Kerry's Imaginary Friends

Powerline ^ | March 16, 2004 | Unknown

[conservativecorner]

The Republicans obviously think they are on to something with John Kerry's claim to have met with foreign leaders who told him they want him to beat President Bush. Yesterday, top Republican spokesmen like Scott McClellan, Vice-President Cheney and campaign spokesman Terry Holt all jumped on the bandwagon, criticizing Kerry for his comment, pressing him to divulge the identities of the supposed foreign leaders, and suggesting that Kerry was making the whole thing up.

Kerry's problem, apart from the impropriety of making such a claim even if it were true, is that a close examination of Kerry's schedule over the last year shows that it is almost certainly false, since he simply hasn't met with any foreign leaders.

Senator John Sununu added a new wrinkle yesterday when he pointed out that, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry could have attended a number of "coffees" which are commonly held with visiting foreign leaders. "Unfortunately," Sununu said, "to the best of my knowledge, Senator Kerry hasn't attended any of the coffees since I've been a member of the United States Senate." Ouch. The "Kerry is AWOL from the Senate" theme, once again.

The story took a bizarre twist when the Boston Globe reporter who broke the original story tried to bail Kerry out by saying that after listening repeatedly to his audio tape, he now believes Kerry said he has met with "more leaders" who want him to beat Bush, not "foreign leaders." Unfortunately, this dodge didn't occur to Kerry until after he had already told reporters yesterday that:

"I have heard from people, foreign leaders elsewhere in the world who don't appreciate the Bush administration and would love to see a change in the leadership of the United States." Note that this statement is a significant climb-down from the original claim, which was that Kerry had "met with" foreign leaders who "look at you and say..." In other words, Kerry knows the original story was false, and can be shown to be false.

For now, this story mostly represents entertainment value. A single instance where Kerry is caught lying will not have great significance. The issue becomes significant only if a candidate is stereotyped as a person who can't tell the truth, so that his long nose becomes a joke, as happened to Al Gore in 2000. The Republicans clearly hope the same millstone can be hung around Kerry's neck this year. They may be right; there is certainly plenty of material to work with in the record, and for an experienced politician with a reputation for caution, Kerry comes out with a remarkable number of off-the-cuff blunders.

[Stentor]

I have heard form world leaders, who, you know, look you in the eye and tell you: you must defeat the aliens in power, because the grays do not trust the lizard men. Halliburton controls the chip in Bush's brain.

LOL. I'm going to be really annoyed with you because I know that I will be laughing at this in public at the most inappropriate times.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Perfect example of why he will fail....he cannot coordinate his lies smoothly and effectively (a la Bill Clinton)

[kennedy]

[lilylangtree]

Somebody needs to pin Ketchup man down when he makes inane comments. Prove him to be the liar that he is in a big splash. This jerk cannot go around alleging events that occurred when in reality they didn't. Talking about bald face lying, Ketchup takes the cake and eats it too when he's let off the hook by not being pinned down and give facts.

[Yardstick]

Not his only little fib lately. In Florida, before a strongly anti-Castro audience, he claimed to have voted for a bill penalizing businesses which deal with Cuba. He voted against the bill.

And before an Arab-American group, he criticized Israel's construction of the wall, while he praised it before an Isreali group -- a total about-face.

This Kerry character is a first-class flip-flopper. I don't think the Republicans are going to have much trouble hanging the problems-with-truth millstone around his neck. He practically asks for it. He's worse than Gore.

And his reversals are so flagrant that I don't think the press is going to cover for him for too long. They would if he had Bill Clinton's skill, but Kerry is looking more and more like a clumsy amateur -- and they're not going to risk their own credibility for an amateur. Already the reporter who changed the transcript to cover for Kerry looks silly. Why dance with a guy who steps all over your toes? The press is going to abandon Kerry and then he'll be toast.

[Arpege92]

"Ketchup and coffee is like Kerry and the truth......neither goes well together."

LOL With your permission, could I use that statement as my tagline?

[cajungirl]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but flip flopping means you change your position. Lying means you misrepresent your position. He lies more than he flip flops.

[cajungirl]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but flip flopping means you change your position. Lying means you misrepresent your position. He lies more than he flip flops.

[bmwcyle]

I'll bet it was like the ghosts that Hillary saw on the roof of the White House.

[Darlin']

Johm F Kerry, International Man of Mystery and Imaginary Friends.

[kaktuskid]

No it's the Loch Ness Monster that keeps askin for three-fitty!

[Yardstick]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but flip flopping means you change your position.

Yeah, I know. And you're right. To say he's flip-flopping when he advocates different things before different people is to give him too much credit. Kerry's flaw isn't indecisiveness or changeableness -- it's deceptiveness.

[talleyman]

Don't insult Harvey or other respectable pookahs by associating them with Jean-Francois Kerry's imaginary friends.

Pookah Bump!

But Judas Kerry's friends are NOT imaginary either - bin Laden, Chirac, Kim, Arrafat, Aristide - they all really do want Kerry to win.

[DakotaGator]

They may be right; there is certainly plenty of material to work with in the record, and for an experienced politician with a reputation for caution, Kerry comes out with a remarkable number of off-the-cuff blunders. (Underscore added for empasis)

Wrong again. Kerry's merely a scumbag in public office who's never been held accountable.

But that's alright. He has his little immaginary friends. The same ones the presstitutes play with.

[TC Rider]

Is that "Hennifer y Lopez" from South Park?

Mmmmmm, taco flavored kisses!

[Mike Bates]

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" Leader " was the name of Bob and Liddy Dole's pet schnauzer, who passed away in 1999 at age 17. Kerry is now holding seances with dead pets.

Kerry -the new Pet Psychic.

[Helms]

John Kerrys Imaginary Friends Airforce and Pilots at the Ready

[wayoverontheright]

Second in importance only to the lie is the revelation that Kerry somehow feels there is power in an endorsement from un-named foreigners. I would be for assuming them to be Osama bin-Laden, Kim Jong Il, and Yasser Arafat, and shout so at every opportunity.

Bumper sticker: "Terrorists and Foreign Socialist Dictators are for Kerry, Shouldn't You Be Too?"