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Dems fret over Kerry's 'Clintonian' response
WorldNet Daily ^
| Feb 13 2004
Posted on 02/13/2004 6:38:53 PM PST by new cruelty
Top Republican and Democrat strategists are curious about Sen. John Kerry's choice of words to radio mega-host Don Imus concerning rumors burning up the Internet and newsrooms about a possible extramarital affair with a young woman.
Painfully similar to former President Bill Clinton's careful parsing of words, Kerry told Imus in a morning interview yesterday the following when asked about an item first revealed in print by Internet guru Matt Drudge:
"Well, there is nothing to report," Kerry told Imus. "So there is nothing to talk about. I'm not worried about it. No."
The failure to issue a flat-out denial that he had an extramarital affair or relationship "is very Clintonian," a top Democratic aide told Insight Online. "It's worrying."
A senior White House aide declined to speak directly on the issue but when pressed, smiled and said: "It was an interesting choice of words."
News organizations have not been able to get responses from Kerry or his campaign on what the senator actually meant with the three-part response to Imus.
Democratic strategists in Washington are worried in private because Kerry lately has been fairly black and white in his answers on important issues. "Why didn't he just say the rumors are false?"
Clinton, when confronted with rumors about Monica Lewinsky, told reporters early on in the scandal that "I've had no sexual relations with that woman. Miss Lewinsky."
The use of a term of art, sexual relations, was subsequently revealed to be a coy way to deflect questions swirling around the former president.
In fact, Clinton had engaged in sexual contact of another nature with the former White House intern as was subsequently revealed.
"Kerry needs to come clean and be absolutely clear about this rumor and other ones now starting to surface," a Senate source close to Kerry told Insight Online. "We need to know flat out if he's [fooled] around with women besides his wife."
Democrats still feel the sting of Clinton's sexual escapade and lying about it and worry that failure to fully dispel rumors involving Kerry will open old wounds and let out steam from the front runner for the party thus far.
"People's memories are not that short to forget the national embarassment Clinton caused and compounded with lies," a top GOP strategist said. "We don't want to touch this one with a ten foot pole but it'll be interesting to see if the press pursues this further."
Thus far, however, Kerry's carefully worded response seems to have quelled immediate press questions about the rumored affair though parents of the former intern have stated they think Kerry's character is less than desirable.
"This is a touchy subject because of Bill Clinton and it needs to be killed right away," the Senate source close to Kerry said. "His answers on the Imus show were less than forthcoming."
Meanwhile, reports that several news organizations are pursuing the alleged fling, and other sexual relations outside of his two marriages are being pursued.
TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004; bimboeruption; charlatan; denial; fraud; hypocrisy; imus; kerry; liar; longface; mediablackout
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To: Lawgvr1955
Journalists like to have a bit more than rumors before going for it in print. In any event, opposition campaigns are out there, and thus the word was inevitably going to come out. The internet is a wonderful thing.
61
posted on
02/13/2004 8:25:57 PM PST
by
Torie
To: Terry Mross
Looks like they've turned on him (Lehane).Actually I think they turned it down so the "Right Winger" Drudge gets credit and if it doesn't pan out, it is considered part of the VRWC and they have helped Kerry.
62
posted on
02/13/2004 8:27:34 PM PST
by
Lawgvr1955
(Sic Semper Tyrannus)
To: AmericanVictory
I was watching some of the comments by the pundits tonight on some of the cable stations. It was amazing to see these democrat mouth pieces feigning they are objective, and giving the Bush team advice that , if the attacks on Kerry don't stop, they { the Bush team} will surely lose. THESE PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO DEATH!
To: Torie
True. The internet has changed things. Monicagate wouldn't have happened without the net and most of Clinton's sexcapdes wouldn't have been known. The net also allows the news the liberal press doesn't want to report available for the rest of us.
64
posted on
02/13/2004 8:29:58 PM PST
by
Lawgvr1955
(Sic Semper Tyrannus)
To: BOOTSTICK
How can Team Bush muzzle Drudge, assuming that it wanted to? Just curious. LOL.
65
posted on
02/13/2004 8:33:02 PM PST
by
Torie
To: new cruelty
BUMP!
66
posted on
02/13/2004 9:06:59 PM PST
by
jmstein7
(Real Men Don't Need Chunks of Government Metal on Their Chests to be Heroes)
To: PackerBoy
The elite media will not go after the story because they are supporting Kerry. The only way that they will take up this story is if some other non elite media outlets (Foxnews in particular) will be able to find real facts about the story and make it very much alive. Then, for fear of low ratings the elite media will go after the story.
67
posted on
02/13/2004 9:12:39 PM PST
by
jveritas
To: NCPAC
Maybe, unlike Clinton, Kerry could honestly say "I've had no sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." There was some article not too long ago where Miss Lewinsky was complaining about the difficulty in finding a date...I guess most men are a bit leery about dating someone whose best known for being an ex-president's human humidor.
To: mewzilla
Aaron Brown competes with Chris Matthews for the number one place for the most disgusting and most liberal biased political show on cable news TV.
69
posted on
02/13/2004 9:27:57 PM PST
by
jveritas
To: BOOTSTICK
I made myself watch Hardball, where it was particularly harshly and vituperatively biased, and I was struck by the fact that Matthews and his Bush bashers didn't realize thta they were revealing more about their lack of objectivity than they were about anything wrong that George W. Bush had done. The same was true on C-span when the Colonel who had his letter published in the Washington Times was on taking calls. He handled the callers who were so lacking in objectivity and so vituperatively biased with great presence and decency, particularly the next-to-last caller, an extremely vituperative lady from Texas who broke up into such incoherence that only her viciousness came through.
While there is much to criticize about the Bush administratin, this seems to be a limb that the Democrats are getting out on that is going to be sawed off.
By startling contrast the man who was on from the Bush Re-election Committee on the internet ad that they have put out about Kerry's hypocrisy and waffling on the "special interests" issue was extremely effective compared to all the fuming Democrat media types.
70
posted on
02/13/2004 9:32:39 PM PST
by
AmericanVictory
(Should we be more like them, or they like us?)
To: new cruelty
Democratic strategists in Washington are worried in private because Kerry lately has been fairly black and white in his answers on important issues. "Why didn't he just say the rumors are false?" Because it would be a lie. Hannity on his show of today said he talked to a democratic strategist "in the know" who said the "rumors" are true.
71
posted on
02/13/2004 9:45:46 PM PST
by
NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
(Michael <a href = "http://www.michaelmoore.com/" title="Miserable Failure">"Miserable Failure"</a>)
To: Torie
Journalists like to have a bit more than rumors before going for it in print. It didn't stop them with the "Bush is AWOL" non-story.
To: EternalVigilance
They think this is some kind of super inside information I'm giving them...when actually, I'm just a FReeper! Explain to them that if they want to be ahead of the curve instead of behind it, they can be FReepers too! :-)
73
posted on
02/13/2004 9:48:52 PM PST
by
NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
(Michael <a href = "http://www.michaelmoore.com/" title="Miserable Failure">"Miserable Failure"</a>)
To: new cruelty
Bubba must have a good chuckle over how Kerry issues what's politely called a denial non-denial. You know say it doesn't mean what people think it means and then declare its time to move on.
74
posted on
02/13/2004 9:50:42 PM PST
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
To: Swanks
Predication. Hillary will let him twist in the wind for months on this. Or, she will want to know if she can have a crack at the girl.
75
posted on
02/13/2004 9:51:03 PM PST
by
SkyPilot
To: SkyPilot
Or, she will want to know if she can have a crack at the girl. Ooohhh...that one will leave marks!
I like it...
;-)
76
posted on
02/13/2004 10:47:23 PM PST
by
EternalVigilance
(An income tax is like a cowpie...Flatten it, and it's still a cowpie...)
To: new cruelty
"The failure to issue a flat-out denial that he had an extramarital affair or relationship "is very Clintonian," a top Democratic aide told Insight Online. "It's worrying."
And I do believe it shall become more worrying with the British tabloids following Kerry's Lewinsky all over Africa and Europe.
77
posted on
02/14/2004 4:40:12 AM PST
by
Beck_isright
("I did not have sexual relations with that woman" - (Fill in name of Democrat here))
To: Feckless
"Think about how many Demonratz voters are saying to themselves "Do we really want to go through this again?".
Super Tuesday and the South could have a major impact on the primary process. If Kerry thinks the traditional Southern states want to put up with another Clinton, he is in for a big suprise. Edwards just has to stay in the limelight long enough for this story to fester like a bad wound then pounce on March 2.
78
posted on
02/14/2004 4:42:57 AM PST
by
Beck_isright
("I did not have sexual relations with that woman" - (Fill in name of Democrat here))
To: Lawgvr1955
"The media is keeping this well under wraps."
And obviously those orders are coming from the corporate offices. John McGlaughlin kept taunting the panelists last night by calling this "the story you won't report or can't talk about" every time he brought the subject into discussion. It is very obvious to this observer that there is a concerted effort to kill this story. Why else would Time magazine sit on this since the 6th of this month?
79
posted on
02/14/2004 4:46:48 AM PST
by
Beck_isright
("I did not have sexual relations with that woman" - (Fill in name of Democrat here))
To: Beck_isright
Where is Teresa in all of this. YOu know she wont keep her big mouth shut for long.
80
posted on
02/14/2004 4:51:17 AM PST
by
doosee
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