June 22, 2004

• My guess is ... no.
• Thompson, for all his drug addled paranoiac ravings, is still one of the funniest, most insightful observers of the American political scene. Besides, what Kerry said was obviously a joke, and might I add a one in far better taste thanW's "weapons of mass destruction" quip.
• If my choice of cronies is between a drug addled paranoid, extremist Christian nutjobs, or extremist Moonie nutjobs, I'll take the drug addled paranoid, thanks.
• When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
• At least with the drug addled paranoid, you can blame it on whatever substance he/she is on. The religious extremists don't have that excuse, which to me is far more frightening.
• Or maybe they do have that excuse, according to Dr. Vilanyur Ramachandran.
• Well, at least he didn't say Ted Nugent.
• i still say, bill clinton for veep.
• Shawnj, yes. That is more or less what I meant to say. When you take a person influenced by drugs off whatever substance they are on, more often than not their behavior changes dramatically. But these are folks who, for whatever reason, have visions, hear voices, and often act irrationally, all in the name of their particular religious belief. Give me the drug addict any day. At least they can sober up.
• I understand that the republican party is pressuring Cheney to step down as VP for a number of reasons (his health, the great dislike he engenders on the left, and to get a VP that could run for president after W's second term). If it happens, who do you think is on the short list? I, for one, want them to bring back Dan Quale. Make it a total dummy ticket.
• Or Tom DeLay. Bush needs a mouthpiece like that guy. I mean, anyone that can throw this kind of rhetoric: "In a calculated and craven political stunt, the national Democrat Party declared its surrender in the war on terror," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican. "But at least
• I'd like Thompson for VP, but only if they make his lawyer Chief of Staff.
• Thompson's a dried up husk. But he's still more interesting than Kerry.
• should Kerry be courting people like Thompson? If the cash is legit, then why not?
• Kerry-Dean 04
• Kerry-Edwards v Bush-Guliani 04
• But he's still more interesting than Kerry. I can't say I understand this meme. I saw Kerry speak at my alma mater last April, and found him to be a wonderful speaker: engaged, passionate and down-to-earth. And this is coming from a die-hard Green who hasn't voted for a major-party candidate since 1992. I don't watch TV, so maybe Kerry's one of these Lyndon Johnson-type of people who is very charismatic in person and yet doesn't come across well on the telly; I have no way of knowing. At any rate, Kerry is certainly more articulate than other candidates I could name, and has some good ideas, even if they're not a perfect fit with my own ideas about where we need to be as a democracy.
• I have not seen Kerry in person, but I have seen him on the telly, and he strikes me as an unseasonably boring and unexciting individual. Polls seem to bear this out.
• Except that poll asked people not if Kerry was those things, but out of Kerry and Bush which they thought had more. If two baseball players have batting averages of .405 and .375 respectively, can you claim that the second player isn't a good hitter? No, the only thing you can claim is that the first hitter is a better hitter than the second. And in the case of personalities between Kerry and Bush, generally people are eneared more to Bush for talking like a layman. That's not a surprise, of course, but it doesn't mean that the polls support your claim of Kerry being the uncharismatic Lurch that you paint him to be.
• And in the case of personalities between Kerry and Bush, generally people are eneared more to Bush for talking like a layman. That's not a surprise, of course, but it doesn't mean that the polls support your claim of Kerry being the uncharismatic Lurch that you paint him to be. Agreed. Though I think it's not a question of charisma, it's a question of not appearing to be a snob. Every time I see a clip of Kerry speaking I feel like I'm 14 years old again, carrying golf clubs for snooty types at Old Oaks in Westchester. If the man can learn to give a speech without appearing to talk down to folks, he'd be doing himself a big favor.
• Okay, granted, Bush isn't the most scintillating figure either. But of the two, it seems Kerry could stand more excitement on his side.
• Maybe I'm a dying breed, but I want the leader of my country to talk like an erudite snob.
• I get a bit tired of these arguments of "who is more exciting" or "more likeable". I know, sadly enough, most of the American voting public hasn't grown out of voting for who's a "nicer guy" or "who is more cool", but this isn't a high school student body election, folks. It's for the leader of the free world! I'd like to believe that we are all smarter than voting for the guy you'd most like to have a beer with, right?
• I'd most like to have a beer with this guy. I'd vote for him, too. Puts everybody on the American ballot this year to shame.
• It's for the leader of the free world! No, it's for the leader of the United States of America.
• Every time I see a clip of Kerry speaking I feel like I'm 14 years old again, carrying golf clubs for snooty types at Old Oaks in Westchester. If the man can learn to give a speech without appearing to talk down to folks, he'd be doing himself a big favor. I think he's actually trying. If you see footage of Kerry testifying before Congress in the early '70's, you'll hear a massively thick Boston Brahmin accent. Think Charles Emerson Winchester from M*A*S*H on speed. Kerry's toned it down quite a bit from that.
• Sorry Rocket 88. Point well taken. I often use that term (albeit a bit fast and loose) to describe the person who has his hands on a button that could destroy the world, both free and otherwise. I guess the title "possible nutball that could destroy the planet if he feels like it" would be more truthful.
• Actually,I'd like to have a beer with Kerry.
• Yeah, I understand that most people want to elect a person that they can relate to, but it just seems stupid to me. I want a really eloquent nerd with a huge set of balls minding the store. I wish that we as a country could get beyond this idea that being intellectually curious and having a more-than-tenuous grasp on the English language is somehow a liability. Kerry's not talking down to us. He's talking how he talks. If we feel that that's somehow aimed in a downward direction, maybe the problem's with our perception, not his reality. This is what I loved about Clinton: unbelievably intelligent, curious, able to string a damn sentence together, yet able to meet you at your level and chat with the skills of any self-respecting Southerner. You got both in one package.
• "maybe the problem's with our perception, not his reality..." Absolutely, Tool, abso-friggin-lutely!
• Kerry's not talking down to us. He's talking how he talks. If we feel that that's somehow aimed in a downward direction, maybe the problem's with our perception, not his reality. Fuckin' A, dude.
• Dear John Kerry and Hunter S. Thompson: I just want to tell you both good luck, we're all counting on you. damn, but I'm loving this meme...
• Oh, and what middleclasstool said.
• I think Hunter would make a better Attorney General than VP.
• This is officially the most fucked up thing I've heard this week. Stunning.
• (forks, I'm pretty certain Kerry was making a joke)
• In a perfect world, Jello Biafra would have taken the 2000 Green nomination and won the presidency with running mate Thompson.