Echoes of a 1972 Loss Haunt a 2004 Campaign

The New York Times ^ | September 24, 2004 | TODD S. PURDUM

[Oeconomicus]

Now, in the wake of a month of harsh attacks on Mr. Kerry's character, military record and antiwar activity by the group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the White House itself, . . . Polls show that the attacks apparently succeeded in raising doubts about Mr. Kerry, and undermining his campaign's central biographical rationale, just when many voters were first tuning in to the race. Some old colleagues worry that irreparable damage has already been done.

A bitter pill for readers of the Times to swallow.

[TheBigB]

But they also insist that he long ago learned the lessons of that searing defeat

Seared...seared into his memory, they are.

[Darkwolf377]

"The article continued: "Obviously, John Kerry is a loser. Only losers have days like this." And Mr. Kerry himself offered a terse assessment: "How did I feel when I lost? Lousy. I guess you learn from it. I'm not sure just what yet."

Thirty-two years later, Mr. Kerry is once again..."


...a loser.

[MisterRepublican]

TODD S. PURDUM

Long winded liberal idiot.

[Ciexyz]

Most interesting read.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Mr. Kerry, seared by his combat experience in the Mekong Delta and embittered by the death of close friends in the war, had made Vietnam the centerpiece of his campaign.

Wow. Imagine that.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Geez. How many column feet did this article get?

[ottothedog]

"Did he learn in Lowell, always fight back?" Mr. Vallely asked. "Yes, but John's always been a pretty good fighter." And, he added, "Kerry's cooler now. He's cooler. I mean, he's less - he's more skilled. He's not nervous."

I find it interesting how W has played a rope-a-dope strategery this year. He let the demokrats swing and swing and swing at him up to th convention, and then came in fresh for the kill. I was mad at W earlier for not responding more, but it seems to have worked out (although with a lot of help from the Swifties).

Dan Payne, another aide in that first race, said that Mr. Kerry had developed "a kind of toughness that allows him to take hits," and that he was "willing to go through these very difficult plunges in his fortunes."

Kerry can take a punch at all. He has a big glass jaw.

[rdl6989]

Maybe after losing on Nov. 2^nd, Skerry and Mamma-T will go down to the carwash. They will blame Karl Rove, of course. (LOL)

[Oeconomicus]

"I began to sense there were some folks out there on their own doing their stuff and calling it V.V.A.W.," he said this summer. "I just said, 'It's not my cup of tea.'"

Try to imagine our present Commander-in-Chief EVER saying, "It's not my cup of tea."

[elfman2]

" I was mad at W earlier for not responding more, but it seems to have worked out (although with a lot of help from the Swifties)."

It was an absolute jungle ambush. He let Kerry march in confidently as a Vietnam hero, and then let the SBV dismantle him in the crossfire. Kerry was warned month before, but failed to respond.

[uglybiker]

"I took a shellacking," he said in an interview this summer...."But I didn't take a shellacking..."

Classic flip-floppin' Kerry.

[sam_whiskey]

Ooooh....it would almost be worth being a reporter to be able to interview Terayza...think of the things you could coax her to say if you really wanted to.

[sam_whiskey]

ooops...wrong thread

[snowsislander]

I am surprised that the author didn't mention Senator Tom Eagleton -- like Senator Kerry's campaign, Senator McGovern's grew rocky when it was found that one of them had had mental problems, though in McGovern's case, it was the vice presidential candidate, not the presidential one. (After today's performance, can anyone not wonder if Senator Kerry is undergoing some very serious problems?)

Like McGovern's campaign, Kerry's campaign also appears to be on its way to a major defeat, perhaps another historic one. Good riddance to it; after the embarrassing episode today, insulting Iraq's interim leader, I believe that Senator Kerry should slink away.

[Oeconomicus]

"I just said, 'It's not my cup of tea.'"

By "it," Kerry seems to mean assassinating Senators during the 1971 Christmas recess. What a man of courage.

[ottothedog]

sKerry was "an idiot" (to quote tahrayzah) for doing that. I think his calculation was that he was going to play up his Vietnam "service", so that W would be unable to criticize his anti-war record. He kinda forgot about all those Vietnam veterans he slandered. Payback is h*ll. Also, sKerry is about the most inherently unlikable politician in history. I think that he actually beats Sore Loserman in that category.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Very interesting.

[eggman]

"All of a sudden, water started washing over my shoes!" Mr. Kerry explained in the article. "The car was filling up with water! Water was coming out of every orifice! I could see the headlines: 'John Kerry, Former Congressional Candidate, Drowned in Car Wash.' "

He's just lucky Teddy wasn't driving the car. He would have drown.