Kerry criticized for French connection
WASHINGTON -- As the presidential race gets tighter and nastier, the F-word has increasingly crept into attacks against presumptive Democratic nominee John F. Kerry.
It has made its way into comments by the House majority leader, onto Internet blogs, and onto the Republican National Committee's website. It has shown up on sweatshirts and T-shirts, and been thrown around in columns by nationally known conservative writers.
Kerry, his foes complain, might as well be French.
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House majority leader Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, is reported to have started a meeting by saying, "Good morning, or as John Kerry would say, `Bonjour.' " And the RNC weighed in April 1 with a spoof TV spot -- identified as just a little April Fools' Day joke -- that derides both Kerry and the French. "Did you know that April Fools' Day was started by the French back in the 16th century? I think today, their gas prices are about $4.57 a gallon," says the announcer, with an accordion playing in the background and an oil painting shown hanging on a wall to evoke the mood of Paris.
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"These guys are doing the same thing they do to black candidates. They're appealing to people's prejudices," said Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware. The underlying message, Biden and others said, is to make the decorated Vietnam War veteran look unpatriotic by associating him with a country that opposed the Iraq war, and to make the Massachusetts senator look like he's privileged and out of touch with regular Americans.
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http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/04/12/kerry_criticized_for_french_connection/