Sigh...

[Redstone]

If Kerry had only spoken like that during the 2004 campaign. Even just once.

Redstone

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. amen

[TheCowsCameHome]

The world would have been so different now.........

[maddiejoan]

2. He did.

If only the media had covered it.

[yellowdogmi]

3. I heard him speak like that here in Chicago

He was magnificient. Of course it was a friendly audience. I hope that he continues to speak like that.

[Rick Myers]

4. Amen. n/t

[knowbody0]

5. amen

"they" attack what they fear the most, and they are right to fear John Kerry.

[knowbody0]

7. how did you get three people to simultaneously

say "amen"?

[undeterred]

6. I don't think he's good at promoting himself

He's much better at taking stands on issues. He's a great Senator. Wish we had more like him.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. My dear Redstone....

How right you are.

It could have turned the corner for us.

Sigh indeed.

But there's no use looking back now. That time is past.

But maybe, just maybe, he will be strong for us now.

[rockymountaindem]

9. I really don't think this is anything new.

What we see here is the use of media stereotyping to play against the Democrats. Let's take Howard Dean as an example. The other side figured that they were going to paint Dean as a loudmouth loose cannon who didn't know when to shut up. So, playing along with that story, the media highlighted incidents in which Dean appeared to be speaking unadvisedly, such as after the Saddam Hussein capture. At that point, Dean said that he didn't think it would make much of a difference. The media and their Republican pals lambasted Dean for being out of touch, unknowledgeable about the "war on terror" and trying to detract from Bush's supposed victory. Well, three weeks later, the violence was as bad as ever, but the story had died down and nobody ever apologized to Dean or gave him credit for being right.

The same was true with Kerry in the opposite context. Kerry was going to be tarred as wooden, uninspiring and "too smart". So, the media suppressed any clips of him being firey and aggressive. That's why they would show Kerry being introduced and warming up the crowd, and then cut away from his stump speech saying "we'll come back if anything newsworthy happens". That's how they got viewers to miss the passion that Kerry displayed back then.

Today, the Republicans figure that making Kerry sound like he "hates the troops" is to their advantage. Personally I think they would have latched onto any comment they could distort, and this is the one that came up first. Regardless, the RW started yapping on TV about the whole "incident", but this time the media couldn't turn away from Kerry's response. The truth is that Kerry has always been full of this same spirit, it's only coming to light now that the Republicans are so desperate they think it works against Kerry and the Democrats.