Dowd on Kerry: Howard Dean had the base all warmed up and now...

[jefferson_dem]

...

"Howard Dean had the base all warmed up and now Kerry's turned into a girlie-man," said a Democratic insider, comparing it with the scene in "The Godfather" when the singer Johnny Fontane shows up at the wedding of Don Corleone's daughter and whines that a studio chief is being mean to him.

The godfather slaps the singer and barks, "Act like a man!"

Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney jumped in the polls because they cast their convention as a Western. They were the "Magnificent Seven," steely-eyed, gun-slinging samurai riding in to save the frightened town: Rudolph Giuliani, John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Zell Miller, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and Poppy Bush, who was on "Imus" comparing Mr. Kerry with Jane Fonda.

The vice president played up the Western motif by giving ABC an interview at his Wyoming ranch.

"The cowboy riding tall in the saddle and holding the reins for a little girl on her pony could have been Shane," wrote Alessandra Stanley in her TV Watch column in The Times.

After 9/11, Americans want tough guys who will protect them from Al Qaeda. They seem to be willing to settle for an impersonation of tough guys by Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who were so busy with their vanity war in Iraq that they missed critical opportunities to vanquish Al Qaeda and spent money on a foreign occupation that could have been used to secure American ports and come up with plans before the Beslan tragedy to protect children from terrorists.

<SNIP>

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/opinion/12dowd.html?ei=5006&en=16ce05d43ce33feb&ex=1095566400&partner=ALTAVISTA1&pagewanted=print&position=

[Leilani]

1. Bingo!

MoDo hits it again!

Easterns vs Westerns!

Easy to see why she won the Pulitzer Prize!

[KittyWampus]

27. Oh Please. Modo Wouldn't Know The Democratic Base If It Bit Her

stupid ass.

And Dean had a HUGE portion of the base scared shitless lest he actually win the primary.

More disinformation from Modo as she tries to pass off her attempts at being clever as pertinent political commentary.

[Jacobin]

30. What was the "huge portion of the base" afraid of?

I'm curious as a Dean supporter.

[formernaderite]

39. You know it's funny, we Dean supporters have been amazingly fair...

...to Kerry during his White house run after winning the primary. Now the rest of the so-called base is getting a taste of the media hitting Kerry like the media hit Dean. I'll wait to throw my criticisms out until after the general...being tactful here.

[KittyWampus]

44. Oh Yeah, The Media Was SOOOOO Supportive Of Kerry Before Dean Imploded

:eyes:

[KittyWampus]

45. That He Would Actually Get The Nomination & THEN Give His Fucked Up Speech

I thought that would be obvious, even to a Dean supporter.

Or are you still laboring under the delusion that Dean's speech in Iowa was NOT beyond the pale of acceptable political behavior?

Note- I didn't even MENTION Dean's "scream". His speech was outlandish even before that scream.

[Darth_Kitten]

49. You have it in for Dean, why?

:eyes:

[Leilani]

37. Did you read the entire column,

or just the Dean quote?

The column had ZILCH to do with Howard Dean.

The column was a witty, caustic, clever commentary on the follies of both parties.

Maureen Dowd is neither liberal nor conservative; she is a talented wordsmith, commenting on hypocrisies of the power elite.

And if you did not find anything clever in that column, then we can just agree to disagree.

[KittyWampus]

43. Yes, Read Whole Thing. Modo, As Usual Makes An Entire Column Out Of A

"one-liner". Sort of like Saturday Night Live makes a entire skit out of a five second joke.

By the way, maybe Bush & GOP swagger like drunken cowboys...

but Kerry has the Untouchable thing going on...

but then, Modo doesn't use THAT for an analogy does she.

And she starts her garbage with the GOP talking point about Kerry being a flip flopper.

So we'll have to agree to disagree about Miss Desperately-Seeking-Popularity-In-Stepford-Wifeland. :)

[liberal N proud]

2. Arnold has made the "girlie-man" title a republican icon hasn't he?

It appears that every r/wingnut in the media is using that now!

[IndianaGreen]

3. Ouch!

In Westerns, the heroes treat womenfolk with gallantry, but tell them to stay back. In Easterns, Teresa rides shotgun and calls the opposition "idiots." There's a reason Easterns never caught on in Hollywood. High tea in a drawing room is just not as compelling as high noon in the town square.

There was a story I read today about how Ohio is not as Democratic as it used to be, and someone mentioned Kerry's now ill-advised windsurfing photo-op off Nantucket and said that working class Americans prefer softball and touch football.

[Shuck and Jive]

4. Damn

This is a viscious article. Whazzup with Mo???
EX:

"Democrats were rolling their eyes at the spectacle of a former president in a hospital bed resuscitating a would-be president."

[Nordic]

5. gosh, maybe Kerry should videotape himself bitch-slapping Theresa

and all those "moderates" would see him as the tough-guy.

[Shuck and Jive]

9. That's uncalled for

"bitch-slapping Theresa"

<1> slapping your wife SUCKS
<2> calling her a "bitch" SUCKS

Please edit the post!

[Nordic]

25. don't tell me to edit my post -- that is CERTAINLY uncalled for

who are you to tell me to edit my post?

By the way, it's called "sarcasm", aka "irony".

You might want to grow a sense of both.

[Shuck and Jive]

31. Yeah

Wife beating is really funny, isn't it? NOT
Referring to women as bitches is cool. NOT

Repulsive!

[Nordic]

35. WHOOOOSH!

That's the sound of my point going right over your head.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

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

[mitchum]

41. KEERIST! Don't you recognise sarcasm?

The poster was not actually advocating that this happen

[kcwayne]

10. No, he should walk up to Bush and bitch slap him off Cheney's lap

[Placebo]

6. More Kerry bashing from fellow liberals

just what we need.

[JohnKleeb]

8. sigh I know

Lets think of a way to make things better instead of giving Kerry shit. He did something the other day that really impressed me, he compared the health care problems in this country to jim crow laws which I felt was apt and to the point.

[Nordic]

26. well somebody needs to light a fire under Kerry's ass

Somebody needs to do something. We don't know what it is, but that's what they're paid to do.

I'd like to see Kerry come out swinging. George Bush has given the opposition an unprecedented amount of ammo to use against him, and I don't see ANYbody using it.

George Bush's own words and videotape can be used against him. It would be the easiest thing in the world. You could throw a stick here in Los Angeles and hit someone who could edit together some absolutely brilliant and damning TV commercials showing what an idiot, a flip-flopper, etc. that Bush is.

It's such an easy target, it's like trying to hit the side of a warehouse with a tennis ball from ten feet away.

I don't see Kerry with so much as a tennis ball in his HAND much less throwing it at the warehouse.

[Jacobin]

32. Um, as the prospective president

Shouldn't he know that he should be doing that?

I'm not liking the idea that this has to be an external force working on Kerry. We already have one of those in the WH now.

[Green Hornet]

50. Lighting a fire under Kerry would do him a favor.

There is still plenty of time to pull this thing out if he will start campaigning like Howard Dean, instead of like a walking corpse.

No, he doesn't need to emulate the Dean scream, just the passion and clarity of vision.

If he can't bring himself to do so, he should take a vacation and let Bill Clinton and Theresa do the campaign for him.

He could easily admit, in this case, to be an uninsspiring corpse BUT note that in the event he is elected, he will be managed by Theresa and not by Haliburton.

Unless he does something dramatic like this, I've got to admit I'm REALLY concerned. How about you?

[napi21]

7. Dowd isn't what you think she is.

I've seen her on several shows. She does have some slams against shrub, but she's no friend to Kerry!

And for God sake, let the guy relax at whatever sport he likes! Quit trying to make him into something he's not. You tried to do that with Gore, and it didn't work.

[Catfight]

11. I totally agree, besides, I doubt Kerry would allow advisor's to control

him like Bush and Gore did, that's why I believe he will win. He just needs to get off his fucking middle road and really do something for equality in this country. That means, bringing in black, Latino and women to high positions.

[Cha]

13. I know...I don't like the way dowd makes fun

of Dems at our expense!

When I read that about "working class Americans prefer softball and touch football", I thought ..tough!

Do they prefer their overtime pay cut? Do they prefer fair medical coverage? Do they prefer less college tuition for their kids, a strong public school education for them?

They better wake the f*** up and realize exactly what's at stake here!

[Demoiselle]

12. Sorry, gang, but I loathe Ms. Dowd.

Once again she threads a string of insults, every last one of them a cliche with no point or purpose except pure unadulterated bile. She hates everybody and you realize after you've waded through her column that she offers NO insights, just taunts! How this broad has a job as a columnist is beyond me. Her entire output is one long nasty nyah nyah nyah. I can't even bear to read her attacks on Bush, and I love it when people attack Bush. I got the impression from hearing her interviewed recently that she thinks she's doing social commentary and satire.
My ass.

[paulk]

18. I second that...

Her favorite pastime - is twisting the knife she's shoved in whomever's back she's targeted that week. She's not a very nice person, and it comes across loud and clear in her columns. Her recent tv appearances were bizarre. I don't read her anymore either.

[Guaranteed]

14. Yeah, well, something like that

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=739098

[rumguy]

15. There were tough talkin' ladies in the old West

[Kimber Scott]

16. Great piece. Convention's over.

And, so is the bounce. Let's move on.

[Bread and Circus]

17. Pretty damn funny editiorial...

but just you wait...Kerry is about ready to unleash all hell.

[Placebo]

19. We've been saying that for the past days...weeks...months........

still waiting!

[Bread and Circus]

20. No...I'm serious....all unholy hell....

to be unleashed....right about now....no, now...er....hmmm....
how about now....uh....wait what's the date....

November 3rd, sir...

Aw, shit....hey did anyone notice Edwards has a great smile?

[Placebo]

24. Aww, Edwards is so handsome...

and the polls are all skewed towards republicans!

wait, except the exact same polls when they show kerry ahead, then the results are accurate

the american people will be wowed by kerry's ability to command the english language, thats more than enough to beat shrub

[Gin]

21. Man...this is a rough crowd.....Kerry is working his ass off and doing

great....there is too much armchair quarterbacking on how he should be...he is not Dean and should only be himself....I saw him on CSPAN tonight and he gave a powerful speech...Dean could never get elected by being as blunt as he is..(I voted for him) and a president needs to be diplomatic....he doesnt have to be a pit bull...or an asshole.

The schedule these guys have been putting in makes me wonder how they stay healthy. Imagine what they have to put up with...the least we could do as a democratic board of supporters is be supportive...offer constructive criticsm....but don't ridicule these guys.

With friends like some here who needs enemies?

[Bread and Circus]

23. No, Kerry doesn't need to be an asshole...it's just that the "team"

better get its shit together and quickly.

Actually, Kerry should be the nice guy. It's the rest of the fuckwads he's leading that better get their asses on TV tearing Bush a new one.

[21winner]

22. Dean crashed on takeoff.

A pisspoor 18% in Iowa. He never recovered. That's politics. Lets count votes,not emotional nonsense. Dean had a loud following that was a mile deep and a few feet wide.

I like Howard Dean,but I don't think he could beat Bush. I supported Clark but the voters didn't.
If the base wanted Dean they would have voted that way. MoDo is no political genius. Her deal is to prick here and there. After all she is at the pinnacle of babel,the NYT.

Never forget that the NYT used Chalalbi to get us into the quicksand.

In January (04) the polls showed...Kick their ass ,steal their gas was in swing.

If you don't think that Americans think cheap gas is a constitutional right,remember the howl when gas goes up 25 cents.

The only reason that support has faded for the war is because it didn't work out to be a triumph.

America has never been beaten in a war as others have and understand.

Our perceptions are warped.

[madfloridian]

28. No, your perception is wrong. Dean is working his butt off for the party.

He is making a huge difference in so many ways.

[Jacobin]

33. He was crashed by stupid Iowans and Gephardts slime ad

The DNC killed his candidacy and now we are faced with another 2000.

I only hope the DNC lets someone with HUGE grassroots support and a pair of cajones run in 2008.

[Green Hornet]

51. Kerry was the establishment candidate . . .

Let's be honest-- he was selected by a handful of Iowa hog farmers and media whores.

Too many of the rest of us were so anxious to beat GWB, we abandoned the real voice of progressivism, Howeard Dean, and followed the Pied Piper like good little tin soldiers.

Writing off Dean over ONE freaking verbal gaffe and giving Kerry passes on gaffe after gaffe is not what I call fairness or Democracy.

So what if it takes an extra month or two to pick a nominee-- that's what the primary process if for! Otherwise, we ought to just concede the nomination process to a few selected WHITE HOG FARMERS in Iowa and media whores.

IF Kerry will start campaigning like Howard Dean, we DEFINITELY still have time to pull this thing off. (No, he doesn't need to copy the scream, just the passion and vision)

IF Kerry can't being himself to do so, then he should take a vacation, let Bill Clinton and Theresa campaign for him and admit he is not up to the campaigning job BUT wouldn't you rather have a president managed by them than by Haliburton. We MAY still pull it off in this case.

However, IF Kerry continues on the present course, this campaign is headed down the johnny flusher.

[Green Hornet]

52. IF Kerry can't being himself to do so . . .

Sorry for my gaffe:

IF Kerry can't bRing himself to do so . . .

[madfloridian]

29. For the record, I despise Dowd for that. She can be ugly.

Just for the record, she is trying to divide. We should realize that. The media is trying to do that.

[sandnsea]

34. More seeds of dissention

That's all these asshats do, sow seeds of dissention. Ignore this shit and go get some more voters. You want the 50% that doesn't vote? Talk to them and register them.

[progressivebydesign]

36. Coquettish little bimbo.

Her cutesy act on Daily Show was nauseating.. she should stick to trying to pick up married men on tv, and leave politics to real women. What a joke.

[CityDem]

38. Dowd only likes one person

And that is Mo Dowd. She will stab you in the back regardless of party affiliation.

[Cocoa]

46. no, she loves her colleagues at the NYT

she writes to impress William Safire and Tom Friedman, she unknowingly revealed this on Charlie Rose.

[mitchum]

42. Oh, you mean Dorothy Pucker?

[Karmadillo]

47. And if Dean had won the nomination, she would have written

something along the lines of how the ski bum was blown off the slopes by the White House. "What could the Democrats have been thinking? Here they have an authentic war hero like John Kerry and they go with <insert the Dowdian crap insult of your choice>."

While one can see why Dowd is interested in returning to her own doggy vomit (she's paid by the corporate media to do so), I see no reason why we should make the trip.

[bklyncowgirl]

48. Whew, just put the name Howard Dean in a post and people get crazy

Read the entire article.

Dowd makes some good points. I winced reading them but the truth is that the truth doesn't matters. It's how things appear on TV that matters.

Kerry is more of a man than Bush will ever be. What he has to do is prove that to people whose vision of masculinity is more superficial than his own.