"Senator, now's not the time to turn the other cheek "

[chiburb]

Is the title of a column on page 2 of today's Chicago Sun-Times, written by Debra Pickett. She is a young, white, city-yuppie type who sometimes writes fluff, and sometimes things of substance. I'm posting some snips and the link because I suspect her words will ring true to some DUers, piss off others, but mostly because she MIGHT represent what other young women are thinking too. Especially among "undecideds" or 1st-time voters.

Snip:

Dear Senator Kerry, I want to vote for you. Really. But you're making it kind of difficult.

The way you've been walking around lately, with that surprised-and-hurt look that guys usually trot out right before getting dumped, I've felt for you. I can tell you're having a tough time of it, having that whole unpleasant "we're not in Massachusetts anymore, Toto" experience.

You probably can't believe you're losing to this guy.

I mean, here you are, a bona fide war hero and all, losing to a guy who barely showed up for his job keeping the Gulf of Mexico safe from the Viet Cong. Worse than that, he's failed to publicly acknowledge that more American soldiers have died in Iraq since he declared the "end of major combat operations" than when we were actually at "war" there. Doesn't seem fair that he should get credit for being a "war president" when he can't even figure out the meaning of the word, does it?

The rest is here:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/pickett/cst-nws-pickett10.html

[seabeyond]

1. i have never seen him with a hurt and surprised look

so why is just another person trying to create kerry into something he is not

[chiburb]

4. And what if the columnist sees something that you or I don't?

I'm nothing close to a 29 yr. old woman, so I can't pretend that she's imagining things. Did you read the column?

[seabeyond]

11. i have watched Kerry a lot and have never seen this

so seeing that i get as much news or more than most everyone since i stay at home all day and have news on all day, i say i have at least as much time in seeing Kerry. she is presenting this story to the public for what she is perceiving we the people are seeing. if she is with him and sees it alone, not the public, who the f* cares. her story is saying we the public are seeing it. i am saying i see Kerry everywhere and never have i seen it

so what she is giving to the public is a caricature, not something he is giving to the public. her creation. not Kerry's

just another subtle way of making him less. less desirable

[Cocoa]

6. exactly my reaction

I don't think this person is anti-Kerry, it's just someone who probably has never seen or heard John Kerry, and gets all impressions of the campaign secondhand from who-knows-where.

[bigtree]

2. Wah wah wah

What a crock.

[chiburb]

3. The snip or the column? n/t

[bigtree]

14. Her characterization of our candidate.

How the hell is her backhanded advice helping? It's just another slap at Kerry. I hope she notices that the opposition has adopted the Kerry is weak line and invented and perpetuated the Kerry is aloof myth. This sort of crap comes from folks who don't bother to actually watch our candidate outside of the media bubble. If she is really interested in our candidate than she should at least try to avoid damning him with her faint praise. This sort of criticism may be her legitimate assessment, but it is also a tactic of the opposition to demoralize our base and paint Kerry as weak and ineffective. She needs to get with our campaign. Kerry is rockin'!

[chiburb]

17. She can't "get with our campaign", she's a reporter/columnist!

Are you intentionally missing the point? That maybe she DOES represent the views of people like her? And if she does, doesn't that concern you in the least?

"This sort of crap comes from folks who don't bother to actually watch our candidate outside of the media bubble."

No shit! Isn't that 90% of this country you just described?

[bigtree]

20. This doesn't speak well about her abilities as a reporter

Maybe she should find another profession. I'm not alarmed that most voters don't know Kerry. This is perfectly normal at this stage in the campaign. Many don't tune in until weeks before the election. She needs to watch our candidate more closely if she expects to have any credible observations taken seriously by those of us who have been watching closely all along.

[PittLib]

5. While I kind of get and appreciate the point...

are people seriously this f**king stupid?

[chiburb]

7. No, some are stupider.... n/t

[girl gone mad]

8. Yes, they are.

I know plenty of em like that.

[Myrina]

9. Herein lies the problem ...

The FAITHFUL don't need swaying or convincing. Most here at DU.

The fence-sitters DO need convincing, or reassuring at least. And they come to a place like DU to discuss their qualms and get called whiners or trolls or nay-sayers.

Way to alienate the undecided's, people .... :eyes:

The compassion and outreach efforts of some here consistently underwhelm me.

[PittLib]

19. Oh, I'm sorry for my lack of compassion ...

for people who say "hey, this guy is a tyrant and really sucks ... but unless you show some balls and quick, I'm gonna vote for him" Girly men!

[Blue_Roses]

31. give a break

"undecideds" need to be pampered and prodded to vote instead of doing the research themselves. they make me sick. In an election this important, I find it hard to be "undecided"

[spooky3]

10. I think she's expressing a point many DUers agree with.

An angry but focused reaction and negative but true ads in response will do better than what the campaign has done so far.

I don't know if she's right, but I don't think we should ridicule this viewpoint. She well could be right.

[chiburb]

15. "She well could be right"

For her she IS right! I agree that we can't ridicule her viewpoint because MAYBE she represents what MANY in her demographic/age group, etc. are thinking. Hell if I know, that's why I'm asking...

[spooky3]

27. She's certainly entitled to how she feels. What I mean about "right" was

that she could be right about what Kerry ought to do, that if he follows her advice, he'll be more effective. No one can know about whether she's right or wrong on that, because he hasn't tried it yet.

Whether she represents lots of people in her demog/age group I don't know either but would be interested to know.

[mourningdove92]

12. "Some People Say"

more trash

[quaoar]

13. I'm sorry, but she's right, at least this part:

You want to believe that people are turned off by negative campaigning. And, yes, some of us are.

But negative ads work. That's why your opponents (and their surrogates) are running them.

And, senator, I guess I've been sort of beating around the bush here, but, well, here, I'll just come out and say it:

It's probably not the right time for a nuanced discussion about the complexities of health care reform.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad you're interested. It will be nice to have a president who cares about that sort of thing.

But, right now, it's time for you to get angry. Not Howard Dean scream angry or Bob Dole scary angry, but Ronald Reagan tough angry. I need to see a cool, righteous presidential angry moment.

Look, senator, I don't mean to scare you. The truth is I'll probably still end up voting for you. I want John Ashcroft sent somewhere that he can do no further harm to civil liberties. I don't want to lose sleep over the possibility of Alan Keyes -- or someone very much like him -- being appointed to the Supreme Court.

But not everyone is like me, senator. Some voters are even more shallow than I am.


It is most definitely not a time for a nuanced discussion of health care reform. This is war and Republicans are like Baathists -- the only thing they will respect is brutality.

[chiburb]

18. Thank you for at least reading the column..

In it, she admits she's shallow and cautions that others are even shallower (as you snipped). That's the point of my OP...

[PittLib]

16. I am a 29-year old white female city dweller ...

and this to me is about the bullsh*t equivalent of claiming to want a "sensitive" guy and then hightailing it back to the abusive ex at the first sign of a tear. This isn't the dating game for @#$%'s sake! Am I the only one who does not the president to be my boyfriend, entertainer, father, son, priest, boss or buddy? SERIOUSLY! I am past the point of desperation, here! AM I ALONE? I just want an intelligent, thoughtful, empathetic, respectful and rational being to lead this country. I don't need any other roles filled.

[tjdee]

22. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governor of California.

That was a major lesson in What People Want.

I really worry about people in this country.

This was exactly my problem with a Kerry nomination in the first place.

[PittLib]

23. I'm not sure I understand what you mean

by your last sentence.

[tjdee]

24. Kerry has a Gore problem.

John Kerry, IMO, is exactly the sort of deliberative fellow who would do an excellent job as the president.

The problem is that Americans, from their habits, don't seem to care so much about that.

Kerry is long winded (he's gotten better), very complex, and has a patrician air. None of these things are bad--but they are hard to sell to a public used to 30 second soundbytes and video clips.

[chiburb]

26. You said:

"None of these things are bad--but they are hard to sell to a public used to 30 second soundbytes and video clips."

Or to a 20s-something columnist at the Sun-Times, who may or may not represent others like her.

[PittLib]

28. Gotcha.

thanks for clarifying :)

[quaoar]

25. Indeed

Maybe we should have nominated Steven Seagal.

[PittLib]

29. Need I remind you of...

Jesse "the Body" Ventura? Please don't give Seagal any ideas. ;)

[cheshire]

33. I feel exactly the way you do, she sounds like a Pub f**kin with us.

[tjdee]

21. Criticism of Kerry? Is that allowed?

I've been gone awhile, but I've noticed a complete absence of Kerry criticism since the end of the primaries (don't know if it was gradual, or admin ordered, or what).

But I hope we can be honest. I am unaware if Kerry/Edwards are waiting until the debates to unleash some whupass, or whether they really believe that optimism without an edge is going to win this thing for them.

I hope that someone over there realizes that this is NOT a gentleman's game. Bush's bump from the convention was EXACTLY because it was a negative nasty convention. And sure we're better than that blah blah blah...but there is a place for righteous nastiness.

Perhaps it's not Kerry's fault. Perhaps it is that, as usual, the Dems are not backing up their own. Where are all the congressional Dem vets? Where is Max Cleland, where is Joe Biden, etc.etc.etc.?

[chiburb]

30. My email to Ms. Pickett:

Look, I think you're a fine writer with a wonderful way with words. But what I don't understand is why you think Kerry is somehow failing you by not making you feel warm and fuzzy about him. You'll "probably" end up voting for him? You're as "Blue State Liberal" as they come? Let me ask you this: Are you getting YOUR information about Kerry's positions and Bush's policies from tv ads? How can you write this:

"It's probably not the right time for a nuanced discussion about the complexities of health care reform. "

From an article you should read:

Issues we are not hearing about because we have spent so much time talking about television advertisements:
Millions of jobs lost in the last four years;
Unbearably expensive health care;
A total loss of confidence within the international community in our moral leadership;
The underfunded farce that is the Department of Homeland Security;
The underfunded farce that is the No Child Left Behind bill;
The fact that military assault weapons will soon be making a perfectly legal return to a neighborhood near you;
The deeply illegal outing of a deep-cover CIA agent by Bush administration officials, who did it because they wanted to silence a critic;
The rape and torture of men, women and children in the Abu Ghraib prison, horrors that were sanctioned in writing by Bush's own lawyer and the Secretary of Defense;
The allegation by Senator Bob Graham of Florida that Bush torpedoed any aspect of the 9/11 investigation that came within spitting distance of his friends in the Saudi royal family;
The allegations by several generals that Bush's people started stripping necessary troops and resources from Afghanistan to bolster their ill-conceived charge into Iraq;
The myriad accusations by a dozen insiders that Bush and his people ignored the terror threat until the Towers fell, and then used the attacks to scare the American people into an unnecessary war in Iraq and a mammoth payday for their friends in the weapons and oil business;
The fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq;
The fact that no connections between Hussein, bin Laden and 9/11 have been established beyond the bloviating hyperbole of a few senior Bush officials who haven't yet gotten the memo;
Does anyone even remember Enron?
Tomorrow is the third anniversary of September 11th. We deserve better than this.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091104Y.shtml

And you want to focus on how Kerry looks and sounds? Nope, I don't think there are some more shallow.

[PittLib]

32. Chiburb ...

You rock.

[cheshire]

34. She sounds like a Pub or a whiner. Frickin make up you mind it you have it