WaPo's Kathleen Parker suffers from MTD

[ProSense]

The real John Kerry says no go

In deciding not to run for president, he sounds like one

By Kathleen Parker
The Washington Post Writers Group
February 04, 2007 6:00 AM

Snip...

Kerry is dropping out - before he dropped in - and he'll try to find better ways to serve his country than making bad jokes, modeling spandex and insulting the military.

OK, OK, halt, truce, peace. It's over. Give the man a hand.

The truth is Kerry never has been better than he was announcing his intention not to run in 2008. Speaking to his colleagues in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 24, he was dignified and resolute, and, more to the point, he was real.

Snip...

In similar ways, Gore and Kerry are tragic figures.

Both seemed destined to become president and both believed in that destiny. Which is to say, they bought their own myths; they might have wanted it too much.

Want has a scent. It reeks of rapaciousness and oozes from the pores of the overly ambitious. Others likely to make a run in 2008 are similarly malodorous. You know who they are.

Far more appealing are those who don't lust so much for the presidency. One has to want the office to win, obviously. Duty alone isn't enough to sustain a candidate in today's pitiless political environment.

Obviously, too, some level of grandiosity is required for survival - and probably for effectiveness.

A candidate has to keep believing he's worthy, because plenty of people will press the other view.

Wanting for the sake of winning - of fulfilling some need to be great - usually will be revealed for what it is and do a politician in.

One way or another.

more...

"Truce"? You MTD (Media Transmitted Distortion) carrier!

"Bought into their own myths"? Gore won!

Backhanded compliments don't count, so say get help Kathleen. Stick to the facts!

[Luftmensch067]

1. Posted a response

Who knows when or if it will appear... I was too mad to write very clearly!

[Island Blue]

2. It already did.

:)

[Luftmensch067]

3. Yes! I hope others will comment, too, but be warned!

They only published the first third or more of what I wrote. There's nothing that tells you when you're writing how many characters they will show so be briefer than I was!!

Thank goodness I at least got the Media Matters link into the first bit... :-)

[ProSense]

4. Terrific response! Thanks.

I also responded.

[Luftmensch067]

5. Thanks, the rest of it was much more terrific...

I wrote about the campaign and how much everyone loved JK and THK and how hard he worked, flying around the country without rest, and how the MSM just mocked instead of listening to what he was actually saying. Sigh. But if they won't accurately report what he says, why would they accurately report what I say? :-)

Can't wait to see what you wrote!

[ProSense]

6. Oh, it was a snip

from the diary at D-Kos

[ProSense]

7. No comment yet.

Did I do something wrong?

[Island Blue]

8. I commented too and it hasn't appeared yet.

Of course I also had to give BradF a little advice, so maybe that's not allowed and mine won't get published. It was friendly advice, with just a hint of snark. ;)

[Island Blue]

12. I wonder why our comment haven't been published yet?

They have now published Luftmensch's comment, a Freeper's comment and a link to animal porn, but not our comments. Maybe they're trying to be fair and balanced. :rofl:

[ProSense]

13. .

:rofl:

[sandnsea]

9. What's funny to me

The Kerry that I saw on Jan 24 was the same Kerry I saw in 2002 on the Hardball college tour where he talked to that group of cadets, IIRC, and tried to get them to realize what war is about. Sure he isn't exactly the same, every time he speaks. But he's 'real' often enough, and it's reported often enough, that at some point it should stop being a 'shock'.

[MarjorieG]

10. My LTE

Probably should have put this in blog comments. Live and learn. Do we know if these columns go to other WaPo connections:


That's rich. As one of the lemmings disguised as journalists, Kathleen Parker is tired of the image she concocted of John Kerry, so she's ready to deconstruct another.

I won't go fully into the difficulty of reaching voters through that filter of gotcha and mischaracterization, and to the real guy, in this case, the always human and probably elected John Kerry. A sure fire win, if the facts about him and urgency of replacing Bush had been known.

As answer to your clichés, he looks great in spandex, as he wind surfs 75 miles on open ocean, more everyman and athletically than the wealthier pastimes of golf and yachts.

John Kerry is far more eloquent a truth-teller than he is comedian, although he has a wit that isn't well known. In elevating that botched joke to a smear, a missed pronoun meant as a swipe at Bush for repeating history in Iraq because he hadn't studied, you took the soul of the decorated military man, who'd spent his Senate career protecting vets. And that isn't funny.

People should know he has always been "dignified, resolute, and real." Wish Ms. Parker would have reported that.

[ProSense]

11. Excellent! Thanks! n/t

[MarjorieG]

14. Sent without the extra "by" first sentence

[Luftmensch067]

17. Very nice

I especially like this part: ...you took the soul of the decorated military man, who'd spent his Senate career protecting vets. And that isn't funny.

I wish they would publish that.

I can't imagine what kind of cockamamie system they use for publishing comments over there, but it's worse than HuffPo, apparently!!!

[Inuca]

15. I tried my luck as well

just in case... maybe they DO accept more than 3 comments after all. The desire to show the world how smart you are, which in most cases implies a hefty amount of snarkiness, that's the main motivation of articles such as this. Useless posturing has a scent of its own, though stink may be a better word.

[wisteria]

16. I commented also. This contiuation of Bullsh*t is nonsense. n/t