Former New York Times editor Howell Raines on why John Kerry will not win the presidential election

Guardian ^ | 06/02/04 | Howell Raines

[kabar]

In additon to Dole, George Bush 41 was also a war hero with a DFC and so was George McGovern.

[Dr Snide]

or George H.W. Bush for that matter. Oh for crying out loud what about Eugene McCarthey? No wonder the N.Y. Times sucked so bad, this guys a moron.

[Dr Snide]

sorrry meant McGovern, got my liberal pinhead Mc's war heros mixed up

[ChadGore]

This guy ran a Newspapaer ?

Now I know why he got fired. He's a yutz.

[ChadGore]

Hey Raines "You're Fired!"

[Heatseeker]

It's as if Lurch had gone to Choate.

And this from Howell Raines and the Guardian!

[Malesherbes]

"Easier to talk to than Al Gore!" Wow, that's sure to win a few votes.

[sport]

I believe that the main reason john kerry will not win the election for President is because by election day he won't be on the democrat ticket.

The democrat side of the ballot will read hillary roddam clinton.

[Southack]

"As matters now stand, Kerry has assured the DLC, "I am not a redistributionist Democrat."

That's actually a good start. Using that promise as disinformation, he must now figure out a creative way to become a redistributionist Democrat." - Raines

When Raines was here in 'Bama, his skill was chasing the big story (e.g. civil rights), not understanding local politics.

He never figured Alabama politics out, and it's also clear that he never grasped American politics, either.

That being said, I encourage the Democrats to take Raines' advice. It would make for the cherry on top of their worst run campaign in history.

The only saving grace here for Raines is that he is probably writing his above advice while drunk, and merely parroting snippets of conversations from British leftists at London cocktail parties...thinking that if he writes what liberals want to hear that he might land a new job somewhere.

On the other hand, I'd bet money that he'll stop getting invited to so many cocktail parties if his drunken binges splash into more of his writing.

[Southern62]

AMAZING that they label Kerry as the first "war hero" candidate - conveniently forgetting Bush senior and Bob Dole - what a bunch of jerk off liars!

[zahal724]

Of course, the flip flops Kerry wears is really only a figment of our imagination. Ya see, Kerry really is only on one side...AT A TIME!!! LOL

[zahal724]

Why, are you kidding me? Kerry, in Vietnam?

[Benjamin Dover]

Democrats have to cobble together so many varied, and diametrically opposed factions to win, that every campaign speech is a mine field. Had it not been for Perot, we wouldn't have seen President Clinton; either time. And we wouldn't have seen Dole as candidate.

[Irish Eyes]

or George H.W. Bush for that matter. Oh for crying out loud what about Eugene McCarthey? No wonder the N.Y. Times sucked so bad, this guys a moron

You used the past tense????

[DeFault User]

Ever since Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in 1980, presidential elections have been dominated by Republican expertise in finding a tiny crack - real or imaginary - in a candidate's public facade and expanding that fissure until the whole edifice crumbles.

Tiny crack? Yeah, Madonna is a virgin. Was Raines asleep during the 70s? And how about the Democrats gift to America, McGovern?--the war hero who would crawl on his knees to Hanoi to stop the war.

The Dems have had a 32 year string of losers. Fortunately, only two have been elected.

[Old Professer]

What kind of idiot writer is this? First, he paints a picture of an invisible man (Kerry) and then he says, "White House strategists are betting that leaving Iraq in 30 days - no matter what chaos ensues in that country - will leave them time to revise history between now and election day and, more importantly, get on with the work of destroying Kerry's image;" makes a reader want to plead self-defense.

[okie01]

Howell Raines has just demonstrated everything that is wrong with the left, in general, and the mainstream media, in particular.

1. The presumption that the American people are beyond ignorant; they are stupid!

2. The presumption that a Democrat candidate must lie in order to be elected. And that it's not only "O.K." for them to do so, it's smart!

3. The presumption that wealth is not earned, but claimed by birthright or won in some kind of commercial lottery. And since Democrats are "for the poor", then no Democrats can be "rich".

4. A total unthinking belief in their own biased media swill. Raines made sweeping claims about Bush's ANG service without ever fact-checking the circumstances. Specifically, no "political pull" was necessary to volunteer for training as a fighter pilot -- there was a frightful shortage of them.

By all means, Raines should write more of these pieces. And Kerry should definitely follow his instructions. For Raines reveals the left for what they truly are: provincial elitist snobs, more than a little ignorant themselves.

[GOPJ]

Great comment:

I sure hope Kerry takes the advice of Howell Raines, who is completely in touch with the prevailing mood in Greenwich Village and the Upper West Side, but hopelessly lost in most of the rest of America. Even by the standards of silver spoon liberals, this guy's condescension and contempt for the American people is extreme. And what's this crapola about Kerry being the first war hero candidate since JFK? What about Dole? What about Bush the first? I guess churning out garbage like this is what fired newspaper editors do these days.

[okie01]

Of course, his fans who read the The Guardian will eat all this up.

[YaYa123]

My first thought on seeing this was shock that Raines was writing, what I thought was a negative piece on Kerry, in The Guardian, instead of an American publication or website. But then I realized this isn't a negative Kerry piece at all. It's Raines going after the Bush/Rove team.

And his arrogant elitism shows through, of course. He writes of Kerry's foreign policy speeches: " The problem is that speeches that sound right at the Council don't necessarily work for an electorate schooled to respond to simple messages." That's emperial Raines telling us how stupid we voters are.

And Raines, for all his gloomy doom predictions for Kerrey, he thinks his advice is worth something, he's still towing the party line, la Dana Milbank in the Washington Times. Peddling the false notion that Bush and Rove are unfairly attacking Kerrey, with negative, untrue ads. It's spinning bullhockeydoodoo!! Raines ignores the fact that Kerry has been steadily pounding Bush for almost a year with untrue allegations.

Raines, (like his New York Times) makes glaring errors too. "As America's first war-hero candidate since John F Kennedy", he writes, obviously forgetting about (not only Bob Dole), but the first President Bush and John McCain too.

But how like Raines to go to reporters for facts. He writes, "Every time I talk to a reporter who has covered him, new doubts creep in about his ability to connect with voters." I suppose it would never occur to Raines to ask real people, not reporters, for the truth of a matter.