Out-of-touch, elitist Massachusetts liberal? What would give people that idea?
Posted on 09/05/2004 8:46:21 AM PDT by Sarastro
YOU'D think John Kerry could be excused for wanting to spend a summer afternoon on the water.
Instead, David Letterman mocked him for windsurfing instead of campaigning. Jay Leno played the flip-flop card, quipping that even Mr. Kerry's hobby depends on which way the wind blows.
Zell Miller, who could himself be accused of being flip-flopper-in-chief, derided Mr. Kerry's swim trunks as "silly little bicycle pants."
Conservative blogs lumped the windsurfing in with Mr. Kerry's other elite hobbies - skiing, biking, flying between vacation homes. ("He married the all-inclusive package," sneered one posting on freerepublic.com. "EVERYTHING is included.")
Like the helmeted Michael Dukakis peeking out of the tank, or the first George Bush bewildered at the grocery scanner, the photo of Mr. Kerry windsurfing played into the negative stereotype his opponents are trying to play up - in this case, that of the out-of-touch, elitist Massachusetts liberal.
The stereotypes of the sport are unfair - there are lots of plumbers and construction workers windsurfing off Cape Cod and in the lakes of Iowa. (Better put: Who among us doesn't like windsurfing?) "I would have expected it to go over well, the stodgy, overserious guy trying to do something hipper," said Robert J. Thompson, a professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University. "It's not like he was going out having a row with the Harvard crew team."
Still, there was the sense that no one would have mocked Mr. Bush photographed in the same position, even though the two men could have a Zell Miller duel over who has the deeper pedigree. But despite his legacy at Yale and the weekends in Kennebunkport, Me., Mr. Bush manages to pull off the common-man routine without question. Earlier this year when both he and Mr. Kerry were pictured riding top of the line bicycles, and both fell off, Mr. Kerry was the one ridiculed for the expensive bike.
"Often things that they both do still redound to Kerry's disadvantage - the Ivy League education, the biking," said Thomas Frank, author of "What's the Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America." Mr. Frank noted that he had just attended a Republican party at the New York Yacht Club, the varnished-wood redoubt of elitism. "But somehow the image of the yacht really clings to Kerry," he said. "Largely because Republicans have made the stereotype so natural. If a liberal drives an S.U.V., it's the car of the elite, if a Republican drives one it's instantly the car of the common man. They have a whole stereotype that they've spent years building."
Professor Thompson confesses that he does not think it has anything to do with windsurfing, or skiing, or even the mansions. After all, no one made fun of John F. Kennedy for all those yachting photos.
"The thing about windsurfing is, there's wind," he explains. "It blows through your hair. John Kerry looks like a guy who could ride in a convertible with the wind rushing through all that hair, but the truth is, his hair just looks goofy when he's out there on that windsurfer. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it just boils down to the hair." Quick, somebody warn Hillary.
Out-of-touch, elitist Massachusetts liberal? What would give people that idea?
Wind-surfing doesn't look good on anybody over forty.
And Kerry's vacations from his vacations look bad on a rich man.
"The New York Times is SUCH a JOKE," sneered another poster on freerepublic.com. She continued, "There are few things more pathetic than the most pompous legacy media establishment (NYT) continuing to operate under the delusion that it is relevant."
The NYT can quote me on that. I even wrote the quote for them so they'll get it right when they plagerize it.
John Kerry to Watery Tart: "I WILL NOT HAVE MY PACKAGE QUESTIONED!!!"
Let's see, he's losing...it must be image. Yeah, that's it. It's image. And those terrible Republicans are winning because they're so much better at...image-building! Yeah, that's it! Image-building!
"These pictures capture him running from one vacation activity to another in pastimes that are really for a much younger generation."
"He married the all-inclusive package. EVERYTHING is included."
87 posted on 07/18/2004 8:22:03 AM PDT by Watery Tart (Kerry is bin Laden's Man/Bush is Mine)
Any kite surfers out there? If so, what do you think of the sport? I am SERIOUSLY interested in this.
What package? :O)
You beat me to it, Tamsey :-)
Personally, I don't have a problem with Kerry windsurfing, snowboarding, or any of that. I think it's petty to mock a guy's leisure activities and clothing. (Ahem. Anyone remember what they said about George Bush's barbecues, brush clearing, cowboy hats, flight suit, etc.?)
You have helped shape history!
WT has been missing in action for a couple of weeks.
> "I would have expected it to go over well, the stodgy, overserious guy trying to do something hipper,"
> If a liberal drives an S.U.V., it's the car of the elite, if a Republican drives one it's instantly the car of the common man. They have a whole stereotype that they've spent years building.
It's all about character. This is a no-win for Kerry. Either he's a phony trying to look relevant, or he's an elitist playing with his expensive toys.
> After all, no one made fun of John F. Kennedy for all those yachting photos.
Guess she didn't spend too much time here, eh? Her heart probably wouldn't bear talking about the photoshops...
The point is, they're blaming his image, the fact that Kerry looks so unnatural, on us.
Woo Hoo! Found him!
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1173558/posts?page=87#87
To: Ruth A.
These pictures capture him running from one vacation activity to another in pastimes that are really for a much younger generation.
He married the all-inclusive package. EVERYTHING is included.
87 posted on 07/18/2004 8:22:03 AM PDT by Watery Tart (Kerry is bin Laden's Man/Bush is Mine)
They sure picked one of the tamer "sneers."
Kerry needs to act his age. A wetsuit on a sixty two year old is silly.
Ah! You beat me to it :)
Be even funnier if THEY came up with it and decided to claim that it came from here!
Go FREEPERS!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.