Confirmation of Drudge on key points regarding Kerry allegations

[seventhson]

Like it or not, Drudge's story has been proven accurate on several counts.

1. The woman allegedly involved was a young woman.

2. She has been identitifed as Alex Polier, and her parents have confirmed that Kerry was "involved" with her in what they perceived as an inappropriate way in the past few years (recently).

3. She DOES work for AP.

4. She IS in Africa (Kenya) right now.

5. According to news reports she has declined any comment (she has NOT denied the story).

6. Kerry has responded to the story (Drudge said he was preparing a response)


Links for the unbelievers:

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8673603^401,00.html

(Sorry - you must cut and paste the whole address for some reason)

IN my opinion Kerry's answer on Imus was a nondenial denial.

It remains to be seen whether Miss Polier was an intern at AP or for Kerry or an intern at all.

But so far I would have to say most of Drudge's story has held up to scrutiny.

Can an affair be proved? Who the hell knows.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. YAWN YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN/YAWN

YAWN

[liberalmike27]

50. Younger

Than his daughters, wow. He likes the young stuff. This is bigger than Bill Clinton's tryst.

We need to get off of Kerry on onto someone who can be elected, as the centrist voters won't put up with this.

[Octafish]

74. More confirmation: Drudge is a turd.

Drudge works for Rove.
Rove works for BFEE.
Therefore, Drudge works for BFEE.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Amen Bro....

NT

[BootinUp]

49. lol

[polpilot]

54. He's had them for years!

/

[liberalmike27]

66. I think

It's funny that you think Rove doesn't know this, and the whole of the media as well. A press-release like this one has to be timed properly, just after Kerry gets the nomination. Then the poop will hit the fan.

Kind of sleazy of Clark to go ahead and endorse Kerry, seeing as how not only does Kerry have different positions than he does, but he knows about this bimbo thing, even commenting on it last week. Does the guy have no morals in this area?

Edwards, Dean, whoever, but not a guy like this. Think about how badly the Clinton sexual affairs have stained the morality of so many centrist voters. Do we want another person to be the nominee who has to go through whatever time he has in the spotlight (I suspect until November second) fending off allegations of an affair with this girl who was about a third of his age!!!

[waylon]

3. If so, admit it and move on

Learn from Clinton, dont fuel the fire with denial or partial acknowledgement.

Take the issue out of play with a full acknowledgement and apology. Sound like the right plan?

[MoonRiver]

5. Have you considered that NOTHING may have happened?

Does the name Shandra Levi ring a bell?

[waylon]

8. Yes... I said if it happened.

If it did, its no big deal. Unless Kerry makes it a big deal. So far, the major networks havent mentioned it. If he continues with this denial, it better be true or he will bury himself.

[MoonRiver]

38. Guilty until proven innocent, huh?

Yes, Gary Condit was the recipient of that reasoning. Only they tried to pin murder on him.

[waylon]

41. I think you missed my point

I dont care if its true or not. Im thinking strategy. I, and i think most others, dont care if he had an affair. But i do care if he is dishonest about it.

As I said, IF its true, admit it. Thats all it will take and the issue will be no more.

Agreed? Or, should he continue to deny it if its true?

[douginmarshall]

65. I don't get this logic

But it is OK that he may have lied to his wife and family and put her life at risk? Have we forgotten about STD's

:grr:

[waylon]

68. Is that really the issue? Really?

Or should we instead focusing on putting up a clean candidate, vetted and honest?

[Guaranteed]

6. He already denied it. nt

[leftwingnut]

17. when did he deny it?? what did he say??

eom

[Guaranteed]

24. On Imus this morning.

It wasn't a strong denial, but it was a denial.

He said there's no story, there's nothing to report, etc.

Since that was a little "unclear," Imus said, "So the answer is...?" and Kerry said, "The answer is 'no.'"

[seventhson]

29. what was the question, though?

No in a vacuum means very little

[leftwingnut]

thanks nt

[LTR]

4. Got links for all this stuff?

A little too much info to go undocumented in some sort of media.

[Maddy McCall]

9. Haha! Yeah, he's been reading the Sun...

And they have NEVER been wrong. :eyes:

[seventhson]

13. Links

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8673603^401,00.html

copy and past the whole address - link doesn't work, sorry

[LTR]

15. Try harder

Not Found

The requested URL /common/story_page/0,4057,8673603 was not found on this server.

[Catholic Sensation]

19. well, I know one thing

I'm going to trust an Australian tabloid magazine to be accurate. You can use the "news.com.au" to attempt to make it legit all you want, but the Advertiser is the equivalent of the Globe.

[liberalmike27]

64. Right

Absolutely nothing on the huge corporate mouthpiece. While Clinton's penis was lore for eight years, as of now, Kerry's is off-limits. They don't want this to get out past the Internet people until he has the nomination locked up.

Kerry didn't deny it, he said it was nothing to talk about.

Even going after a girl this young, ewwww.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

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

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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

[seventhson]

23. I despise Skull and Bones and their members

I do not hate anyone.

I believe these men are a danger to democracy BECAUSE they feel they can do whatever they want with impunity.

If Kerry is lying he should be exposed.

But even if he is telling the truth I still believe he, as a fellow bonesman with Bush, is unfit for ANY high office.

[Catholic Sensation]

28. good to see the issues that matter are important to you

forget jobs, healthcare, and the like. We should only elect presidents on what fraternities they belonged to.

God that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen anyone say.

WE ELECT PRESIDENTS BASED ON POLICIES, NOT PLASTIC SURGERY AND FRATERNITIES

[seventhson]

31. Who runs the country IS the issue that matters! Not Bonesmen!

Bonesmen have fucked our country up no end. The whole planet has been damaged by these goons and elitists megalomaniacs and thieves.


Kerry is a Bonesman and his policies will continue to benefit, first and foremost, the Bonesmen IMHO

[Catholic Sensation]

33. watch out for black helicopters

and say hi to Bob Dornan for me

[SangamonTaylor]

46. skull and bones is not a fraternity, it's a secret society

Bush (and his father, Quayle, T. Roosevelt, and Ford) are members of the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) founded @ yale.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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

[NewYorkerfromMass]

14. There's a woman. She's alive. Did I miss anything?

:shrug:

[zanana]

34. Yeah. She's in Africa and she's young.

WOW! What a bombshell!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

36. Oh yeah. And she worked for Kerry.

therefore...... ?

[WiseMen]

16. Every BIG LIE is constructed of elements of truth: NAZI Propagnda Rule 1.

[waylon]

21. Why are you, and others, so quick to believe its a lie

Its not all that unbelievable that a senator had an affair, is it? I point that out because I would rather err on the side of caution. If we dont learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it. Clinton taught us something valuable and Kerry was the one who tried to get Clinton to fess up.

I dont think anyone would really care about an affair. In fact, if its true, he could score some major honesty points if he admits it.

[MoonRiver]

39. Fact is, I could care less if he had an affair or not.

Another fact is that nothing has even begun to be proven and this spin is being ignored by the mainstream press. Only tabloids, and a vocal minority on DU, are screaming about it. Another fact is that, thank goodness, *'s AWOL controversy is getting serious mainstream media attention, NOT Kerry's attraction to a reporter. Something is very wrong with this picture. I never thought that mainstream media would have more credibility for me than the info I get on DU.

[waylon]

42. Me too

I cant speak for others but my only interest in this is that Kerry can defuse this issue today if wants to. Either deny it, in assertive and convincing language, or admit it and apologize.

Im worried that it is true, and he will make the same mistakes of clinton. Or it isnt true, and he will make the mistake of not confronting it head on.

So far his showing on this issue has not been all that spectacular, for a future leader.

[liberalmike27]

69. I can answer that.

They are either Kerry supporters, or converts who have rushed to the leader, based on psychic electibility media brainwashing. Works good, they have Democratic voters dancing like Al Gore was to their tune.

It follows the same logic that doesn't allow them to see the media bias against Dean (horribly obvious) and Clark (somewhat obvious).

People tend to dismiss stuff like this when it is their candidate.

It'd be nice if people could actually vote for the person who has the policies they liked, rather than skipping to the media-advised candidate, and not let the thousand-times-played speech take them away from Dean. Exit polls show, they are voting against what they believe in. It's going to take a stiff drink to wash away the bad taste this is going to leave in their mouths, voting against the candidate they believe in, for the media-choice.

What have Americans become, conditioned to vote for a perceived winner over the person they believe in. Next thing you know, people will be eating grub-worms and Cow-intestines on television to win...wait, that's already happening.

[boxster]

18. Did you even read the link you posted?

"Her parents, Donna and Terry, speaking from Malvern, Pennsylvania yesterday, said there was no evidence of an affair"

Your #2 is flat-out wrong. It's the exact opposite of what her parents said.

"According to news reports she has declined any comment (she has NOT denied the story)."

Ah, so now a "no comment" is an admission of guilt. Wow, that's a new one.

I know you're desperate to discredit Kerry because you support someone else, but at least bother to read the stuff you post before you make comments about it that contradict it.

[seventhson]

32. She did NOT deny an affair. She "no commented"

I never said her parents said she had an affair.

I said they felt the relationship was inappropriate (They called Kerry a sleazeball who was pursuing their daughter)

Maybe you could read what I wrote a little closer

[boxster]

72. That's the biggest stretch I've ever seen.

Nowhere in that entire article does it say that her parents felt she was "involved" with John Kerry.

It doesn't even say anything about a relationship! A phone call is not a relationship.

You created a relationship where none existed. If you hadn't intentionally distorted comments the parents made, we wouldn't question your motives and assertions.

You're reading stuff into this article that simply doesn't exist.

[bowens43]

20. Wow! They have confirmed that a person with whom Kerry once

may have had some conversations actually exists! I find this comforting. I would hate to think that Kerry was having conversations with a figment of his imagination. As to the charge made by drudge, he has provided absolutely NO evidence to support it.

BTW the parents have not confirmed that Kerry was "involved" with their daughter.


Nice of you to offer support to drudge and the rovian scum that supports him.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

22. Riddle me this then

You've said that you believe Kerry is a CIA/S&B plant, to stop the true people's candidate - Dean - from being elected. You believe the media has structured the debate so that only a Kerry vs Bush race can happen.

Why on earth, then, are Drudge & the Murdoch media (The Sun/Sky News over here) trying to bring Kerry's campaign down? Surely the leaking of such a claim at such a stage could only result in a Dean/Edwards surge.

[seventhson]

27. I think Drudge is independent of them

Drudge likes the hunt -- he doesn't care who wins or loses as long as he wins.

If he is right on this as he was with Monica then HE wins.

I think too that sometimes the media gets ahead of itself and the reporters actually do their jobs.

SOMEBODY found this woman and tracked her down and the storey FITS.

Who is the girlfriend who LEAKED all this.

Where are HER interviews?

We shall see.

Persoanlly I think Bush WANTED Kerry as the nominee and this thing accidentally leaked too soon.

[placton]

25. More (sarcastic) examples of why Drudge MUST BE RIGHT:

1. The woman allegedly involved had a vagina, and a woman needs a vagina to have intercourse

2. She has a name, and parents who do not like Kerry (even though these Kerry haters say no affair)

3. She DOES work at a job

4. She IS located on planet earth

5. Since she has declined any comment, she is either a liar or a lover

6. Most telling of all, Kerry has a penis, JUST LIKE BILL CLINTON

Ya know, as someone said, with friends like these, we don't need enemies!

[NicoleM]

26. Or else

they have some evidence that John Kerry knew Alex Polier, and they decided to use her to fabricate an affair out of nothing.

But I do have to say that the people who are citing her parents' comment as evidence that there was no affair make me laugh. Do YOUR parents know everybody you've slept with?

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[hlthe2b]

35. If I may please just point out what seems so obvious to me.......

(and I will preface this by stating Kerry has never been my top choice, but I will support him if nominated)

Given the reported "facts" of the case, how easy would it be to replicate similar charges against any one of the Dem candidates? They are on the road, they meet lots of people-- both men and women, they may have offered jobs or help to one or more young men and women who they felt showed promise, those same individuals might have led them to take a particular interest in helping to shape their career, they may have even met with them away from the office or campaign. Add to that parents who are mistrustful, or of the opposite political stripe and quite "devout" in their views.... Throw a political mudslinger in the mix and voila. This could just as easily been about Dean, or Edwards, or ... any of them.


Fine, those who WANT to detest Kerry and believe anything negative will do so. For others, will you please take the ease of "created scandal" into account......

[NNN0LHI]

37. Give it up and quit while you are behind n/t

[OKNancy]

40. CONFIRMATION that Drudge is an idiot

Blumenthal smear
Black baby smear
Screamed headlines for weeks about Hillary Clinton how would be indicted.
-----
On edit: I need to add: Drudge also posted many smears on Dean including running every "mad-looking" photo of Dean to smear him
And another about Dean's brother:
http://drudgereport.com/dean9.htm

And also Drudge pushed the lie that Osama and Saddam were together and "friendly"...BWHAHAHA

[funky_bug]

43. Um, WRONG

"2. She has been identitifed as Alex Polier, and her parents have confirmed that Kerry was "involved" with her in what they perceived as an inappropriate way in the past few years (recently)."

Her daddy said that Kerry was pursuing her to be on his campaign.

So let's see... either she's completely STUPID and has nothing to add to the campaign either politically or intelligently (therefor giving Kerry absolutely no reason to value her worth as a team player), or this is complete and utter bullshit.

[seventhson]

47. Quote from the Sun article

Linked at Drudge (Warning - it's the Sun)


PRESIDENTIAL hopeful John Kerry was branded a “sleazeball” last night by the parents of a young woman he allegedly tried to woo.

Alex Polier, 24, was named as the woman at the centre of a scandal that threatens to damage Democrat Kerry’s bid for the White House.

Her mother Donna claims Kerry, 60 — dubbed the new JFK — once chased Alex to be on his campaign team and was “after her”.

There is no evidence the pair had an affair, but her father Terry, 56, said: “I think he’s a sleazeball. I did kind of wonder if my daughter didn’t get that kind of feeling herself.




I THINK THIS SOUNDS INAPPROPRIATE AND A LITTLE MORE THAN CAMPAIGN HELP WANTED.

[bowens43]

51. The evidence of this that has been provided by her mother or father?

None. Zip. Zero.

[bigtree]

44. "There's nothing to it"

.

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

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

[seventhson]

48. Accurate (confirmed) Facts posted at Drudge lend credibility

and corroboration of the other allegations.

That's all I'm saying.

If she denies it and he denies it and there is no more evidence, then maybe the story will not fly very far I guess.

But I believe there is more evidence to be revealed and I bet every reporter within 5000 miles of Kenya is trying to get an interview with the AP reporter.

[DemNoir]

52. "then maybe the story will not fly very far I guess."

Right, much to your consternation.

[bowens43]

53. Nothing that was posted adds credibility to the charge of infidelity.

Nothing posted on drudge or in your original post makes the accusation more credible.

[JasonBerry]

58. seventhson

I don't agree with you about a lot of things. But, I am blown away by the posts here. It is very hard to stand by an unpopular opinion at DU. I don't know if you're right or wrong, but I think it's certainly possible you are right and the groupthink to assume the best concerning this story and about a man who has always kept everyone an arms length away is troublesome. If true, better we know now than later.

[Renew Deal]

55. How happy are you that this is happening?

10 being the highest.

[bigtree]

60. n/t

"I have cultivated my hysteria with pleasure and terror."
-Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867),

[Screaming Lord Byron]

56. So? Where is the evidence of an affair?

I could infer anything given that line of reasoning. Drudge deals in rumour, not fact. Sometimes they're true, sometimes not. I appreciate that you are on a crusade against Skull and Bones. Fine. Just don't do Karl Rove's work for him while you're at it. Damage to Kerry at this point is damage to the party and aid to Bush. Consider that.

[WiseMen]

57. MoveOn, MoveOn, MoveOn, MoveOn: Stop Recycling the Phony Slime!!

[lancdem]

59. I thought the parents said there was not an affair

:shrug:

[nomaco-10]

62. Like a twenty something year old girl......

is gonna say to her parents, Hey mom and dad, guess who I'm boinking" I don't think so.

[YouMustBeKiddingMe]

61. This is absurd.

One has to stretch ones imagination completely out of proportion to come up with your same conclusions. This is utter irrational nonsense.

[ursacorwin]

70. yech...

i hate that this is an issue.
a couple points:
first off, let me say that in my perfect world, people would fuck like bunnies and be happy about it, and sex & love would never be political issues. i'm a self proclaimed sexual radical and i really don't care about who, when or what my politicians do in bed so long as its consensual.

that said, americans are insanely absorbed in sex, sexual imagery, sexual innuendo, sex sex sex. the fact that these threads are in the 200+ range over a single drudge posting tells us that even for the most politically absorbed and serious, we still can't stop talking about SEX.

therefore: this "issue" matters, and it's important to understand not only the truth (the man had cancer for crying out loud) but also the half-truths and sexual memes that are being generated. memes that are carefully constructed and work within an interlocking system of ideas designed to distract, confuse and obsfuscate. they work well when they intertwine sex, scandal, and previous icons & narratives (clenis) and counter the other end of the discursive spectrum, the "dry" and "dull" reality of the bush scandals.

and finally, for those of you who haven't been to DC- go. as in, go hang in the local bars and stay off the tourist sites...go hang with some locals. despite claims that this administration is "straight laced" the whole of DC is one big crazy sex fest. for real. in the sense that unlike lots of other towns in america, when people have sex in DC, policies change and wars get started. i've not even talked about drugs...

it's just a plausible to me that at some point, kerry had sex with a pretty younger woman as it is that bush knocked up a teenager and had her have an abortion. i read a vanity fair article some time ago that talked about our congresscritters partying down with interns half their age on the evenings immediately after 9/11. power is an aphrodisiac of old, power attracts players, players employ *all* their talents to get in on the game.

this would all be so much simpler if americans could grow up, admit we like to fuck, and focused on the issues that don't have to do with getting off. everyone has some sexual 'skeleton' in their closet and its hypocrisy to say that it somehow matters in our choice of leaders.

[Straight Shooter]

63. Artfully phrased denial or non-denial, whatever

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[progressivebydesign]

67. Even if her parent's were telling the truth..

..that he was simply "after" their daughter, then I'm just as disgusted. A 58 year old married man chasing a 20 year old girl? That's class and integrity all right.

I still think that most parents don't know if their daughter is boffing someone.. Do you think she'd tell them, especially if they hate him?

[w4rma]

71. I don't think there is anything to this.

It appears there was nothing going on, IMHO, except for a desperate smear by the GOP.

[Nicholas_J]

73. Seems that a number of stries are out there

With conmflicint infomation about the Ms Polier:

Alex Polier, 24, was named as the woman at the centre of a scandal that threatens to damage Democrat Kerry’s bid for the White House.

Her mother Donna claims Kerry, 60 — dubbed the new JFK — once chased Alex to be on his campaign team and was “after her”.

There is no evidence the pair had an affair, but her father Terry, 56, said: “I think he’s a sleazeball. I did kind of wonder if my daughter didn’t get that kind of feeling herself.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004071162,00.html

The website did not name the woman, but subsequent media accounts identified her as Alex Polier, 37, a former intern with the Associated Press. According to these reports, the woman has left the US and is now believed to be in London.

"A serious investigation of the woman and the nature of her relationship with Senator John Kerry has been underway at Time magazine, ABC News, the Washington Post, the Hill and the Associated Press, where the woman in question once worked," the Drudge website said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_571745,00050001.htm

So Drudges story, which states that there was kerry and this woman were having an affair, essentially is not true, as so far reported.


There is no evidence the pair had an affair, but her father Terry, 56, said: “I think he’s a sleazeball. I did kind of wonder if my daughter didn’t get that kind of feeling herself.


http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004071162,00.html

Other versions:

Kerry sex scandal lurking?
Internet report cites suspicions
By WILLIAM BUNCH
[e-mail]

Here we go again?

The worlds of politics and the media were all atwitter yesterday over a report on the popular Internet site, the Drudge Report, that Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry - the Democratic presidential front-runner - may be brought down by a sex scandal.

Six years ago, it was a similar item on the Drudge Report that brought the world's attention to the affair between then-President Bill Clinton and intern Monica Lewinsky - sparking the scandal that led to Clinton's impeachment.

Late last night, Matt Drudge - the conservative gossipmeister who runs the site - said several leading TV networks and newspapers had been trying to confirm an alleged relationship between Kerry, who is married to ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry, and a young woman that started in spring 2001. An earlier item said the woman had worked for the Associated Press for a short time.

"After being approached by a top news producer, the woman fled to Africa, where she remains, the Drudge Report can reveal," the Web site breathlessly reported. Drudge also suggested that the woman left the country at Kerry's behest.

But there's one huge problem with the story, which raced through newsrooms across the country like a computer virus: Nobody has been able to confirm that it was true.

"This rumor has been out there for months and months," Neil Oxman, the prominent Democratic consultant based in Philadelphia, said last night. He said there were various versions, including several that had Kerry dating a young woman well before the 2000 election, when Al Gore looked at Kerry as a potential running mate.


http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/7943785.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

There is a 24 year old Alex Polier, a 37 year old Alex Pollier.

All in all, a sex scnadal without sex, and an affair without one seems to be rather, contradictory.


There are significant problems with the timing of the parents claims as well. As if the evnst occured as the parents state, (Kerry asking her to be on his campaign, they would have had to occur at the time that Kerry was recoverinf from his cancer surgery.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

75. I think we can now say that Kerry handled this correctly.