John Kerry rides Harley onto Leno's stage

[helleborient]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031112/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_leno_3

Ummmm...he seems to be working very hard to be "hip"

[LuminousX]

1. I wonder if Kerry ever went to Sturgis

I wonder if Teresa ever flashed a crowd.

[U2Shark]

2. Rob Halford for VP

[helleborient]

5. LOL (n/t)

[deutsey]

3. To be fair, Kerry's a big Harley aficiando

so it isn't that he's posing or anything. This kind of thing (riding a hog onstage) is perfect for TV...kind of like Clinton and his sax.

[Bozola]

7. I wonder if he has a trailer to go with that Harley.

Harleys exist solely for posing. They're gawd-awful to ride!


...or as we (my race team/group) say

"A Harley is a tacky piece of jewelry dangling from the ass of someone who can't ride"

(there are always exception to this Harley rule, but they're quite rare)

[SahaleArm]

10. All show, no go.

*nm*

[northernsoul]

4. It's good that he's trying to show a pulse

but this may backfire as it looks like he's "trying too hard" now

[helleborient]

6. I was concerned about this quote from the article....

Did anyone actually see him on the show?

Yahoo says this:

"Kerry also said the improving economy wouldn't be a major issue in the 2004 presidential election because people are more focused on health care."

So is he just accepting what the Republicans say about the economy improving?? What about economist warnings of the jobless recovery? Aren't people focused on jobs?

[curse10]

8. I saw him

and I don't think that was what he was implicating. Leno asked that if the economy really was improving would that be a problem for dems. Kerry said, no, he hopes that economy is improving and if it is then why make it an issue.

[helleborient]

9. Make it an issue because it's a jobless recovery!!!!!

He missed a big opportunity. We've lost over 3,000,000 jobs that most economists don't think are coming back.

[paulk]

11. I saw the show

and I saw that quote - and it really struck me as wierd - I don't know if that's an exact quote, but it certainly didn't come off the way the A.P. writer makes it sound.

Kerry said something to the effect that we should all hope the economy gets better, that he wanted it to get better, and come election time he hoped that health care would be an issue that voters made their decision on.

I'm paraphrasing wildly, but he got the biggest audience response with that.

Kerry's main focus seemed to be to come across as a "regular" guy, which he did ok at. He didn't hurt himself, I don't think.

[sandnsea]

12. He didn't say that at all

He said he hoped the economy would improve and families would have jobs. That would be great. But Democrats will still win because those families are still desperate for health care solutions and fully funded education. (applause) And he talked a little bit about health care and his college tuition plans etc. Like he's supposed to do, it is his campaign. And Toby Keith was on after him. No point pissing off a Toby Keith crowd going totally anti-Bush. He already beat him up on Iraq and maybe didn't get quite the applause he usually does.

[Kolesar]

13. You can't get quads of steel sitting on a motor vehicle

I just don't get this Harley chic. Give me a Waterford. Heck, give me a Schwinn.

edit: Is Senator Kerry going to don some baggy trousers and get hip-hop for his next TV gig?

[George_Bonanza]

14. Totally awesome!

Kerry's a motorcycle veteran, so it's second-nature to him. He's no poser or wannabe. He's a hardcore sportsman. Oh what's next, Kerry's a bad man because he encourages reckless driving?

[blm]

15. That whole "phony" meme was started in the Nixon WH and has been

perpetuated throughout Kerry's career by GOP operatives. It worsened during Kerry's investigations into BCCI, IranContra and CIA drugrunning. That meme is resurrected and disseminated in newsrooms whenever the GOP fears Kerry getting any focused attention from the American people.

They get alot of help around here.

[Monte Carlo]

16. Oh God, I just saw it... It was a BIT... what's the big friggin' deal?

I mean, when he crashes through the gate by the guard eating a donut... I think that's a big clue that it was just a bit, not an attempt to look like James Dean.