Bad Sarcasm and Tears
The rumor mill says that Gephardt's chief aide has been rushed to his side by private plane, indicating that he will be announced as Kerry's running mate tomorrow. And every last bit of enthusiasm I had about the election is being sucked out of my body.
I knew Kerry was a loser. I knew he was enough of a loser to not be sure he needed Edwards. But I had some hopes that he wasn't enough of a loser to try to make himself look better by putting an even bigger loser on the ticket with him. Great, Kerry; the country really responded to an old, ugly, boring man last time. And it worked very well when the nominee last dipped into the House for a running mate; I mean, he carried his own state and D.C.! His glorious record as Majority/Minority/Nothing leader is just icing on the cake.
The best we can hope for now is just to keep Bush from another term--these men don't have an ounce of leadership ability between them. God help us.
Edit: Yeah, premature, I know. I'm very relieved to find that CW was wrong in this case, because Gephardt (not an awful person, just an awful choice) would have spelt doom.
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After being rebuffed by his first pick for Vice President, presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry chose North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running-mate. My reaction: yawn. It underscores what many of us have thought about Kerry--he is unimag... Read More
Maybe it's just a vicious, unfounded rumor. One can hope so. Let's not totally abandon hope until the announcement's official.
I've never had any hopes invested in Kerry, so I will neither be dissapointed nor impressed with his pick regardless (I'm a Nader man through and through).
But I certainly agree that picking Gephardt makes little sense if Kerry really believes that beating Bush is important for the ethical health of our country. This just reaffirms my position that Kerry is not worth a damn. It seems pretty simple to me: Edwards wins Kerry the White House, anyone else is a coin toss. Kerry cannot possibly have the well-being of our nation at heart if he has any difficulty at all in making this decision.
The dumbest thing of all is that Kerry already made a pathetically public appeal to John McCain, who responded in the only way he could -- by publicly reiterating his support for the Bush ticket. What an embarrassment. And it's not over yet; we're going to hear repeatedly throughout the campaign how Gephardt (or whoever) was not the first choice.
What a botch job.
Hope your source is all wrong. You couldn't find anyone more dull than Gephardt.
Plus the press would love to resurrect the rumor that Gephardt almost shat his pants during the Capitol anthrax scare. Sounds like superb Commander-in-Chief material to me....
Richard Gephardt is an enduringly honorable man of the working class and highly competent. John Edwards is a Southern aristocrat who did well in a few primaries and appealed to the media due to being a fresh face. Besides LBJ what VP candidate REALLY made a DIFFERENCE in modern times? Kerry should pick who Mondale WANTED to in 1984, Diane Feinstein.
The McCain float was a dramaticly NECESSARY attempt at energizing the campaign. Nothing ventured nothing gained. McCain's support of Bush is obviously wan and one imagines he will not be downcast IF Bush loses.
Translation: he's paid his dues and it's his turn.
It's not his turn. He has consistently demonstrated a lack of vision and poor political instincts, and simply being a once-powerful member of the old guard should not be enough to give him a shot at helping to run the whole country.
He makes me ashamed of being an American, if not as much as Bush does. Let him have a Cabinet post or an ambassadorship -- leave the big boy jobs for people who are actually cut out to hold them.
Regarding McCain: Darryl, I know you aren't a moron so I'd like to pretend you didn't say that. A Kerry campaign may need energizing, yes, but why is it that no one ever chooses a running mate from the opposition party? Because it's a fucking stupid idea and it will never, ever, ever work. There are plenty of Democrats perfectly capable of shaking up the ticket without compromising the Democratic platform.
Gephardt, for what it's worth, is not the logical alternative to McCain, were McCain a logical choice in the first place.
Not so fast, gentlemen! Edwards ditched his family during their Disney World vacation today to fly to wherever Kerry is for a meeting. Hope may not be lost yet...
There is no shrine to Gephardt in my apartment but I felt someone should say something nice about him here.
Without behind the scenes discussions there would not have the McCain possibility. Unprecedented boldness does not seem outlandish considering this admired maverick.
All of this passionate speculation will of course be irrelevant in November...
what a relief!
Just read online - it's Edwards. I personally would have preferred someone not on the list, but failing that, I agree that Edwards was the best choice.
Just saw. In that case, I retract...most of what I said.
(Still...McCain?! It was, for one thing, never actually a possibility. And it is, for another thing, now a liability. "It couldn't hurt to ask" is not always a good motto, particularly when the askee is about to star in a new set of ads.)
Okay, now I have a mild amount of respect for Kerry. He's made at least one smart decision.
Looks like you weren't the only one to get fooled -- but at least you didn't print it on the front page of a newspaper.