAWW:
The only way Clinton could have lost is if Perot bowed out and endorsed Bush in October.
Posted by: oj at July 30, 2004 10:16 AMWho are more inept, the organizers or the CNN crew?
Posted by: Robert Duquette at July 30, 2004 10:23 AMQueen of Diamonds? An Alice reference?
Posted by: Mike Morley at July 30, 2004 10:39 AM"John Kerry is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."
And please don't ask me to play a game of solitaire.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at July 30, 2004 2:24 PMI figured that when Edwards came out on Wednesday and started pushing that "Hope is on the way" mantra, it meant Kerry was having Vietnam flashbacks and thought Bob would be showing up on the podium with a USO troop any minute now....
Posted by: John at July 30, 2004 2:35 PMRick is right about the Manchurian Candidate, of course (nice allusion there, Orrin), but here's another Queen of Diamonds: Muzahim Sa'b Hassan Al-Tikriti, captured 15 months ago.
Maybe the CIA flashed his picture on Senator Kerry's teleprompter. I'd perspire too.
Posted by: old maltese at July 30, 2004 5:08 PMThe story of Teresa and the cookie recipe is the best example yet of the complete and utter incompetence of the entire Kerry campaign. We've got ~100 days left of the most fascinating train wreck anyone has ever seen...
Posted by: brian at July 30, 2004 6:06 PM