Do Kerry & Polier's denials put this scandal to bed?
by JohnHuang2
A woman who until Monday had not been the subject of any U.S. media reports alleging an affair with Democrat presidential candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry, who served in Vietnam, on Monday issued a powerful denial, breaking the U.S. media silence 4 days after the alleged affair refused to surface on any major U.S. newspaper or TV outlet. (To be fair, serious journalists at the Washington Post, TIME, and NEWSWEEK have far more urgent matters to probe -- things people really care about; such as 31-year-old dental records. This, on the heels of a major media probe into the whereabouts of Bush's tonsils, reportedly removed at age 5. And why did Bush's weight fluctuate within 9 pounds between 1968 and 1971? hmmmmm? And what about his appendicitis at age 10?).
At least on its face, the statement issued by Alexandra Polier, the 27-year old woman who, till now, had not been the center of any U.S. media firestorm linking her to Kerry, who served in Vietnam, looks pretty convincing, if you ask me:
'I did not have sexual relations with that man, Sen. Kerry, who served in Vietnam! These allegations are false and I need to go back to the work of the people of Kenya!' declared Polier (paraphrasing). Polier, currently a freelance journalist who was editorial assistant for the AP in New York, recently fled to Kenya to visit her parents at Kerry's behest (though Kerry, who served in Vietnam, denies prodding her). Indeed, Kerry, who served in Vietnam, had earlier strongly denied having an improper relationship with that woman, Miss Polier. 'These allegations are false and I need to go back to the work of the American people in the Senate,' he told Don Imus (paraphrasing) on his radio show last week. (Please don't tell me a Democrat would ever lie about having an affair).
By the way, this claim by Kerry to serving actively as Senator could not be independently confirmed at press time. Lingering questions include where and how often Kerry turned up for service on Capitol Hill this past year, the so-called AWOL Gap Year, a period critics charge Kerry shirked his Senate duties while in Iowa and New Hampshire helping with his political campaign for president. There's no hard evidence such as dental records. Few witnesses recall seeing Kerry report for duty. Little paper work has been offered. Pay stubs only show Kerry was paid, not that he showed up for duty or did any work. Senators are paid regularly but regularly do no work. Senate records show Kerry stopped showing up for votes (except sporadically) at about the time (12/1/02) he requested a transfer to the presidency, beginning next year. He's missed 6 out of 10 votes since his request (about 300 total). Records also show glowing recommendations for promotion to president from the media, extolling exemplary performance as a moderate Senator who votes like Jane Fonda would if Jane Fonda were Senator. (Kerry, who served in Vietnam, is rated in the top 10 percent of his liberal Senate contemporaries).
But I digress.
So, Kerry and Polier deny they were ever together in any sexual relationship, that much is clear. What's not clear is how this jibes with the Democrat Party as the party of 'bringing people together.'
However, Polier's forceful denial laid to rest the 4-day long media silence stateside. For about 3 hours.
Her parents, in a separate statement Monday, called the allegations of a 2-year relationship with Sen. Kerry, who served in Vietnam, "completely false and unsubstantiated."
"We appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled the situation," said the statement. They appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled their daughter so much, her dad called Kerry "a sleazeball," telling the U.K. Sun newspaper that "He's not the sort of guy I would choose to be with my daughter." (That's unfair. Sure, Kerry has had illicit affairs aplenty, but not as many affairs as positions on the war. Besides, Kerry says there's been no cover-up and I believe him. In fact, I would be surprised if Kerry interns wear any clothes).
Explaining her silence to date, Alex Polier reasoned that "Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them." The U.S. media did ignore them, now she's speaking out. (Of course, if Kerry were Bush, the media would be all over this -- like Kerry with his intern). These stories were so false, she recorded a 'kiss-and-tell-all' interview in December with a major U.S. TV network which triggered these stories which were so false, the U.K. Evening Standard reports. She told one American TV executive in December how "she wants to tell her story," says the paper. And while stories linking her to Kerry were false, "She has talked at length about her (2-year sexual) relationship with Kerry (who served in Vietnam). But no one believes her," the TV executive is quoted telling the Standard. Doesn't this story of media callousness make your blood boil? How can you not feel some sympathy for Alex? Think about it this way: To keep her affair with Kerry secret as possible, in December the Standard says she tapes a major Kiss-and-tell TV interview about her affair with Kerry (this is what you do to keep a low profile -- give a major TV interview), and, for 2 excruciating months, the whole media ignores this kiss-and-tell bombshell -- hardly a whisper about it stateside. Nobody believes her story. No rumors, no nada about her interview this side of the pond. Yeah, plenty buzz about it in British Tabloids, but nothing here -- where the poor dear says she didn't want a buzz about it. Then, finally, her kiss-and-tell interview gets scooped by Drudge last Friday -- and still major U.S. media wouldn't break its silence! Imagine the frustration. Nobody other than Drudge picked up on a rumor she started -- exactly as she said she wanted it. A press release is issued Monday, she denies the affair with Kerry ... and, voila! The media picks up her story, spawned by her interview claiming an affair she now denies that was never covered by the media, hard at work not accusing her of having an affair with Kerry, whose party's hard at work accusing Bush of not having an affair with the National Guard in Alabama while chasing down rumors about Bush's teeth 31 years ago in Alabama. And alleged hemorrhoids 36 years ago. Hope that clears up any confusion.
What's my take on Kerry-Polier? Did they or didn't they? Is this story true or sexed-up? That's not something that I'm qualified to comment on. I have not looked at the records, I haven't seen the records, I'm not reading the records. It's not for me to make that judgment. I would say this wannabe president regrettably has perhaps not learned some of the lessons of that period of time during which we had a very difficult scandal, the Monica scandal, the longest scandal in American history and one of the most contentious. And one of those key lessons is in how you take a nation to scandal. I think this Kerry rushed to scandal. I don't believe he had a plan for winning the scandal. I don't think he kept his promises to America.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Kerry -- the unstoppable juggernaut, the most electable candidate in February -- barely eeked a 'win' Tuesday, limping across the finish line with scarcely 40 percent, versus 34 percent for Edwards. The Breck Girl's surprisingly strong second-place showing dealt a heavy blow to Kerry, reviving doubts about his fitness to challenge a popular incumbent who firmly remains so despite weeks of relentless attacks from all fronts and heavy media coverage of the Democrat primary contest.
In the eyes of Democrat voters, Kerry has 2 things going for him, one being 'electability' in NEWSWEEK polls in February; the other (and more important) thing being the budding Kerry-Polier scandal. Kidding aside, renewed doubts about Kerry's general election strength come amid reports the economy continues to gather momentum, with U.S. industrial output posting a better-than-expected 0.8 percent jump in January, as reported by the Fed Tuesday. Even worse, factory utilization soared to 76.6 percent in January, a 19-month high. And as if the booming economy weren't bad enough news for Democrats, add the fact there's been no terror strike on U.S. soil since 9/11. Democrats say neither of the two matter as much to voters as the situation in Iraq, and Bush's 31-year-old dental records. They're hoping voters in November will be thinking more about the security situation in Iraq than the security situation here at home. And about Bush's attendance record in the National Guard 31 years ago.
Folks, with this kind of thinking, Kerry will need 3 sex scandals and a stained blue dress to keep him in the game come November.
Anyway, that's...
My two cents.. "JohnHuang2"
Note to readers: Paragraph #11 is my spoof of Kerry's opening remarks at Sunday's Wisconsin debate
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