Good post by Andrew Sullivan

[Mass]

It took everybody a full day to react, but it seems that people are understanding how to do that now.

http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/11/abandoning_an_a.html

[wisteria]

1. Well, he has redeemed himself somewhat. I like the comments about

McCain. The other news is disheartening.

[TayTay]

2. Not a bad one from Ezra Klein (Not really good either)

TAPPED

November 01, 2006
"HIS AMBITION HAS MADE HIM A COWARD." I like how you put that, Charlie. I know that ambition corrupts, and absolute ambition corrupts absolutely, but I'm still a bit shocked and awed at the depths to which McCain has dropped. Put aside his faux-ideological independence, his disheartening ability to pass off traditional conservatism as modern centrism. The one thing McCain always retained, and always seemed serious about, was an elevated expectation for politics. He seemed to believe that campaigns should be about something more than decontextualized votes and misleading attacks. He'd intervene even when the negative ad, judged by the standards such things are judged, was an average attack. He bristled to see the patriotism impugned or character attacked. That was his virtue: He convinced the country that he was above politics by, at times, being above politics. And yet here he is, doing all the worse, and he must knows it.

It's hard to look at this situation and not pity John Kerry. JK is, by all accounts, a good man, a thoughtful man, a decent man, but one who is singularly incapable of thriving in the soundbite era. His mistake is easy enough to understand, if only because no candidate with an eye towards 2008 would dare suggest our troops are anything but ubermenschen with Mensa memberships. And it's easy enough to understand why the right jumped on it -- they are desperate, bloodthirsty, and base. But McCain, who knows both the intent of his ambitious friend's comment and the agony its misinterpretation is surely causing him, would have once intervened to ensure a good man is not brought low by this sort of meaningless bullshit. Today, he will be the the hack with the knife. I hope it's worth it for him. I can't imagine it will be.

--Ezra Klein

http://www.prospect.org/weblog/

[wisteria]

3. McCain is slim- that is all! n/t

[Inuca]

4. I actually think

that this is pretty good. The only criticism I can see is that Kerry is "singularly incapable of thriving in the soundbite era". It may be overstated, but I think that it is basically true (though he dis come up with some great soundbites), and it is due to his thoughtfulness and depth. Does it hurt him at times? Unfortunately yes. Sad but true. No criticism whatsoever implied. To the contrary.

[whometense]

5. Some good stuff on HuffPo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-anderson/john-kerry-one-hell-of-a_b_32969.html

John, when we met with you in May, I asked why you hadn't pushed back harder against the SwiftBoatWankers? I was impressed when you looked me in the eye and said "But I did." You detailed when and how you had responded to them, and that was good.

But dude! This was what I wanted, this was the outrage I had been hoping for back then. That it comes now is great! Don't worry about '08, worry about next Tuesday. Don't listen to consultants, listen to your gut. Say a lot more stuff like this, and who knows, maybe Democrats will take another look at you as the guy who can beat the Republicans.

Thanks, John.


SteveAudio.blogspot.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-young/howard-kurtz-why-not-ask_b_32971.html

Howard Kurtz: Why Not Ask Liberal Mainstream Media™ Why They Hate John Kerry?

Dear Howard,

Wonder if you would do me a favor and consider the info below for this Sunday's "Inside Sources."

Tuesday night, the 8PM (EST) CBS Radio news opened with the big John Kerry joke story.

The anchor called Kerry's joke one "that fell flat." In comedian circles, that's a joke that the audience didn't get or they got but it just didn't work.
I.E. The audience didn't think it was funny.

CBS then played the now infamous clip of Kerry telling his joke. Not even a titter from his audience of collegians, who should be smart enough to get a joke, even ones botched by a U.S. Senator (one would hope that politicians would unlearn "always open with a joke").

The CBS anchor was right. It fell flat...as a failed presidential pancake.

And that's how I would have left it...if I hadn't heard the actual student reaction to Kerry's flat material on a non-news show.

The audience had laughed. They got the joke. It had, in fact, worked.

The CBS News that continues to be the Right WIng's target as the Network of Rather™, had cut the audience's reaction to Kerry's clumsy joke. If they had included his audience's positive reaction, the "flat" reference wouldn't have worked and the continued demonization of Kerry's comments would have been more difficult to sell.

Cutting the laughter was almost as much as a sin as adding canned laughter to a joke that didn't work on "Two And A Half Men." You add the laughter to make the audience think the joke was funny, because otherwise, based on the content of the joke alone, you'd never know.

CBS News had (cut and) spun™ the "joke" almost as much as the Right Wing Noise Machine™ and President Bush had spun the target of Kerry's quip, because they all knew that in the laughter lay the truth of Kerry's intent.

If Kerry's comment was meant as a dig against the troops, as Karl Rove would like us to believe, why did he get the audience reaction he did?

In the Associated Press version of the story, Jennifer Loven wrote, "... Kerry told a group of California students on Monday that those unable to navigate the country's education system "get stuck in Iraq."

He never said such a thing. Let's go to the tape.

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

And yet, despite CBS's seeming intent, the audience laughed.

If it were meant as a dig against the troops, why did the students laugh? Even if they they wanted to undermine the troops™, they might applaud. But laugh? O'Reilly would say, while pitching his latest book, it was because those campus SPs™ were Bush Haters™. Which is exactly the point. In the context of Kerry's comments, his "joke" was a dig at Bush, not the troops.

But left in context, there is no story, except for the RNC trying to drown out the administration's failures in Iraq.

So, Howard, here's another question for your panel.

I realize time is precious and soundbites are just that. But when the soundbite distorts the truth of the news, is that news, or is it just a moment with Sean Hannity?

Then again, you might just want to have me on your panel and I can tell you what I think.

Best,
Steve Young
Less Than Credible Political Columnist, But Award-Winning TV Comedy Writer
www.greatfailure.com
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[beachmom]

6. It's a little redeeming, but not by much. I think he got hit with a ton of e-mails

from his readers, more and more who are liberals, condemning his attack. He condemns McCain, et al, yet he jumped in with the pack, without even thinking. Clearly, he hates John Kerry for whatever reason. It's like the D.C. crowd is more interested in knocking him down than saving this country from Bush's incompetence. It's wrong, and I'll continue to call him on it. Still, I am a reader of his blog, and he'll have to put up with my continued criticism.