For those of us for whom Kerry is not a first choice: a consolation

[ProfessorPlum]

Should Kerry win the nomination, I believe Senior Arbusto will be back on his ranch clearing brush in 2005. We will have a Democrat in the White House.

Just as Bush is the President Quayle we never had, I believe that in some ways, Kerry will be the President Gore we never had.

Both are Senatorial Democrats, raised in the era of Vietnam, the scions of rich families. Both have made important contributions to the environment. Both have a stilted way of speaking. Both seem a bit stiff in front of a crowd, but do well in smaller groups. Both are mildly corporate-approved, but seem to find populist themes on the campaign trail (though Kerry has had his thrust upon him). Both have pretty good liberal bona fides. Both have activist wives. Neither seem to have an enormous inspirational talent, but both raise solid followings. There are other similarities.

Of course, there are differences - Gore opposed the war very eloquently. Kerry, not so much. My impression is that Gore is a bit smarter than Kerry.

But look at it this way - if Kerry does get the nomination, a Kerry victory over * will give us a little bit of a taste of what a Gore presidency might have been. And a Gore presidency sounds awfully good to me right now.

Of course, I'm still pulling for my candidate - but I can take some solace in this.

[David Dunham]

1. Actually, Kerry is smarter than Gore; Gore got 580 on SAT verbal; JK 720

As reported in news articles in 2000, Gore's relatively low SAT verbal score of 580 really surprised me. Bush got only somewhat lower at 540. Kerry, like Clinton, scored over 700.

[ProfessorPlum]

3. well, goodness, that proves it then! n/t

.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

23. Prof. that is a significant difference

I hope you agree!... but anyway, thanks for the good post. I am always happy to see people acknowledge that in the end Kerry is a big plus for us (huge in my book), even though they had been pulling for another guy.

[nolabels]

27. I think Kerry will adapt just fine

I used to love them tests in school. Thinking there is only one correct answer to any question is a hoot in my book

http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq02.htm

IQ Tests: Do They Measure Intelligence?

IQ stands for intelligence quotient. Supposedly, it is a score that tells one how “bright” a person is compared to other people. And — also supposedly — the score is an indication of the person’s potential. The average IQ is by definition 100; scores above 100 indicate a higher than average IQ and scores below 100 indicate a lower than average IQ. Half of the population has IQs of between 90 and 110. If an IQ test is supposed to measure a person's intelligence, the question is: What is intelligence? Is it the ability to do well in school? Is it the ability to read well and spell correctly? Or are the following people intelligent?

The physician who smokes three packets of cigarettes a day?

The Nobel Prize winner whose marriage and personal life are in ruins?

The corporate executive who has ingeniously worked his way to the top and also earned a heart attack for his efforts?

The brilliant and successful music composer who handled his money so poorly that he was always running from his creditors (incidentally, his name was Mozart)?

The problem is that the term intelligence has never been defined adequately and therefore nobody knows what an IQ test is supposed to measure. Already in the early 1920s the journalist Walter Lippmann maintained that IQ tests were nothing but a series of stunts. “We cannot measure intelligence when we have not defined it,” he said.

Jean Piaget, the father of cognitive development, was opposed to defining intelligence in terms of the number of items answered correctly on a so-called intelligence test. Intelligence is a complex term in Piaget’s theory, but in general he said that intelligence is always related to an organism’s adaptation to its environment. Piaget emphasized the dynamic nature of intelligence and how it qualitatively changes.
(snip)

[ProfessorPlum]

29. Yeah, I find SAT scores the least reliable measure of

"intelligence". I did very well on mine, and I still don't trust em.

One measure one might currently use is: "Who thought giving Bush the congressional go ahead to threaten Iraq with invasion was a bright idea?"

[Monte Carlo]

5. Neeee-heah...

... zoinks...

[Kathleen04]

6. Well...

this 17 year old has got them all beat. So, hand me the keys to the White House! ;)

[hellhathnofury]

10. I scored higher.

Mr. Cynical is going to Washington!

[KoKo]

11. Kerry is 60 years old....did they do SAT's then ? Have you checked this

out?

[MAlibdem]

16. Yes!

I get to be President, I beat them all. 730! OOOOHHHH.
780 math. Suckas

[nannygoat]

31. I'm not sure you can use SATs to judge whether someone is "smarter"

than someone else. There are all kinds of other factors that would go into an assessment of smartness, I would think. The only thing I'd be reasonably sure of is is that someone else took *'s SAT for him!

[KissMyAsscroft]

2. The only consolation worth anything...

No wacky Pubs appointed to the Supreme Court.

[Dookus]

4. Kerry's not my first choice...

but I'd be thrilled to see him win. I think he'd be a fine candidate and a fine president.

[MariaS]

7. It is no

consolation for me. I voted Nader

[Shopaholic]

8. Re: SAT's

While I find the SAT score thing interesting, I'm just not going to base my decision to vote for someone on the basis of their SAT scores. I know I don't want someone digging up my old SAT scores--esp. my math ones!

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProfessorPlum]

12. Were you in the conservatory with a candlestick?

.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

26. Haven't a clue

;)

[Ripley]

13. I know what you mean!

I had a long running dream last night about John Edwards for some damn reason...I was campaigning WITH him! Now I'm a Dean supporter so I don't know why that happened, except too much of this place and of course every time I turn on CSPAN it's Edwards, Edwards, Edwards. ;-)

Professor makes an interesting comparison, but I still don't think Kerry has what it takes to pull in enough votes. He's got the Dem base covered. But we all know we need more votes outside in order to counteract the thieving touchscreens. So if you are right PP, it is a sad day, because Gore couldn't pull in those squishy people in the middle either and look what we got?????????????

[ProfessorPlum]

14. I forgot to mention in the original post that

Gore WON. He beat W already. So maybe Kerry can do the same. Plus, many of the fiscal conservative Republicans won't vote for Bush, and I'm betting there aren't many who voted for Gore last time who will vote for Bush this time.

We're going to steamroll the guy - if the voting machines aren't rigged.

[Ripley]

18. Yeah, yeah, yeah....Gore WON!

Not. I know what you mean, but dagnabit he lost in states he should have won by a couple of hundred votes!!! We can't afford to lose those moderate states this time.

I like your enthusiasm tho! :7

[blm]

19. Those squishy people respond to a Green Beret pulled out of a river

in Vietnam by a wounded sailor who risked his own life to make sure no other man was left behind.

Squishy people respond to the signs that read Fire Fighters for Kerry.

This is post 9-11 reality.

[Ripley]

20. Wow, You're Kidding...9/11 Changed Everything????????????

Where have I heard that before? <snort>

[blm]

25. To "squishy people"...yes.

Squishy people vote, too, don't they?

[LizW]

15. the Kerry/Gore comparison

Interesting. However, I see one major difference. At least it's major to me. Gore always struck me as having an authentic, honorable motive for running for public office. In spite of his faults, and his difficulty in connecting with the majority of people, I always believed that he was running because he felt he had an important duty. I sensed that the presidency was, to Gore, more about service than about glory.

Unfortunately, I don't feel the same about Kerry. I don't feel authenticity from him. Because of this, every maneuver he makes on the war vote grates on me. His "bad" votes loom large because they reek of political expediency. I am annoyed by his not showing up to vote against the Medicare bill, and even more annoyed by his supporters excuses for that no-show.

Gore had tons of deficiencies as a candidate, and he made lots of mistakes. But the bottom line is, I liked and trusted him. I don't like or trust Kerry.

[CWebster]

17. I would have to agree with this

and I have come to respect and admire Gore since he forged his own courageous path of integity. I always felt that fundamentally he was a good man.

I don't get that with Kerry - I can't put aside all that has transpired to promote him as the annoited one. There is no consolition in that--it isn't even a compromise, it is a sell-out and a willingness to reward Kerry for all the reasons that I support Dean opposed to Kerry.

[Raya]

24. Could this be because of insidious campaign propaganda and slime

[nannygoat]

28. I don't think so, noone was more slimed than Prez Gore

and Kerry hasn't been subjected to the 24/7 right-wing propaganda slime machine...yet...

[loyalsister]

35. The medicare vote

is a big deal to a lot of people. I know several who refuse to vote for him in the GE is he's the nominee over it. They're hoping Nader runs or they'll abstain. Annoying, ridiculous logic, but it shows that he truly has alienated people with that.

[corporatewhore]

21. Well if kerry is gore 04than alotofpeople willbedisgustedand go green

[adadem]

30. I've been involved

with all the Re-elect Gore groups since the day I returned from the inaugural protest in DC...many of us who went are supporting Kerry.

[molly]

22. THANKYOU!!!

[kaitykaity]

32. I loved Al Gore, so I have the bona fides to say this.

Likening Kerry to Gore is no virtue. It is status quo, where the Pubs can attack us for 'not standing for anything'. The Dem Party can't stay in the muddled center, accommodating and appeasing the radical agenda of the Bushies.

Alot of damage has been done in the last three years that a centrist Kerry administration won't do a d*mn thing to fix.

[ProfessorPlum]

33. I feel the same way

I'm just grasping for some kind of silver lining, here.

[kaitykaity]

34. You have a stronger higher nature than I do.

:hi:

If Kerry gets it, I'm just gonna be pissed. I see absolutely nothing redeeming in him, and I can't see him beating Bush. (I just luv how the media defines electability for us. :mad:)