NYTimes: Kerry learned to stump by watching Edwards!

DjTj

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:14 PM
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NYTimes: Kerry learned to stump by watching Edwards!

Not that it's a bad thing, I actually like that Kerry has managed to loosen up on the stump. It definitely makes me feel more confident in him if he ends up being the nominee.

He will still never be cuddly. He is too tall, too gaunt, too lantern-jawed, too serious for that. His Iowa caucuses victory speech was solemn and windy, and he sat watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night with a band of firefighters from Fargo, N.D., whose union has endorsed him, tapping his right thumb and forefinger nervously against his teeth without making much effort to converse or connect.

Two years ago, Mr. Kerry's advisers tried to get him to loosen up by showing him tapes of Senator John Edwards's easygoing style. Even now, he lacks Bill Clinton's innate, empathetic artistry with individuals and crowds. But as his campaign moves onto a national stage, where television advertisements and sound bites are more important than one-on-one encounters, Mr. Kerry seems comfortable with a kind of paint-by-numbers Clintonism that is effective in its own way. He asks people their names, and their stories. After his brush with political near-death, he is smiling, even laughing, more � and the results are infectious.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/03/politics/campaign/03CAMP.html

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spooky3

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:19 PM
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1. First he was a training film for young lawyers in NC; now

he's doing it for other candidates! :-)

But I admire Kerry's advisers for this suggestion and Kerry for taking it.

Go ALL Democrats tomorrow! Record turnouts in each state would really strike fear in the Repugs! And thanks to all the volunteers and donors in every campaign, especially all of our DUers who are working hard to support their candidates.

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Monte Carlo

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:21 PM
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2. Not that Kerry will ever match Edwards' smoothness, but...

... I think it's good that Kerry is watching old films and taking a few notes, as President is partly a PR job. New Englanders are not the most expressive people in the world, but I'm glad to see that he's trying, and that he's doing well at it.

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David Dunham

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:28 PM
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4. Another Example of Why JK Should Run with JE

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girl gone mad

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:27 PM
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3. Kerry, steal another candidate's..

speaking style? Why not, he steals all of their talking points and ideas.

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ShaneGR

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:29 PM
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5. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Of course, if Kerry gets the nomination we know who the VP is going to be.

:hug:

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iowapeacechief

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:35 PM
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6. Sure, compared to Edwards and Clinton, Kerry will always...

...seem stiff and distant. I've met 'em all up close. That warm, Suth'n appeal has a lot going for it. But John Kerry is plenty attractive in his own right, and, yes, can even be "infectious" when relaxed. It sure helped him in Iowa!

More power to him if he's learnin' somethin' new from them good ol' boys about gittin comfur'ble an' frien'ly. But no cosmetic makeovers, please--there's enough yelling about that already! No more change if it means fakin' it.

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Straight Shooter

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:43 PM
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7. Two years ago he was watching? And he still hasn't quite got it?

Kerry is one slow study. Maybe he should try being himself, whatever the heck emerges from that attempt.

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WiseMen

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Mon Feb-02-04 11:53 PM
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8. Obviously Didn't Work 2 years ago. Just found his voice last fall and

his manner hasn't changed from 30 years ago. I think his coaches
were just wrong about what Kerry needed. He succeeded after he
walked away from the "coaching," and did something different.

But, Edwards is a great stump speaker.

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