Who are these people on MSNBC talking about unlikeable John Kerry

[hector459]

and saying things are ok with Bush admin? WTF? What does Kerry have to do with anything that is going on now? The guy even said that people still don't like Kerry? WTF? It was almost like he was blaming high gasoline prices, the Iraq war catasrophy, terrorism around the world on Kerry's failed run for the Presidency. How can these people go unchallenged? PLEASE BEAM ME UP!!!!

[SharonAnn]

1. Wow, and I watched the DVD "Going Upriver" last night and was

absolutely overwhelmed by the warmth, the understanding, the compassion, and the intelligence of John Kerry - even at the age of 28.

And everything he did after that is consistent with the young man who is profiled in Going Upriver.

And I remember the presidential campaign debates and how Kerry was so real, sointelligent, so articulate, so well prepared, so knowledgeable. And * was a doofus.

What an amazing person John Kerry must really be. Warm, loving, intelligent, serious, and yes even humerous.

[karynnj]

8. I agree 100% with you

I found both the young Kerry and the Kerry running for President to be the same intelligent, compassionate person with the same very deep sense of commitment and responsibility. When he talked, at either age, of telling the truth and doing what was right, it was clear that these were deeply held values. During the campaign, when his daughters were interviewed they emphasized the same things - both when talking about their father and about their own beliefs. (Their love and respect for their father was sweet - they obviously see him as likable.)

It is weird that the press is still taking about Kerry's unlikability. It almost seems that they are annoyed that he didn't retreat within himself and quietly just go through the motions of being a Senator. His emails are the most incredible letters I've ever seen - and I've gotten form letters from many politicians. If nothing else they show that he is committed to things he talked about during the campaign. (I've never seen an activist movement (Health care, environmental concerns etc) led by a Senator. Even McCarthy was running as a anti-war candidate.)

For all the talk of unlikability, there are never any examples of negative behavior or comments. From watching C-SPAN, Kerry seems less abrasive than many of the other Senators in committee meetings, even when asking tough questions. There are many examples given of loutish, boorish behavior of Bush, but I have never read one comparable incident involving Kerry.

Whenever I've seen Kerry on TV, he is serious and thoughtful when answering serious questions. When appropriate, he has a great huge grin and laughing eyes. (The fact that his eyes, mouth and words are all saying the same thing makes him seem very real)

[blm]

13. Two stories the MSM didn't acknowledge during the primaries about Kerry:

One was that towards the end of the primary campaigning, the waiters, waitresses, hotel workers and other service people from all over Iowa were surveyed about each of the nominees, most of who had spent the better part of 2003 traveling throughout Iowa. Kerry won. He was voted the nicest and most considerate.

The other story was from Walter Rodgers who writes for USAToday. He spent weeks at a time with each candidate to determine who was the candidate you would want to have a beer with and spend more time....he concluded Kerry. He expected a different outcome based on the media's usual storyline.

Neither story was discussed in the broadcast media, they were glossed over as if they didn't even happen. Imagine if either of those stories were about Bush. We would have heard about it throughout the campaign.

The BS about Kerry was fashioned by the Nixon WH when they were working to take Kerry down by planting stories about an "unlikeable" young man. Half the time they were calling him an elitist out of touch with the working man while the other times they were labeling him hippy scum.

The media's job for their corporate masters now is to take Kerry out of the game completely. The damn guy keeps popping back up and telling the truth about BushInc. They can't allow him to get heard, or people might actually start listening.

[ginnyinWI]

24. it's so crazy how relentlessly they keep after him.

Corporate-controlled media! And I think I know exactly why: Senator John Kerry cannot be bought!!

[Name removed]

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[AlmightyTallest]

15. I love watching him in committees

Especially during the confirmation hearings. He has a quite, thoughtful way of questioning people. And then all of a sudden the person being questioned will realize that they have talked themselves into a corned and he's got them pinned. It's not showy, but it's effective. Watching him make Condi sweat was a thing of beauty. :loveya:

[FreedomAngel82]

18. Yep

Also if you haven't sometime try to watch Nancy Pelosi's daughter's documentary on the DNC primaries. It was on HBO around last November and it was great! It showed the fun and loveable Kerry. "Going UpRiver" is a great movie too. I love it.

[zann725]

27. I totally agree. He's amazing. And still a real threat to them, clearly

...even if not as President.

[agincourt]

2. There is a good chunk of the population,

that will hate Kerry and swoon over Bush no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the facts are. They would be more comfortable in a RW dictatorship, because the love obeying orders more that freedom. Rush and Ann Coulter literally program their minds.

[blogbear]

5. That is the truth! Believe it or not people here are taught in university

psychology classes that blind obedience to 'authority' figures is normal..I've wondered at times if Dr. Mengele came up with that notion of normal..

[AlmightyTallest]

16. Too true

I think it's something to do with ones education and upbringing. I wasn't raised this way, I was raised to always question thing, which is an intrinsic part of the Jewish religion: question and analyze. Maybe it's something to do with the public school system (though I think I had a good high school). My younger sister tells me that her teachers all love her because she talks up in class and questions things all the time, which they say almost no one else does. And this is at a "blue state" liberal arts college. We really need to make improving schools a priority. Sigh.

[blogbear]

20. Don't sigh..I agree and believe improving schools needs to be a priority

..I'm not and was never Jewish but have lovely thinking friends who are..We should all question and improve upon things..Why not?

[AlmightyTallest]

22. Definitely

I just think there's too much of an attitude in the public school system of going along to get along. I mean I don't know when you went to school, but I know I've not been out of the system very long (though long enough not to have been subject to NCLB) and it was quite common for a teacher to ask a question and not get any response from the class. It's not that kids aren't smart more often they just don't want to be distinguished as being so. Though the really good teachers, the ones who challenge students to think and question are invariably the ones that students like the best.

[otohara]

3. Media Whores for Bush

Over paid puffed up pundits...they all absolutely suck.

[impeachthescoundrel]

4. I just turned it on and all I got was Oprah on Headliners and Legends

These are the kind of people who were never believable to us, but a great many people out there ate up the bullshit. Now that facade is beginning to fade, they know it, and it is attempt on their part to regain mindless loyalty. It's called desperation. Isn't it delicious?

[ChiciB1]

9. It Was On Money Matters Of All Things....

I had to turn it off! I was filing some papers and wanted to check out how they were feeling about the economy. It was actually a "love fest" for The Boy King EEEEIIIIdiot Wonder!

What is happening with these people. His Corruptness must be putting something in their water coolers!

[Crazy Guggenheim]

6. Now it's going to be for the next four years Kerry is

unlikeable. Whereas before it was Clinton's problem. :nuke:

[FreedomAngel82]

19. Anything for them

to blame a democrat for something. It gets really old. They can't blame Clinton anymore so they have to John Kerry. :eyes:

[kentuck]

7. Yeah, Bush may be an asshole but...

he's not as bad as the asshole the Democrats had running ? Is that what they are saying??

[Dr Fate]

10. Bush is unlikeable- they just are not "allowed" to say it.

Kerry is perhaps virtually irrelevant- witnessed by the fact that they are talking about him at all.

Irrelevant?- perhaps. Unlikeable? Who cares- that is up to the citizens of Mass.

[Cha]

11. They're newswhores..what are they suppose to

say? The truth? Perish the thought!

Maybe someday we'll protest(BIG TIME!) the real enemy in our Country.. the fascist press.

[Mass]

12. What are you expecting of the MSM

They have been repeating this meme from two years now. They will continue until Kerry disappears, which he is not going to do.

So we should rather take these criticisms as the fact that he is still pretty much relevant.

[AlmightyTallest]

17. Maybe we should set up

a Phelps-athon. If you aren't familiar, the Rev Fred Phelps is a major right wing gay-basher who blames gay people for 9/11, says it was Gods punishment on America. His people have signs saying things like "Thank God for 9/11", he runs www.godhatesfags.com, he demonstrated at Matthew Shepherd's funeral. In other-words in sucks a lot. One of the ways counter protesters have found to combat him is to hold a Phelps-athon. People pledge a certain amount of money per every minute that he continues to speak, etc. You get the idea.

Maybe we should do something like: Every time you bad-mouth Kerry/Clinton/Dean/etc we pledge a dime/quarter/dollar to the DNC, etc. I don't know if it would be particularly practical but I'm tempted sometimes.

[AlmightyTallest]

14. They're afraid of him

He's famous now, he was a hairsbreath away from the Presidency, he's still a Senator and a political force. He still could run in 2008. They will do anything they can to make him look bad and discredit him because they know that when he speaks attention is paid. Must drive them nuts.

[TayTay]

21. Actually, I think the press is lazy

And reporting on the 'common wisdom' is less work. This is cheaper and less thought consuming than actually going out and watching Kerry at one of the KidsFirst rallies he is now holding in various locals around the country. Kerry had a rally in Austin, TX on April 16th that his political director thought might attract 200-300 people. They got many times that number to show up. It was loud, appreciative and warm. Again, the press can't report this because it would cost money to send someone to Austin, it would involve changing their established line about Kerry and it might give the guy some kudos for actually still carrying on as if he gives a damn about what happens in this country. The press is cheap and lazy. They don't change unless they absolutely have to, and even then it is with reluctance.

[AlmightyTallest]

23. This is also true

The same stuff happened during the campaign, you tune to C-Span and there's a huge rally the size of a rock concert. But all the media is doing is rehashing Swift Boat Liars crap over and over again. It's disgusting how lazy the media has gotten, like they will have hours of coverage of themselves waiting for Martha Stewart to emerge from prison instead of bothering to do some research. And they wonder why blogs are becoming so popular. Btw, how lame is it that CNN now has a segment where they report what blogs are discussing, and that these are their most interesting spots. It's sad. (For CNN, not for bloggers.)

[ginnyinWI]

25. also

Traditionally, the losing candidate just quits and disappears, so they don't quite know what to do about this guy still being in office and still (quite)active. Ex-candidates are supposed to go away ashamed and defeated and ever-after ignored--until they start making tv commercials or write up their memoirs!

What to do, what to do? This guy won't stay defeated! :thumbsup:

[AlmightyTallest]

26. Damn his persistence

How dare he not disappear! He was awful, don't you know. That's why only 59+ million people voted for him. No one ever liked him, what were the Democrats thinking?! </sarcasm>

[Name removed]

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[bklyncowgirl]

30. John Kerry is an acquired taste.

I've watched the guy since the Iran Contra days and like him very much. He seems to be as about a decent a human being as you're going to get in the upper levesl of American politics.

That being said, he has that certain reserve about him that is very easy to caricature as snobishness. That coupled with the very wealthy wife and his refined tastes and you get a guy to whom many people feel they cannot relate.

It's sad that so many people preferred Bush, the archtypical son of privilege, due to his folksy, downhome, pseudo pious style that is a creation of Rove's image machine but elections today are won as much or more on image as upon substance.