John Kerry - The Superhero (Rude Pundit Blast from the Past)

There's nothing like tooling around the internet and coming across a gem like this one. This is a post from the Rude Pundit from 10/14/04, and given that most incredible speech that JK wrote and delivered at Brown yesterday, I would say -- oh, hell, just read the fucking thing:

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2004/10/john-kerry-superhero-in-vicious-end-of_27.html



Then, he goes on to detail the three great battles Kerry waged against power: Kerry vs. Nixon (Vietnam War), Kerry vs. Reagan (Iran-Contra), and Kerry vs. Bush I (BCCI). God, it would be great if we could take the U.S. Senate in '06, because then a new battle could be waged: Kerry vs. Bush II (Corruption). Yes, I know there's a lot to go after in W's administration, but I think the corruption of both Bush and the Republican Congress is the worst of it all. Then, the Rude Pundit continues:



Damn, what a rant our rude pundit delivered, and it resonates even more now, because almost everyone (save the blind die-hard Bush supporters) has seen how weak a man and president Bush really is. Do you think a superhero like Kerry would let a bitch hurricane like Katrina destroy him? No way. Had he been president, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have been kicking ass before the storm, during the storm, and after the storm, throwing everything he could for the people of New Orleans, Lousiana, and Mississippi, taking charge and working WITH the mayor of NO and the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi, and not letting us down, because THAT is what superheroes do.

And I hate to pile-on Schrum, but RudePundit was right, they didn't know how to market what they had.

Sigh! Lesson learned, if the speech at Brown is any indication.

I felt a little funny about my Rude Pundit post of a few days ago because I neglected to add that the Rude Pundit was a staunch Kerry supporter, and so had earned the right to tease him a bit about his public speaking style. But you've made up for my lapse. :-)

I just came across this comment at my friend Shaun's blog Upper Left, which I thought was so wonderful I wanted to share it with you all. I was wondering how to present it, but you've just done me another favor by opening up the subject of blog comment. :-) :-)

Here's Brad's idea for a Kerry 2008 campaign slogan:

"Gonna make the same mistake twice, dipshits?"

What do you think? I'm dreaming of the bumper stickers already.

And here's a great comment, also at Upper Left:

Kerry will run in '08. He won't face an incumbent. He won't face a war that Americans are still divided on. He won't face anyone in either party who has better national security credentials. There's nothing left for the press to pick at. He knows how to campaign. He knows how to raise money. And he was right. About everything from gas prices to Iraq to accountability to repealing the tax cuts for the rich.

Kerry will run again in '08. And whether Hillary accepts his invitation to be VP or not, he will win.
The Phantom | Email | Homepage | 09.18.05 - 10:41 am

Gotta love it.

I also came across this comment at No More Apples (The italicized portion quotes Frank Rich's column from last Sunday):

What comes next? Having turned the page on Mr. Bush, the country hungers for a vision that is something other than either liberal boilerplate or Rovian stagecraft. At this point, merely plain old competence, integrity and heart might do.

I wonder if John Kerry just might stand a chance in 2008. Up till recently I didn't think it was a possibility. But perhaps now the country would be ready to admit it made a mistake in 2004. His "skeletons" have been pretty well exploited to their maximum potential by the Rethugs and put to rest, while other Dems would just be fresh meat. Just a thought.

I really don't see most of the other possibilities fitting the latter 2 of those qualities. I get disheartened when I see the coverage of the Brown speech. Again, only very small snippets are used to give untrue implications. In GD-P there is a Howard Kurtz column that says that Edwards provides alternative solutions and says Kerry is in 2004 mode attacking Bush. Most people will only see the little snippets.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2104565

a hell of a column, but I'm afraid they're a lot of pretty but empty words.

Words without deeds?? Rich appeared many times on Imus last year to mock Kerry, to laugh along with Imus on whatever stupid thing they were picking on that day. Maureen Dowd was equally guilty of insider snark. When it counted neither one of them put their status on the line to stand up for what they knew very well was right. I can never forgive either of them for that. I read their columns. I appreciate their skill. But every time I read them I'm thinking - yeah, but where were you last year?

Krugman is the only one I can think of who consistently put his ethics ahead of his desire to be a kewl kid. Come to think of it, Krugman is an economist - and so by definition a geek. He ought to be very proud of that.

Offering alternative solutions and slamming Bush at the same time? I agree that most people will only see the little snippets of that article. :shrug:

The positive, optimistic vision of the alternatives is very important because it could be part of what the Democrats run on. I just wish people heard or read more of the speech on tv or in the newspapers. But 800 Brown students who heard it and were enthusiastic probably emailed accounts to a vast number of people. (As a 55 yr old, I'm amazed at how my college student kids keep in touch with so many of their hs friends. )

The thing is is that Bush is history come January 2009. So it's important to set out a vision. And I think Kerry has hit on a theme of community, which I just love!!!! The line about not saying "what's in it for me", but instead saying, "what's in it for all of us". Shared sacrifice. But it doesn't mean that you will get nothing, and, say, give it all away to the poor. It means EVERYONE will benefit. It definitely is very Kennedyesque, which is not so surprising since he is JK's idol. Now the important work Kerry has is to flesh out this general theme into concrete specifics.