Boston Bummer

The American Spectator ^ | 7-29-04

[hope]

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Boston Bummer

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Published 7/29/2004 12:07:44 AM

Sen. John Kerry spent much of Tuesday night flipping between CNN and MSNBC, watching coverage of the party his party is throwing just for him. After a number of his staff briefed him on the water taxi arrival in Boston (Kerry apparently complained that it wasn't a "sexy" boat he'd be traveling on and asked about something a bit more "manly"), he watched most of the prime-time speakers at the convention. One of the few that he passed on was Sen. Ted Kennedy. "When he was coming on, the Senator thought that would be a good time to go over travel plans, scheduling and the like," says a Kerry staffer. "This wasn't a speech he felt he really needed to make time for." Kerry did devote his focus to the keynote speech of Illinois senatorial candidate Barack Obama and the weirdness that was his wife's lecture. According to staff that were present in the room, Kerry was enthusiastic about both, cheering by himself and talking to the television as though both Obama and Terry Kerry could hear him. "It was oddly touching, if not a bit affecting," says the staffer, who heard about the scene secondhand. "There was someone in the room actually taking notes of what he said to leak to journalists on the trip." Both Kerry and his running mate John Edwards will have taken multiple dry runs inside the Fleet Center before actually taking the podium. Edwards did so in the early morning hours of Tuesday and again on Wednesday before delegates started filing in. The reviews of the podium and the teleprompter system here in Boston have been abysmal. Speakers have complained about poor site lines to the prompter screens, and difficulty reading scrolling text on the glass panels. On Wednesday, reporters got laughs after Sen. Patrick Leahy stood befuddled at the podium after the teleprompter went dark. The Vermont senator had no hard copy of his remarks, so a printed version had to be handed to him onstage. Privately, according to Democratic National Committee staffers, DNC fundraisers and leaders are concerned about the convention, and whether any of it is having a positive effect for the party. "There hasn't been any polling; it's just a sense some of us have that this isn't going anywhere," says a DNC political staffer in Boston. "This has probably been the most tightly run convention in recent memory, but after the evening events, when we are meeting to discuss and go over the day, there are a lot of us who are shrugging our shoulders and saying, 'Great day, but so what.'" By far, the most upbeat moments came with the Obama keynote, but much of that momentum, from the DNC's viewpoint, was killed by the speech of Teresa Heinz Kerry. "Believe me, that was not a speech any of us wanted," says the DNC-er. "If people thought Bill and Hillary were a package deal, they have no idea what they are getting with John and Teresa."

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[GVnana]

Oh man. You can see it in the crowd reaction. This is one turkey of a convention.

And the Bush wannabe theme from Edwards was really tooooo much.

[woofie]

hope ...hope ...where have I heard that ....oh yea, Hope is on the way...

[GVnana]

It was "Help is on the Way", but hey! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

[NavySEAL F-16]

If people thought Bill and Hillary were a package deal, they have no idea what they are getting with John and Teresa."

I think this guy owes the American people a fuller explanation of his comment. This statement definitely needs more coverage.

[hope]

LOL! Bush 2000 "Help is on the way."

With the John's "New America" all we'll have is hope. I have a feeling this was Hillary's idea.

[hope]

White trash comes in all classes...

[Petronski]

Speakers have complained about poor site lines to the prompter screens...

Uh, no. Sight-lines, maybe, but...oh for heaven's sake.

Otherwise, very nice news.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

If Kerry wants to ride on something manly, maybe Ben Affleck can give him a piggyback ride.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Kerry was enthusiastic about both, cheering by himself and talking to the television as though both Obama and Terry Kerry could hear him.
"It was oddly touching, if not a bit affecting," says the staffer, who heard about the scene secondhand. "There was someone in the room actually taking notes of what he said to leak to journalists on the trip."

" Don't cry for me Argentina.
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days,
My mad existence,
I kept my promise.
Don't keep your distance."

[WestTexasWend]

More like "Hype is on the way"...

[anniegetyourgun]

It's incredibly boring. I've actually been relieved when there is news of the Peterson, Jackson, or Hacking cases.....

[VA40]

Don't they mean "feed" to the so-called journalists? I'm so sick of this "leak" bullsh##. How stupid do they think we are?

[Bahbah]

She provides him with a life style to which he thinks he is entitled. That measly senatorial salary will not suit him. She pays the bills and calls the shots. What a man. Feh.

[Magic Fingers]

"Uh, no. Sight-lines, maybe, but...oh for heaven's sake."

Right up there with "whimp" and "speach".

[Reagan Man]

Sen. John Kerry spent much of Tuesday night flipping between CNN and MSNBC, watching coverage of the party his party is throwing just for him.

What? No Fox News? Kerry likes flipping and flopping between cnn and msnbc.

[Rastus]

On Wednesday, reporters got laughs after Sen. Patrick Leahy stood befuddled at the podium after the teleprompter went dark. The Vermont senator had no hard copy of his remarks, so a printed version had to be handed to him onstage.

"Forget your lines, Patty?"

"GO **** YOURSELF!"

[maxter]

"I've actually been relieved when there is news of the Peterson, Jackson, or Hacking cases....."

You must be joking.

[claudiustg]

---"There hasn't been any polling; it's just a sense some of us have that this isn't going anywhere," says a DNC political staffer in Boston.---

Sanity rears it's unwelcome head. Just yesterday I was hearing all this happy hogwash about how confident and positive of victory everyone was, but the medication wears off and there you are...

[ducks1944]

REMEMBER BILL CLINTON WAS FROM HOPE, ARK.