Kerry's endorsement is an ill-timed slap in the face to Edwards, Clinton, and all Democrats

[_Wayne_]

Am I the only one a little confused about why Kerry would endorse anybody at this time? I think Kerry sees himself as a victim of the 2004 election, but most Democrats see him as a wimp, someone who allowed a small group of swiftboatin rednecks tear him apart while he sat quiet, so as not to give the story "credibility." I remember screaming here on DU in 2004 that Kerry should design his own TV ads and website that countered the lies. Kerry stayed above the whole thing, and lost.

After 2004, Kerry disappeared, and nobody asked for him to return. I respect his work as a Senator, but he's an awful politician, and I doubt his endorsement will change anything. What's worse, Kerry didn't just endorse Obama, he took jabs at Hillary, saying "we need somebody to put an end to swiftboating, not someone who has perfected it." Is Kerry serious? Does he know that the Clintons survived daily swiftboating for the last 16 years? Did he forget the incessant attacks against Hillary since her early days in the White House? If anyone would like to put an end to swiftboating, it is Hillary.

What a loser. Politics is dirty; you have to fight. You have to send mailers on the night before a primary that really paint your opponents as indecisive, deceitful, etc. That's what wins elections. And that's not "swiftboating," it's politics. Does Kerry know the difference?

One other thing: isn't this a huge insult to John Edwards, who ran with Kerry in 2004?

[jasmine621]

1. I can't see it any other way.

A stupid move to me. Is he trying for VP?

[Common Sense Party]

2. Slap in the face to Hillary? I don't see that.

Nobody expected him to endorse Hillary, right?

[avrdream]

36. I certainly never expected him to endorse Hillary.

But Kerry once thought that Edwards was good enough to be President (or he wouldn't have chosen him to be VP) - I honestly thought Kerry would have endorsed HIM and not Obama.

Cheers

[GodlessBiker]

3. People who endorse now, rather than wait until the nominee is clear, can actually have an influence.

[Tarc]

4. The timing is a bit silly

It would have benefited Obama more if it came leading up to NH, not leading up to SC.

[jgraz]

5. Thank god nobody gives one shit what Kerry thinks

[thoughtcrime1984]

9. At least you don't

Don't speak for the entire USA.

[jgraz]

21. Not One Vote

That's how much Kerry's endorsement is worth.

[thoughtcrime1984]

25. the all-knowing jgraz

or is it know it all? Dumb statement.

[jgraz]

26. OK, explain who follows John Kerry's advice in the voting booth

[cali]

22. Kerry has one of the most coveted email lists in dem politics

it goes to Obama. Furthermore, Obama got the news cycle for today, grabbing it from Clinton. And one more thing: It's impossible to say whether this will help Obama, but one thing's certain; it won't hurt him.

[jgraz]

28. It wasn't intended to help Obama. It was intended to hurt Edwards

And, of course, to continue Kerry's self-delusion that he's relevant.

[Big Blue Marble]

32. Please explain your reasoning. n/t

[jgraz]

48. Admittedly, the other explanation is that Kerry is a political idiot.

Otherwise, he has to know that the real story will be "Edwards former running mate declines to endorse him."

[cali]

35. nonsense. Edwards isn't even viable.

not everything is about your candidate. Kerry and Obama are far closer than Kerry ever was with Edwards. There was no motivation for him to hurt Edwards. And I hate to break this to you but Kerry is indeed still relevant. As I said, if nothing else, it gave Obama the news cycle.

[avaistheone1]

45. Baloney! Edwards is the only Dem candidate who "consistently" for the last 6 months

beat every Republican candidate in polling.

[cali]

53. that doesn't make him viable and

it doesn't mean much anyway. It's merely a snapshot a year out from the election.

[avaistheone1]

65. Only in your mind.

The experts think differently.

[jgraz]

47. Which is why Obama has been stealing everything he says

Tell us some more about how you want to fight against the lobbyists, Barack. :eyes:

[avaistheone1]

52. Precisely.

Obama chews off parts of Edwards campaign when he wants to be viewed as more progressive, and parts of Clinton's campaign when he wants to be seen more as part of the old establishment.

[cali]

55. oh silliness

they all do that. And Barack worked on and passed legislation in the Illinois Senate that curbed lobbyist influence. He's sponsored legislation on ethics and lobbying in the U.S. Senate. Try and keep up.

[avaistheone1]

57. Obama track record with lobbyists in Illinois was not very good.

He was quite intimate with them.

[cali]

60. don't be absurd. He played basketball and

poker on occasion with some lobbyists. Shocking. He passed legislation restricting their ability to influence lawmakers. And if you're gonna make a claim, provide links showing that his "record wasn't very good".

[jgraz]

68. Right, he just plays games and socializes with them

Oh, and takes their money. No, they don't have any influence over him at all.

And I'm sure it has nothing to do with why he voted for things like the so-called "Class Action Fairness Act", which limited the people's ability to take on corporate power. He's just trying to give HOPE to those poor corporations.

[cali]

76. He's not taking money from lobbyists

and at least he has an actual history of doing something to help people unlike your candidate who voted to fuck the working people of this country when he voted for bankruptcy "reform"- a bill that thankfully Clinton vetoed. The argument that all lobbyists are evil is, in any case, hopelessly simple minded. The key isn't to demonize them, it's to curb their influence- something my candidate did and yours didn't.

[jgraz]

77. Whoops, you're right. He just installs them as his campaign chairs.

That's much better :eyes:

[roguevalley]

71. If Edwards who is still doing well for a media shunned candidate

is irrelevent, how is Kerry relevent? Last time I looked, he got shit canned by the American people in our last 'election' and walked.

[avaistheone1]

43. It could hurt Obama.

Many people see John Kerry as the establishment "Skull and Bones" candidate which could turn people off to Obama --- particularly if Obama wants to be viewed as the candidate for "change".

[cali]

58. your claim comes without evidence and with the apocryphal

"people say". How do you know how the majority of dems view JK? What do you have aside from opinion to back it up. You're making the mistake of confusing wishful thinking for the real world.

[avaistheone1]

46. Email lists are not that difficult to come by anymore.

[Tarheel_Dem]

70. Obviously, you're an idiot....n/t

:eyes:

[Kucinich4America]

6. Seems that the DLC shut Kerry out recently.

When they were handing out the leadership positions last January, they made it clear that Kerry wasn't up for consideration. Doesn't seem to me that he owes the Clintons and the DLC (as if there were any separation between the two) a damned thing.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. *cough*billclinton*cough*

[Kittycat]

11. Thank you for *coughing* that out ;)

[AndyA]

8. Why should Edwards care what Kerry thinks or who he endorses?

Kerry didn't keep his word to the American people in 2004, and Edwards wanted to fight for every last vote, but it was Kerry who had the final word.

John Kerry:

"My friends, the harsh fact now is that in the last election more than one million African-Americans were disenfranchised in one of the most tainted elections in history. We can do better - and we have to. We have to see to it in November that every vote counts - and every vote is counted."

John Kerry lost me when he didn't fight for those votes. He said he would, but when it came time to do so, he backed down and forced George Bush on all of us for another 4 years. This after having the SCOTUS put Bush in the White House in 2000, despite losing the popular vote! Kerry KNEW that election tampering, fraud, whatever you wanted to call it was going on, and he just backed down.

Kerry's endorsement should mean little, if anything, to Dems who've been paying attention.

[Cameron27]

13. I don't think Clinton much cares either.

[debatepro]

10. isn't

obama a democrat. how is it a slap in his face... or mine...

[Bread and Circus]

12. You are afflicted with sour grapes.

Kerry made a good endorsement. His rationale is spot on. This was a good, and yes STRATEGIC, time to announce.

[flpoljunkie]

14. "Ill-timed?" I'd say well timed!

[DB1]

15. Yes. Speak your mind, but only if you agree with me.

[terisan]

16. I thought it ill timed. Can't help Obama much in SC but does slap Edwards

If he was referring to clinton re swiftboating perfecting it was sad-given the republican lies told about her over the years plus the crazy Starr investigation.


I thought it a rousing speech although he he seemed defended Obama against a false charge of being too young while the actual criticisms seem to be about experience.

Plus Thomas Jefferson wrote the D of A while a young man but attained presidency when quite a bit older.

[cali]

18. Obama is 46 years old. Hardly a youngster.

He's served in elective office for almost 10 years now. The no experience meme is getting lame.

[terisan]

29. My point is Kerry cited age when he made his comparisons.

I We have had had men with little Washington experience-Clinton and Carter. Neither were prepared for the rigors of Washington.

[roguevalley]

72. I think more of endorsements when they come early, when it takes

something of someone to take a stand. COming now, when it might be that Mr. Obama can win takes nothing and costs nothing.

[cali]

17. yawn.

another bitter and less than compelling post about what a meanie Kerry is.

Pathetic.

[Adelante]

19. This is a year a former President of the United States is out on the campaign trail every day

And you don't want Kerry to endorse?

[Bluerthanblue]

20. you can speak for yourself, but you have no right to speak for "most

Democrats."

Unless you can post factual evidence to back up your claim that "most Democrats see him as a wimp"
please edit your post to remove this lie.

It's sad that even people who claim to be Democrats have no qualms about swiftboating some of our longstanding, hardworking public servants, and have th gall to call it "politics".

This isn't confusion this is rude.

but I'm not perfect either-

peace~

[vee]

23. Oborax is what

I'll start calling Obama, cause he's gonna clean up your idea of how politics is played.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. Boy, you're sure going to be mad when Gore endorses Obama.

[babylonsister]

27. Baloney. I'm a Dem and thought he went with his gut, like I am. nt

[Big Blue Marble]

30. Since the endorsement has been planned for weeks,

I imagined it was timed by the Obama team. It was when they thought it would make the most impact.
In the middle of the week, during Clinton's afterglow sure works for me.

[tritsofme]

31. Edwards had no intention to stay out of the race if Kerry ran again in 2008

It seemed like he was back in Iowa before the dust had even settled on 2004.

If Edwards had no intention of endorsing Kerry, why would Kerry ever owe him anything more?

[City Lights]

33. "all Democrats"

I don't feel slapped in the face at all.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

34. Please do not attempt to speak for all Democrats.

Kerry endorsed who he thought best. I support Edwards, but I respects Kerry's decision to give his endorsement to someone else.

[Politicub]

37. It's a good endorsement

It would have been cool for Kerry to endorse his running mate from 2004, but he didn't. Big whoop. I would hate to see Gore, for example, endorse Lieberman for anything.

[Meshuga]

38. Not a slap in the face of this Democrat

Kerry rocks and I have no problems with him expressing his support to any specific candidate. It happens to be Obama. If your candidate got the endorsement you would be kissing Kerry's butt saying how great he is.

[ProSense]

39. "we need somebody to put an end to swiftboating, not someone who has perfected it."

Sorry to burst your bubble, that was a slap in the face to Republicans.

[jody]

40. Don't forget Kerry like Dubya is member of Skull & Bones. n/t

[abburdlen]

51. self-delete

oops replied in the wrong spot.

[avaistheone1]

41. This decision is a poor reflection on Kerry

Kerry chose John Edwards as his own VP, a choice I would assume Kerry painstakingly took in terms of the best interests of the American people, given Edwards would assume the presidency if anything happened to Kerry.

So what happened since then? Nothing except there was no real interest on the part of the Democratic party in John Kerry pursuing the presidency again. (Although I do believe Kerry won the election in 2004.) Today's announcement sounds like sour grapes on John Kerry's part to me.

[zulchzulu]

42. Kerry knows who the asshole is

Hillary threw him under the bus for the so-called "botched joke" incident. She has had her campaign use the fake "Muslim" rumor, the "kindergarden paper", calling Obama naive for saying she had actually agreed with months ago and more.

Granted, it's now proven that those not smart enough to crack a book and go to college support Hillary. She thinks we're all as stupid as her fans are.

But basically, Kerry knows a leader when he sees one. And that person is Barack Obama.

The only people who seem to be bitching about the endorsement are the ones who back candidates that don't deserve his endorsement.

[politicasista]

49. Amen n/t

[avaistheone1]

56. That would be Kerry himself.

Given no one was particularly interested in seeing in run for president again.

Sounds like these are Kerry's sour grapes.

[ProSense]

44. "I doubt his endorsement will change anything. "

Good one, as the sour grapes turn into whine!

[damntexdem]

50. What a ridiculous argument!

I support Edwards. But I'm outraged by any argument that Kerry has no RIGHT to endorse whom he will.

[abburdlen]

54. Kerry might have held off endorsing

out of respect for Edwards. Bad timing would have been right before Iowa where Edwards had a decent shot.
After NH the likelihood of Kerry's endorsement making a difference in Edwards getting the nomination was pretty slim.

[ejbr]

59. Doesn't his endorsement cancel itself out?

If he chose John Edwards as a running mate in 2004, but endorses someone else in 2008, doesn't that bring his judgment into question? If you were a poor judge of character then, why should we believe you now?

[abburdlen]

61. psst-

As an Edwards supporter, you may want to avoid questioning someone else judgment based on their past 'mistakes'

[Lex]

63. oh, you have a mistake free candidate?

Like Bush I suppose--never made a mistake?

[ejbr]

66. psst

you may want to provide your passive aggressive venom to someone else. K?

[abburdlen]

89. sorry.

I apologize for the flippant and cheap shot.

I try to avoid attacking any of the good candidates we have in this race, because they really are all good democrats.
But I'll ask that we all attempt to live up to the same standards we hold the candidates to and all try to avoid going negative.

Kerry endorsed who he endorsed. It doesn't change why Edwards is in the race and there's no need to attack Kerry's judgment.

:toast:
peace.

[ejbr]

91. Apology accepted

As much as I don't want to admit it, I understand where you were coming from. The repukes, as well as the compliant Dem "leadership", have us so wound up that we sometimes get ahead of ourselves. Thanks for the truce. :pals:

[Lex]

62. interesting conundrum to be sure

nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

64. You mean he should give his endorsement when it no longer matters?

When the nominee has already been chosen? How would that make sense? I don't think John Kerry owes anything to John Edwards. The 2004 election is over. You mean he has to keep endorsing Edwards for life? He only owes his conscience to chose the candidate he most supports. Maybe he likes Edwards, but maybe too that he likes Obama more. I would hope he would be honest enough to endorse the person he agrees with the most. I would support John Kerry's right to endorse anyone, even Kucinich, if that was his honest decision.

[Lex]

67. I agree that Kerry's endorsement no longer matters.

And I also I agree he has the right to endorse whoever he wants.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

69. That's not what I said - but peace to you and have a nice day

[DivorcingNeo]

73. Commonsense

You're points makes it, yet it falls on blind eyes here at DU.

Hi *waves*

[Omaha Steve]

74. Since 2004 it has leaked that Edwards wanted to fight so every vote counted

Kerry caved in (whatever the reason). That made Kerry look very bad. No surprise to me here!

[ProSense]

75. That's not correct

Blogged by JC on 08.22.05 @ 04:19 PM ET

Fighting for Every Voter

A few more words about an issue that is of the utmost importance to me.

As political candidates, we spend considerable time and effort every election cycle fighting for votes. After the election, whether won or lost, many candidates leave the irregularities of the election behind. But we owe the voters more than that. When voters are disenfrachised, we owe it to them to seek justice and expose the truth. That is why I have been so proud of the Kerry-Edwards campaign's ongoing involvement in the investigation and litigation of what went wrong in Ohio. I wrote to the candidates recently to ask that they continue to be involved in this important endeavor.

This is not about the past. It is about figuring out what went wrong and why -- and then getting the next election right, not for the Democratic Party, but for all of the voters.

link

more

I also don't understand the Edwards wanted to fight meme. How exactly did Kerry stop him considering there were candidates from other parties fighting?

[Omaha Steve]

78. Kerry conceded the election ASAP

Edwards wanted to fight in Ohio, and Nevada and a few other battleground states like Gore did. It has been published. Also the argument the two had when Kerry made his decision. Now that election officials are doing time for stacking the deck on the Ohio recount, who looks bad?

[ProSense]

84. That's not what it says at the link. n/t

[depakid]

79. Kerry managed to lose to the most unpopular president in American history

so I'm not too sure I'd want that particular endorsement.....

[DivorcingNeo]

81. But if it was Hillary instead?

Disingenuous.

[depakid]

87. Knee jerk

I'm no Hillary fan... the fact is though, the Kerry and Clinton camps have had their differences, so an endorsement would have been surprising- and from my perspective, equally unwelcome.

[DivorcingNeo]

88. I accept your opinion as it stands...

but I'm skeptical.

[UpInArms]

80. Kerry didn't question that box on Dimson's back

and didn't fight the Diebolded numbers in Ohio



I say - who cares what he thinks?

[Yuugal]

82. IMHO Kerry is an irrelevant milksop nt

[Occam Bandage]

83. Yeah! How dare he endorse a candidate before a primary!

Seriously, get over it.

[Hatchling]

85. He has a right to endorse anyone he wants to endorse.

How does this hurt the Democratic Party? Obama, If I recall correctly, is running as a Democrat, isn't he?

[Omaha Steve]

86. I don't care who he backs

I'm only commenting on one reason he has to not Endorse Edwards.

[FredScuttle]

90. The insult was John Edwards, "The Fighter", taking a dive like Jake LaMotta vs. Cheney in 2004

What a disgrace. "Fighter" my ass.