Kerryisms on Slate

[jmags]

I haven't been reading Slate much lately, so I'm not sure when they began this "Kerryisms" schtick, but if any of them are as blatantly misleading as what they have today...this is pathetic - and just more of the same from the SCLM.

Here's the original Kerry quote:

kerryisms The senator's caveats and curlicues.

"I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist ... who doesn't share it."

Makes sense. Kerry personally would not choose abortion, but does not believe he should legislate that personal decision on others. Here is what Saletan did to butcher and completely distort the meaning of the quote.

"I oppose abortion1. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception.2 3"

The problem is the Saletanized sentence completely changes the meaning of the sentence. Were Kerry to voice the "corrected" sentence, most everyone would assume Kerry had changed his view on abortion - and surely the flip-flop label would come out in full force.

Are they all this bad? How can Saletan not see how he is blatantly changing the meaning of what Kerry says by proclaiming to get rid of his "curlycues"? http://slate.msn.com/id/2103474/

[boobooday]

1. Saletan bugs sometimes

And Slate can be . . . . pernicious

You definitely smell the MSNBC behind it sometimes.

Bushisms were genuine howlers, and these are always a pathetic, totured stretch.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[kiahzero]

2. It does suck

http://spinsanity.org/columns/20040615.html (skip to the Kerryisms section).

[jmags]

3. Spinsanity is forsaking common sense for 'balance' in their own

right here. The "Bushism" about Bush saying, "poor people aren't necessarily killers" is not any better when put into context. It is still a remarkably clumsy statement by a guy that makes lots of those...and certainly worthy of a "Bushism". Only the first one about Bush's quote regarding the Iraqi with prosthetic hands was a fair criticism.