TEDDY'S BAD DAY

New York Post ^ | 6/18/04 | Eric Fettman

[bitt]

..."You won't hear the C-word during the Democrats' Teddy lovefest, of course. Yet the events at Chappaquiddick gave birth to a Democratic mantra that would be sounded over and over in the years to come: Character doesn't count.

That's the phrase we heard endlessly during the debate over Bill Clinton's White House romps and whether or not they merited impeachment. Only competence and ability matter, we were told.

Indeed, mention the word "Chappaquiddick" and you're inevitably met with groans of annoyance and complaints that "it's an old story," or "it's totally irrelevant to today's issues" or "there goes the Republican smear machine again."

As for taking a closer investigative look at the seminal event in the career of the nation's most famous Democrat — an event whose questions remain unanswered all these years later — forget about it. It's not on any major journalist's agenda. ..."

[Adrastus]

And this...thing has the unmitigated gall to question the integrity of George Bush? This odious slug needs to be locked up in the attic.

[NormsRevenge]

[beaversmom]

http://www.ytedk.com/

This site was posted the other night on FR. I couldn't quit reading the events of that night and day. Lots of stuff I didn't know.

[Bob J]

buh bye

[jammer]

Character doesn't count.

That's the phrase we heard endlessly

C'mon. Someone please give me one place where that statement is made. We heard "Character counts" from Rush (correctly) and the scum DID talk about competence. But I defy anyone to show where anybody explicitly said "Character doesn't count."

Shooting from the hip like that undermines good arguments.

[ladyinred]

Indeed, mention the word "Chappaquiddick" and you're inevitably met with groans of annoyance and complaints that "it's an old story," or "it's totally irrelevant to today's issues" or "there goes the Republican smear machine again.

Indeed, but Bush's DWI was big news and very relevant during the 2000 election. Murder is okay though.

[John Lenin]

- Detective Bernie Flynn eventually put together a scenario for the accident :

"I figure,we've got a drunk driver, Ted Kennedy. He's with this girl, and he has it in his mind to go down to the beach and make love to her. He's probably driving too fast and he misses the curve and goes into Cemetery Road. He's backing up when he sees this guy in uniform coming toward him. That's panic for the average driver who's been drinking; but here's a United States Senator about to get tagged for driving under. He doesn't want to get caught with a girl in his car, on a deserted road late at night, with no license and driving drunk on top of it. In his mind, the most important thing is to get away from the situation.

- He doesn't wait around. He takes off down the road. He's probably looking in the rear-view mirror to see if the cop is following him. He doesn't even see the f---ing bridge and bingo! He goes off. He gets out of the car; she doesn't. The poor son of a bitch doesn't know what to do. He's thinking: "I want to get back to my house, to my friends" - which is a common reaction.

- There are houses on Dike Road he could have gone to report the accident, but he doesn't want to. Because it's the same situation he was trying to get away from at the corner - which turned out to be minor compared to what happened later. Now there's been an accident; and the girl's probably dead. All the more reason not to go banging on somebody's door in the middle of the night and admit what he was doing. He doesn't want to reveal himself."

"And the funny part about it was, 'Huck' was only trying to give his directions."

[passionfruit]

Great article! I've never heard of the author before, but I look forward to seeing more of his writing!

[Lancey Howard]

[taxesareforever]

C'mon. Someone please give me one place where that statement is made. We heard "Character counts" from Rush (correctly) and the scum DID talk about competence. But I defy anyone to show where anybody explicitly said "Character doesn't count."

Ok, here you go. Probably not in the context you would like but it works for me.
http://www.american-partisan.com/cols/2003/hall/qtr4/1017.htm

[BykrBayb]

Thanks for posting that. Now I'll be up all night reading it. :)

[Mr. Silverback]

Plausible scenario. Here's another one which A&E's Investigative Reports came up with:
Things proceed pretty much like Flynn details them in the first paragraph. At some point prior to the bridge, Kennedy has gotten out of the car. Mary Jo is under the influence, driving a car much larger than she's used to, on roads she doesn't know, in the dark. She reaches the air pocket, but is shocky and may not be fully conscious.

Kennedy, unaware that she has crashed, goes back to his hotel. Some staff member wakes him in the morning and tells him that a car matching his description is underwater at Chappaquidick. By now, Kopechne has been dead for hours. Now the choice: Admit you accidentally (but neglifently) sent this girl to her death because you're an adulterous weasel, or try to make yourself look like an OK guy and maybe even a hero. They choose the latter, get their story mostly straight, and report the accident.

Of course, we can't be sure exactly what Kopechne's injuries were because she was cremated real quick, but a crash analyst that A&E had examine the evidence said there was no way Kennedy could have been driving the car, because he would have had broken bones and internal bleeding on the left side, none of which were present. I'll bet the neck brace was a fakeout too.

[beaversmom]

Now I'll be up all night reading it. :)

That's what happened to me the other night.

[jammer]

It might work for you, but it doesn't rebut my statement in any way. All it says is that your dad is just as dirty as my dad.

[Bon mots]

Click on the photo to go to the page. Page opens in new window.

[Liz]

“Ut, oh. Teddy’s gone off the bridge....again.”

[skinkinthegrass]

WOW!...More Rear Adm. "Swimmer" Ted Kennedy...haven't see/read this site before. :))

[Victor]

".....C'mon. Someone please give me one place where that statement is made. We heard "Character counts" from Rush (correctly) and the scum DID talk about competence. But I defy anyone to show where anybody explicitly said "Character doesn't count....."

I'm going by memory....I seem to remember the phrase as sort of a localized time-lock mantra during the 'toon's impeachment, mostly ululated by Stephanapolous and Paul Begala.

But this really did happen. It was the Left's way of de-sensitizing the sheeple to Clowntoon's abominable behaviour.

Actually, the phrase was "character doesn't matter".

[Fresh Wind]

"Character is doing the right thing when no one is watching."

J. C. Watts