September 20, 2004
HIDE:
Waiting for the Candidate to Emerge (BOB HERBERT, 9/20/04, NY Times)
I had a feeling John Kerry was in trouble when, coming out of the primaries, voters kept saying they were for him because he could win. It was clear that many voters had cast primary ballots for Mr. Kerry not because they liked him, or because they felt strongly about his positions on the issues, or because they were drawn to his compelling vision of a better future for the United States and the world, but simply because they felt he was capable of beating George W. Bush. [...]Who is John Kerry? He doesn't seem to want to let on. More than anything else, he presents himself as someone who fought in Vietnam. But that was more than 30 years ago. Who is he now?
A longtime Democratic operative recently complained, "He's not displaying a moral center, or showing us a philosophical foundation. For him, it's all about tactics."
Mr. Kerry has suffered recently in the polls primarily because of his reluctance to put his authentic self on display.
Talk about a self-refuting column--the Senator peaked during the primaries before anyone knew who he was. He's declined to exactly the extent that voters have gotten to know him. Revealing more of himself seems a recipe for disaster. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 20, 2004 10:32 AM
Revealing himself may have allowed voters in the primary to choose a better candidate. In any event, nothing excuses the Press for letting him hide and for allowing voters to cast uninformed votes.
Glow, indeed (pace Evan Thomas).
Posted by: E Rey at September 20, 2004 10:45 AMMemo to Bob Herbert:
Consider the possibility that this campaign has in fact revealed the authentic John Kerry, that there is, in fact, "No there, there". All of us have known people (and had bosses) that are driven only by tactical considerations or by their own short-term ego needs.
This is a real problem for Kerry because any of us who have been in the work world for awhile recognize the type and know that their terms almost never end well.
Posted by: Jeff at September 20, 2004 11:06 AMAh yes, the question of the "authentic self."
Nice phrase, Bob. Nicer concept.
(But mightn't one assume that Kerry, digging ever deeper, constantly searching to find that winning one size fits all, something for everyone formula, simply can't find it?)
Posted by: Barry Meislin at September 21, 2004 2:16 AM