Camelot fades as Kennedys lose poll magic (ALLELUIA ALERT)

The Sunday Times ^ | September 8, 2002 | Sarah Baxter

[MadIvan]

FOR an ambitious politician with a proud pedigree, the insults could not have been more painful. His wife was a nobody, while he was a whiner who was “running home for dad”.

The barrage had such an impact that the upstart Andrew Cuomo, would-be governor of New York, was left with little choice but to withdraw from the race. His humiliating retreat last week marked a further decline in the fortunes of the once-great Kennedy clan, to which he is related by marriage.

With the Bush dynasty in the ascendant and a Clinton dynasty in the making, the magic is fading from the name that captivated America. The Kennedys have been sidelined as a political force, while Jeb Bush, George W’s brother, is tipped to run for president in 2008 against a newly formidable Hillary Clinton.

Cuomo, 44, could be forgiven for believing he had a glittering career ahead of him. His wife Kerry is the daughter of Robert F Kennedy, the former attorney- general who was assassinated in 1968 while running for president. Cuomo’s father, Mario, had a personal lock on the New York governorship from 1982 to 1994.

Yet Cuomo found himself in a bitter campaign, in which his family connections were ridiculed. One of his political opponents sneered that nobody had ever heard of his wife and a television commercial starring Senator Edward Kennedy and Martin Luther King III bombed.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, another daughter of Robert Kennedy, who is campaigning to become governor of Maryland, has also been basking in the family name on television.

“I grew up in a family that always taught the importance of public service,” she claimed proudly in an advertisement.

More like public excess, public indulgence, public parasitism - Ivan

Voters were stubbornly unimpressed and her lead slipped from 15 points at the beginning of the campaign to a low of three points a few weeks ago. She remains favourite to win in November but is no longer a shoo-in in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by two to one.

Instead KKT, as she is known, has stumbled through the campaign, coining the word Hispanish among Latino voters, getting the name of a celebrated racehorse wrong and introducing her running mate as an ambassador rather than an admiral.

What memories voters have of the Kennedys’ Camelot are now seriously tainted. Even JFK, assassinated in 1963, has been knocked from his pedestal by revelations about his sex life and ties to the mob, while Senator Edward Kennedy, his brother, has never lived down the drowning of Mary Jo Kopechne in his car at Chappaquiddick in 1969.

The family’s hopes now rest on Mark Shriver, JFK’s nephew, who is standing for Congress in Maryland and whose low-profile campaign may ease him to victory.

[MadIvan]

The suggestion appears to be that this tainted dynasty is on its way out. Good.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[hoosierskypilot]

"...a Clinton dynasty in the making..."

Heaven help us!

[nopardons]

It was only assasinations and a willing lefty media, that made the Kennedys into " somebodies ." What most people fail to remember / know, is that JFK was NEVER thought of as even a " good " president, whilst alive. It was ONLY through propaganda ( Jackie propelled that " Camelot " garbage , through E.B. White ! ), that his administration was even ever called " Camelot " !

With X42 out of office ( thank YOU, GOD ! ), Hitlery a senator, and only Chelsea, as a relative in the wings ( ? ), there can't be a " Clinton Dynasty " !

[MadIvan]

With X42 out of office ( thank YOU, GOD ! ), Hitlery a senator, and only Chelsea, as a relative in the wings ( ? ), there can't be a " Clinton Dynasty " !

In a sense there is already a dynasty - the Economist talked about this the other week: not related to Clinton per se, but having worked for him: you have Janet Reno running for office, for example. I think Robert Reich is too. Rahm Emmanuel I also believe is running for office. Etc. etc. - the Clintonista Dynasty is out there already.

Best Regards, Ivan

[Savage Beast]

Of course the demise of American's infatuation with the Kennedys is welcome, but the Democrats have merely replaced this trashy dynasty with one even trashier and thus even more to their liking.

Quote of the Day:

“I grew up in a family that always taught the importance of public service.”

--Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

"More like public excess, public indulgence, public parasitism

--MadIvan

[blackbart.223]

Let's not forget that The Kennedy fortune was gained by running bootleg whiskey. Not that I'm against whisky, but it was illegal to do so at the time they did it.

[RichInOC]

No, Kathleen is.

[Savage Beast]

"There can't be a 'Clinton Dynasty'!"

What about Danny?

[Savage Beast]

"Janet Reno...Robert Reich...Rahm Emmanuel...Etc. etc. - the Clintonista Dynasty is out there already."

More like the Clintonista Freakshow - Beast

[nopardons]

What you say, re the Clintonistas running, is true ; however, that isn't what a " political dynasty " really means. Are we back arguing about the true meaning of IS ? LOL

Reno will probably lose, Rahm will probably win ( drat ! ), and I don't know how Robert Reich is doing in Mass.

[nopardons]

No, newbie, an article can't be " retarded "; only people can be. Please go back ( stay in ) school and learn English, before you bother to post again.

[MadIvan]

Bill Richardson is also likely to win.

Apparently there are 11 Clintonistas running in total. I agree this doesn't quite square up as a dynasty in the traditional sense.

Best Regards, Ivan

[Pontiac]

introducing her running mate as an ambassador rather than an admiral.

If the people of Maryland elect this woman to office they get what they deserve. an IDIOT.

If you don’t even know who your running mate is you must be an idiot.

Of course… She remains favourite to win in November but is no longer a shoo-in in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by two to one. they deserve an idiot any way.

[nopardons]

Also by selling short and driving down the market, during the '29 Crash and using underhanded / illegal methods , to boot.

[nopardons]

That's funny ! :-)

Well, he isn't old enough ... yet, and last I had heard, is living is Australia. But then, anything could happen, I suppose.

[nopardons]

Ugh ... you are the bearer of bad news. :-(

[blackbart.223]

"This article is retarded...."

No sir: You are.

[MadIvan]

But then, anything could happen, I suppose.

Yes, Roger could also give up his singing (cough, hack, cough) career and decide to run for Congress too.

Regards, Ivan

[nopardons]

Please, dear, old friend , enough of these musings. I don't need any hypothetical nightmare scenarios ; reality is bad enough. :-(

[MadIvan]

Can't you see the Roger Clinton Campaign for Senate however - "Roger Clinton - A Mindless Candidate for a Mindless Institution". ;)

Best Regards, Ivan

[nopardons]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggg !

LOL

[blackbart.223]

"Also by selling short and driving down the market, during the '29 Crash and using underhanded / illegal methods , to boot."

Not to mention voter fraud by The Mafia to get Jack elected. Frank Sinatra was a big help in this.

[MadIvan]

Roger Clinton on the Issues:

Health: "I'll do whatever Hillary tells me."

Education: "I'll do whatever Hillary tells me."

Taxation: "I'll do whatever Hillary tells me."

Interns: "I'll pass the hotties on to Bill."

Etc. etc.

Best Regards, Ivan

[blackbart.223]

"Can't you see the Roger Clinton Campaign for Senate however - "Roger Clinton - A Mindless Candidate for a Mindless Institution". ;)"

What scares me are the mindless turds that voted to put a Clinton into power in the first place. God help us.

[nopardons]

Or papa Joe handing out vast amounts of " walking around money " in Southern black churches.

[nopardons]

Funny, but scarey.

[blackbart.223]

"Or papa Joe handing out vast amounts of " walking around money " in Southern black churches."

The Kennedys are as corrupt as they come. Slick Willy and The wicked witch come pretty close though.

[nopardons]

Yes and yes.

[blackbart.223]

"Yes and yes."

Great minds think alike.

Good night.

[nopardons]

Yes, they do !

Good night and pleasant dreams.

[uglybiker]

...the Clintonista Dynasty is out there already

Whereas opponents of the Clintons have had this tendency to 'die nasty'.

[Always Right]

Camelot died when JFK Jr.'s plane went down. There is no one else left that is capable.

[Leisler]

"Camelot died when JFK Jr.'s plane went down. There is no one else left that is capable."

There was nothing wrong with the plane, nor was the weather particularly difficult. JFK FLEW the plane into the ocean. This, his many failed attempts at a getting a law license (then supposedly passing the exam, in private) and his failed George magazine all weaken the notion of "JFK" and "capable".

[MozartLover]

Ah...........a lovely article to wake up to on a Sunday morning. Thanks.:)

[BlackbirdSST]

With X42 out of office ( thank YOU, GOD ! ), Hitlery a senator, and only Chelsea, as a relative in the wings ( ? ), there can't be a " Clinton Dynasty " ! A little DNA matchup would probably make it a Hubble dynasty!!! Blackbird.

[joyful1]

May God inspire the United States to thirst for truth, not spin.

[FryingPan101]

I still wish someone could explain this Clinton Dynasty stuff. Clinton doesn't even have enough relatives to field a touch football game at the Presidential Library property. Even his dogs get killed for goodness sake. What dynasty already?

[aristeides]

Bill Clinton is not supporting Robert Reich, and has made it pretty clear that he now dislikes him. Andrew Cuomo just had a similar experience.

[aristeides]

Whatever caused JFK Jr.'s fatal accident, it certainly helped Hillary Clinton's political career.

[No Truce With Kings]

I don't know how Robert Reich is doing in Mass.

Apparently he is doing an incredible shrinking man act.

Mind, he had a better starting position for that than his opponents. . .

[Desdemona]

"Camelot died when JFK Jr.'s plane went down. There is no one else left that is capable."

Ummm...yummy as he was - no. Didn't quite have enough in the brainstrust department.

The Kennedys were doomed when the oldest one was killed in WWII. He was the best of the lot, IMO.

Since all the stories have come out about the "contracts" in the late 50's, the Kennedys are more a story on why one does not extort and try to do things the easy way. The Old Man tried to make things easy for his sons, they had minds of their own, doublecrossed a whole lot of people, and the rest is history.

Is this when Hollywood's facination with skinny, flat-chested women started? With Jackie?

[jackbill]

If you don?t even know who your running mate is you must be an idiot.

When she was introducing him she called him "Charles Lawson". His name is Larson. She also, at one point, called him the "most highly decorated admiral in Navy history". He ain't.

As Lt. Gov., she had one primary respondibility - crime. As of right now, there are two federal investigations into two separate aspects of the organizations for which she was/is responsible.

[jackbill]

I will be doing my part in stopping KKT in her tracks on Nov. 5.

Now if we could get the good people of Rhode Island (I hear there are some) would only do their bit to get rid of Patches Kennedy up there, all would be right with the world. I hear that he might be in a bit of difficulty, do to some of his irresponsible personal actions and to his inattention to the folks in RI.

[Always Right]

Ummm...yummy as he was - no. Didn't quite have enough in the brainstrust department.

Charisma, charm, good-looks, JFK's name....if he ran for President, have would have won. JFK Jr. was sharper than Gore and was not nearly as far of a left-wingnut as Gore, and Gore came with 537 votes of winning.

[ALS]

Jeb Bush vs. Hillary??? Nothing against Jeb, but I don't like the smell of that. The media will just dump all of GW's "luggage" on Jeb. We need someone fresh that encompasses something other than old politics. We need to steal away everything the left claims to have that people think they want. Right now the media has a huge chunk of the public in believing the image of Republicanism is Trent Lott. Bore me to freakin' tears already!

What really needs to happen is we need to start using the same tactics the commies have been using successfully for years now. Like get someone who pretends to be a "moderate", but everything they do is conservative. Everything out of their mouth is center, but all actions are right. We need to apply the same principle in taking back our schools. Infiltrate the system with normal humans and "brainwash" the kiddies with normalcy.
We also need a president who doesn't hesitate to "correct the media". Someone who takes GW's "with us or agin' us" strategy to a new level and call any lefties on the carpet.
One thing is resolute with politicians. They have a tremendous need to be perceived in a good light to those they wish to fool. This is an extreme weakness that never gets exploited. Colleges churn out hordes steeped in these subtle ways of influence to the negative. This is the enemy we are dealing with and we must defeat them by turning the same and only tables they know.
Liberals cannot think outside the box they have created. They can do wonders of deception inside their box, but outside it they are floundering waifs.
They have so many weaknesses that they are target rich for a downfall. The key is manipulating the media the same as they have, only without the lies. The truth will work nicely. The truth is all we need.

[AF68]

These so-called progressives have regressed significantly in the last 40 years -- from Camelot and the Democratic Party of JFK to Came-a-lot and the National Socialist Demagogue Party of the Sinkmeister. Only those who are terminally stupid and/or morally bankrupt can't see the difference because they're too busy whining for the government teat.

[quebecois]

"It was only through propaganda that his administration was ever called Camelot"

Boy, isn't that the truth. I remember reading a book about the administration and the assassination. It turns out that some former aide of JFK who was with the family after the shooting admits now that the famous "JFK Jr salute" to his dad's coffin was totally staged. The aid said that they had to work with John Jr. for hours to get him to salute at the right signal and with the correct hand. They then tipped off the willing media hacks to have the camera ready to roll and focused on John Jr at the right moment.

It was an Orwellian fraud.

In hindsight, I think that a good portion of the "left drift" that occured in the 60's and 70s was the result of the fact that the lefties had total control of TV and it took the conservatives a few decades to actually figure this out and learn to counter it.

[quebecois]

"If he'd have run for office, he'd have won"

Absolutely...if JFK Jr had ever run for president, he'd have won hands-down. The media would have had multiple orgasms over him, and all of the female voters in the country (excepting for a small percentage of devoted conservatives) would have voted for him too.....it would have been a landslide.

That having been said, one of my first thoughts upon hearing of the crash was, "that is the end of the Kennedy dynsasty". The myth was always based on the idea that JFK's brother (RFK or Teddy) or his son would someday rise up and take the office that was vacated by the fallen King Arthur/JFK. RFK's death, Teddy's obvious shortcomings, and then JFK Jr's death slammed the lid on the myth.

Without a younger man to pull the sword from the stone, its over.