Kerry Rolls
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| Sun, 07-18-2004 - 3:36pm |
Kerry couldn't say no
Hillary waffle was just part of a wimpy week
http://nydailynews.com/front/story/213256p-183572c.html
John Kerry is about to be crowned King of all Democrats and he's got at least a 50-50 shot at being the 44th President of the United States. Hillary Clinton is but one of 100 senators. Any clash between the two should thus be a mismatch - and it was. Kerry never stood a chance.
If you're scoring at home, that's Clinton 1, Kerry 0.
What's amazing about the spat over whether Hillary would get a primetime convention speech was how quickly Kerry retreated. No sooner had his aides insulted Clinton by saying, first, she hadn't asked for a role and second, the convention was about the "future" then they caved and asked her to speak. Begged would be more accurate.
Kerry's the king all right, but Clinton's the unchallenged Queen of Democrats - and the King better not forget it again.
Her supporters rejoiced at her triumph, but Republicans must be delighted, too, for the embarrassing incident reveals a weak spot in the Democratic nominee.
John Kerry is a man who can be rolled. Quickly and often.
His surrender to Clinton was one of three cases in just a week where Kerry took a stand, then immediately folded his cards when challenged. He's definitely not ready for the World Series of Poker.
The first case involved the July 8 Bush-bash at Radio City Music Hall. A day after he praised Whoopi Goldberg and others as representing the "heart and soul of America," Kerry wilted in the face of media and GOP heat. Suddenly, he found Goldberg's lewd act inappropriate.
And on the same day as the Hillary fold, Kerry backed away from some of his own TV ads when black officials called them "lackluster."
Only a week after touting the $2 million buy as the largest ever aimed at black voters, Kerry agreed to scrap the ads. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Kerry flubbed by not showing the ads to the caucus first. "It was corrected," Cummings said as Kerry agreed to the changes the caucus wanted.
Final score: Critics 3, Kerry 0.
None of these incidents is fatal at this early stage, and Dem partisans will even argue they show a nuanced thinker willing to listen and change his mind. Those traits, they say, go to the heart of why they prefer him to President Bush.
But it's also true that the three incidents play into the GOP attack machine theme that Kerry is a flip-flopper who can't be trusted. Even a top Dem stalwart conceded there are doubts about Kerry's "internal gyroscope."
Such doubts worry this Kerry supporter because of how he views the election landscape: A slim majority of Americans have turned against Bush, but Kerry has not yet captured all their votes, especially independents. To win, my Democratic sage says, Kerry must meet two tests:
"He must convince people that he has a strong foreign policy, and he must show middle class families that he cares about them and understands their problems."
He's right, but here's a third challenge. Kerry needs a Sister Souljah moment.
It was 12 years ago, just before his own crowning convention, that Bill Clinton demonstrated strength and independence by scolding the young black rap singer. She had defended Los Angeles riots by saying, "If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people."
Clinton not only said the comments reflected "hatred," he did so at Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. Sister Souljah then called Clinton "racist," and Jackson was furious at him, too. But Clinton stood his ground, and the incident established his willingness to say no and risk offending a key party voting bloc.
Kerry has not yet taken such a risk. When he does, he'll be a stronger, more worthy candidate for the Oval Office.
Renee ~~~

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Renee ~~~
Renee ~~~
I don't think Kerry looks weak for this. Hillary didn't even make a big deal out of it.
To be fair did Bush stand up to questioning about Ken Lay's sentencing or did he just walk away? He rarely even has press conferences. And I really don't think this war in Iraq makes him look strong. It just spotlights his poor judgement. You would think that the son of a former head of the CIA would be better equipped to handle intelligence.
DH and I were thinking, even though we weren't fans of Bush Sr., that compared to Jr., Sr. was starting to look a whole lot better.
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Renee ~~~
I for one, was becoming embarassed that the Democratic convention had no primetime women speakers who were not married to one of the two candidates. I'm glad they made a correction. Although Senator Clinton will be introducing her own husband, I still think it's more than appropriate for one of the most popular and powerfull women, who is a one-woman fundraising juggernaut, to be heard at the convention.
Bush rolls all the time...the Homeland Security Dept., Internationalizing the war in Iraq, ending Tobacco subsidies... He just pretends it was his idea all along, and YOU'RE crazy for thinking he's changed his mind. I can't stand it when guys do that.
I wasn't too disappointed when Hillary was not on the list of speakers. I know she was first lady and is now a senator but she is a junior senator. There are other ladies such as Diane Feinstein or Barbara Boxer that have been around for much longer. I wish they could add one of these ladies to give a real speech and not to simply introduce their husbands. I know Hillary is a great fundraiser and I do like her but I was not extremely disappointed that she was not the speaker but I would like to see another female give a speech where she is not introducing her husband.
Anyway, I can't wait until the convention.
Very impressive list of Republican women, but very few of them have any name recognition and that was what I'd use to categorize strong, such as Hillary's ability to getting a speaking part in the convention. Elizabeth Dole has name recognition but no pull/power. Whitman, I have to say is impressive - when she figured out she was appointed as a token woman and was to do as she was told, she left the EPA. My DH is from NJ and can't stand her, but I give her credits for not allowing herself to be used. But obviously she's lost any power with this administration.
From what I understand the RNC is going to pull every minority they can out of the wood work for primetime during the convention and that is not representative of their constituency. Can't say you're a friend to blacks when you're brother disproportionately purges them from voter records or you diss the NAACP. But I guess it's OK to parade them during your convention. Can't say Powell or Rice as I believe they're both getting out of this administration after the elections. Thankfully. I was starting to lose respect for Powell.
I'm really not usually such a Republican basher, but this administration really needs it - and it's way too easy. The Republican party can do better.
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