Replies

It's so ironic that it is happening this way.

All of the horrible stuff about Kerry (his viciousness, his hypocracy, his smearing of all Vietnam veterans, his lies about his war record, his inactivity in the Senate, and on and on and on) have relatively little impact on most voters. One mean comment resonates with the public and, I hope, becomes the tipping point that causes large numbers of voters to break faith with their candidate.

Why didn't people get disgusted with him long ago? Is the public at fault? Is the media coverup so effective?

I'm completely perplexed at the randomness of all of this.

I disagree. The Swift Boat Vets have impacted the race. Kerry's support has never really broke out of the 45-47 range. Ask ABC since they ran that stupid story on Nightline last night. They know these vets have caused the public to question his character.

"Is the media coverup so effective? "

Partly; but IMO it is deeper than merely that.

Kerry is an invented personality. Not only that, but he reinvents himself as the occassion demands. He is a chameleon.

When we meet someone or hear them present themselves, we have to assume that they are presenting themselves as they in fact actually are. That is how society works. We can't keep a file on everyone we meet, looking for inconsistencies, etc. It takes a while of paying attention even to become suspicious: THIS PERSON IS NOT AS HE SEEMS.

EVEN then, the person's seeming sincerity throws us off again the at next encounter. All prepared to react to the truth about them -- they say something to discombobble us again. [Recall Clinton. Some people never COULD reach the conclusion that he was bad.]

IOW, an effective liar is, well, EFFECTIVE at deceipt.

Plus, he may even be honest . . . HE may not know who he is or what his positions are, either! ;)

Except VietNam, of course. That he clings to as his life's defining event -- BOTH in the war, AND against the war . . .

See what I mean?

Its the media cover up. Nothing really gets through to the public.

It's so ironic that it is happening this way.

All of the horrible stuff about Kerry (his viciousness, his hypocracy, his smearing of all Vietnam veterans, his lies about his war record, his inactivity in the Senate, and on and on and on) have relatively little impact on most voters. One mean comment resonates with the public and, I hope, becomes the tipping point that causes large numbers of voters to break faith with their candidate.

Why didn't people get disgusted with him long ago? Is the public at fault? Is the media coverup so effective?

I'm completely perplexed at the randomness of all of this.

Me too, Piranha, me too.

All I can say is that it has probably been always been this way. Politics seems to be more art than science, and all the "pundits" and "prognosticators" are almost always wrong.

Only thing I can say is that here is some parallel to human relationships. Seems like we've all had experiences where some person reveals themselves in some unexpected way and we never feel the same way about them again. And oftentimes, what that other person is doing doesn't even make sense and probably couldn't explain why they did what they did.

I have the notion that politics is the same thing, just writ larger. Great observation.

do you think that, for a lot of people, it is all starting to come together? they have tried to support Kerry despite his faults but he cannot hide the fact that he is a cold, calculating creep. the Mary Cheney remark was bad, but he compounded it with the "women in his life" answer, and maybe a lot of voters just said "I give up".

I have felt (hoped?) for a while that a lot of people, when they get in the voting booth, just won't be able to hit the Kerry button.

wasn't it Imus, while supporting Hillary every day on his show, who said that when he got into the booth he just couldn't do it?

I think it's the idea that Mary Cheney could just as well be you or me. We don't think about violation of privacy much until it happens to us. Say, if your house is robbed. The first feeling you have is disgust, that someone's been in your home, touching, stealing your things. You want to take a bath. In effect, Mary Cheney was publicly raped, not once, but three times...or four if you count Kerry's self-serving nonapology. Make no mistake. Edwards and Kerry just went down in flames.

Combination result.
Most people do not actively hate homosexuals.
Most people personally know at least one homosexual casually and/or have a homosexual in their extended family.
Most homosexuals who are interested in nominal participation in our society, are not "flamingly gay homosexual activists".
Most people just want to be left alone, and live thier life the best they can manage.
Homosexuality is a known perversion of human sexuality.
It does not rise to the level of deserving "extra-special rights" for a historically despised minority.
Shall we free predatory child pedophiles and serial rapists from legal prosecution, because that is thier sexual gratification preference?
Is abnormal sexual orientation a protected constitutional right?