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?
     

[Enduring Freedom]

Jean Qaerry says the election will be won or lost on the issue of trust.

...

LANDSLIDE! BUSH 2004!

4. More. Years.

[drhogan]

great post--God bless the boston herald. and isn't it owned by the ny times?

[Poundstone]

devastating

[Fracas]

PING!

[kattracks]

No, that's the Boston Globe.

[martin_fierro]

1985 Dodge 600

What an ugly POS.

[highlander_UW]

I was a part of my family before I wasn't.

[highlander_UW]

I'd be interested to see if anyone has captured his plate numbers and run a record of who is the owner on record for them.

[TheLion]

"President Kerry would have to open his own pipeline in Saudi Arabia just to meet family fuel demand."

Press quote of the week!

[spyone]

HA HA HA! This is so good I can't stand it. It's only April and this campaign shows signs of imploding!....oh oh...not too fast...don't want Hildabeast to sneak in the inside before the convention.

[Howlin]

That must be the car they keep to buzz around Nantuckett in !

[claudiustg]

The hapless Kerry does it again. He's habitually defensive. You can feel Bush getting stronger every day.

[P-Marlowe]

That must be the car they keep to buzz around Nantuckett in !

Since it is a convertible he is much less likely to have a Mary Jo Kopeckne moment in it.

Drive that baby off a bridge and everybody can swim out. And seeing that ugly piece of crap driving off a bridge would be a welcome sight for any automobile connoisseur.

[henbane]

President Kerry would have to open his own pipeline in Saudi Arabia just to meet family fuel demand.

Kerry either knows a sheik or is a secret member of the Saud family if he can afford to top off the family's Gulfstream V for those hops to Ketchum, Idaho and other family estates.

GULFSTREAM V

[P-Marlowe]

Fuel Capacity: 41,300 (6,164) LBS/GAL

[Cobra64]

Shush. Quiet. Let's be careful. Every time anyone thinks anything is a "slam-dunk", it ain't so. Look at Jimma, Bubba. Who would have thought so?

[goldstategop]

The "I Inhale An SUV" campaign moment for the ages. John F*ckin's bloopers are priceless.

[Aeronaut]

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

[Flyer]

The rich, Leftist elites have backed themselves into a corner with their environmentalism crap. No one likes a hypocrite.