Kerry's SUV habit fuels a `trust' gap

Boston Herald ^ | 4/24/04 | Boston Herald editorial staff

[kattracks]

Now we've truly heard it all. Rising gas prices are the latest John Kerry [related, bio] campaign theme, so naturally the senator was asked this week about his personal vehicle usage.
     Kerry insisted, ``I don't own an SUV.''
      When pressed about a Chevrolet Suburban, the mother of all SUVs, kept at the Heinz Kerry abode in Idaho, Kerry said: ``The family has it. I don't have it.''
     Kerry has now closed the distance between nuance and flat-out deception.
     And that's without mentioning the other gas-guzzlers this candidate and his family enjoy, all the while posturing about reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil and fuel efficiency.
     At last count, there were eight ``family'' cars and SUVs, including the 1995 Suburban (15 mpg highway, 12 mpg city), a 1993 Land Rover Defender (12 mpg highway, 10 mpg city), a 1989 Jeep Cherokee (20 mpg highway, 16 mpg city), a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee (20 mpg highway, 15 mpg city), a 2001 Audi Allroad (21 mpg highway, 15 mpg city), a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser (25 mpg highway, 20 mpg city), a 1985 Dodge 600 Convertible (26 mpg highway, 23 mpg city), and a 2002 Chrysler 300M (26 mpg highway, 18 mpg city). Kerry, however, only owns up to the latter two.
     Then there's the 2002 Harley Davidson (his), two powerboats (one his, one hers), a power inflatable 2001 Novurania (his), and a Gulfstream II private jet (hers).
     President Kerry would have to open his own pipeline in Saudi Arabia just to meet family fuel demand.
     Yet there he was yammering on to reporters Thursday about making a hybrid (powered by gas and electricity) his ``campaign car.''
     It's probably not politically correct to refer to the senator as the head of the Heinz Kerry family.
     But last we checked, he is a part of it, no?Kerry's prevarication is trivial in the context of terrorism, the war in Iraq, the economy and all the serious issues this country - and its next president - will confront.
     But if voters can't trust John Kerry to play it straight on the little things, how can they trust him on the big things?
     

[RedEyeJack]

If you read between the lines Monsieur Jean is saying that he is not the leader of his family. A leader exercises authority and takes responsibility. Monsieur Jean appears to not be "in command" of his family and willing to "pass the buck" to them if he is challenged about what appears to be a case of bad judgment. Hopefully the 20% of the country who are neither dedicated Democrats or dedicated Republicans will see this flaw and vote accordingly...

[mewzilla]

Conservation is for the little people.

[highlander_UW]

If you read between the lines Monsieur Jean is saying that he is not the leader of his family. A leader exercises authority and takes responsibility. Monsieur Jean appears to not be "in command" of his family and willing to "pass the buck" to them if he is challenged about what appears to be a case of bad judgment. Hopefully the 20% of the country who are neither dedicated Democrats or dedicated Republicans will see this flaw and vote accordingly...

If Kerry is not even the leader within his own family why should anyone view him as a viable candidate to lead our nation?

[Moby Grape]

Kerry said he drives cars "made in America by United Auto Workers".....

Hey John, how many United Auto Workers built the Land Rover, or the Audi?

[meenie]

What is amusing in a weird sort of way is that we have the conservative elements as concerned about the gas guzzling SUV'S as their enviomental brethern but for different reasons. It matters not the reason, politics causes some rather strange bedfellows.

[GailA]

Wonder if there is a snow mobile in there somewhere since they are such ski bums? You know one of those air polluting, gas guzzling snow mobiles.

[Erik Latranyi]

1985 Dodge 600

I'd say that it was given to him by the Chrysler Corporation in exchange for his bailout vote, but he was not in office then!

[jslade]

Also not mentioned.....What are the power bills for five 8,000+ sq.ft. mansions? Air conditioning, heating, lighting, maintenance, etc. That's a lot of fossil fuels.

[Jhensy]

I'm just amazed that the Dems can nominate a pathological petty liar for the second straight time, after Gore blew a slam-dunk, gimme election last time doing the same bullsh*t.

It's not the usual rhetorical elaborations all politicians tell; it's these weird little lies that are so easily investigated and disproven. Any grown man who is so insecure as to repeatedly do this is quite simply, sick, and obviously unfit for office.

Twice in a row for the Dems. More beer for us.

[Jeff F]

Um, the article says it's a G-II.

According to Newsmax and Boston's Howie Carr it is a G-V that Teresas calls the Flying Squirrel (do you suppose it this is because it carries around a lot of nuts).

A Gulfstream G-V tops up with about 6100 gal. of fuel compared with my Suburban's 31 gal. That is about 200 fill-ups for the so called king of all SUV's, which works out to around 8 years of driving for my family.

[johnb838]

Jimmah and Bubbah both had an attractive quality. With Carter it turned into mean-spirited puritanism, with Bubba it was the charm of the flim-flam man. Kerry is just an a-hole. No vision, no charisma. He doesn't have a chance. I hope. But watch out for that Torricelli Switch (TM)

[festus]

Perhaps they bought his vote with a used car ? I mean he's not exactly the brightest....... ;-)

[visualops]

Thursday, February 5, 2004
Kerry: 'I can beat George Bush'
Democratic candidates address issues before caucus vote

The Detroit News
-snip-

Q: What kind of vehicles does your family drive?

A: We have some SUVs. We have a Jeep. We have a couple of Chrysler minivans. We have a PT Cruiser up in Boston. I have an old Dodge 600 that I keep in the Senate. ... We also have a Chevy, a big Suburban.

Q: Would you roll back tax breaks for capital gains and dividends?

A: On dividends, yes, on the way Bush structured it. I don’t think it’s wise to give the break to the individual. I would rather give a break to a corporation, so we can have more money available for R&D (research and development) and so forth.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I wouldn't be caught dead driving that thing, and I once owned a Volvo 544.

[visualops]

http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0402/07/a11-55726.htm

[MeekOneGOP]

[Timeout]

I love the sunflower!

[MeekOneGOP]

[GailA]

Maybe that is why we are starting to see cracks in the pressitutes reporting on hanoi john.

[MamaLucci]

Nope. It's the HYPOCRISY.