The NYT or the RNC?
Paul Waldman, over at The Gadflyer, concedes it's early, but senses that the New York Times chief reporter covering the Kerry campaign is throwing flak for Bush...just as her predecessor covering the Gore campaign did.
I read the story and felt the same way. In Russert's hour long interview with Kerry, Jodi Wilgoren decides not to focus on anything policy-related, or Kerry's plans for the future. Instead she focuses on Kerry's words from 33 years ago (words that Kerry is probably right to distance himself from now, but, as Billmon points out, weren't all that innacurate).
The part of the piece that made me yell at my newspaper was the end of the piece in which Wilgoren obsesses on Kerry's appearance:
"The most awkward moment came after the Vietnam-era videotape, Mr. Kerry's 'Meet the Press' debut, with the candidate watching his younger self use grave and graphic words to describe the Vietnam War.
"'Where did all the dark hair go, Tim?' Mr. Kerry tried, wearing an odd grin [my italics]. 'That's a big question for me.'"
What was odd about the grin? Did it look, dare I say it, French? We'll never know, but I suspect it's another case of reporters drinking the RNC spin that Kerry is an elite who isn't comfortable "relating to people." So when Kerry tells a joke, it's "strained," and his smiles are "odd." Meanwhile, Bush's smirk is a sign to campaign reporters that the American public like him, that he'd be a good guy to invite to the B-B-Q (never mind the fact that Bush would likely pour lighter fluid all over the burning burgers).
I didn't see the interview, but that seemed like a pretty good way to difuse a tense moment. But, then again, I'm not a political reporter for the New York Times.
And speaking of flak, Douglas Brinkley defends Kerry against the charge that his Purple Hearts were underserved.
The common line of attack against Kerry throughout the next (gawd) seven months will be to focus on Kerry's anti-war stance while undercutting his bravery during the war. This they think will deflect focus on George Bush's valiant defence of Texas while failing to go in for a physical to continue his flight training (was he practicing too much on making straight white lines on mirrors that summer?).
I read the story and felt the same way. In Russert's hour long interview with Kerry, Jodi Wilgoren decides not to focus on anything policy-related, or Kerry's plans for the future. Instead she focuses on Kerry's words from 33 years ago (words that Kerry is probably right to distance himself from now, but, as Billmon points out, weren't all that innacurate).
The part of the piece that made me yell at my newspaper was the end of the piece in which Wilgoren obsesses on Kerry's appearance:
"The most awkward moment came after the Vietnam-era videotape, Mr. Kerry's 'Meet the Press' debut, with the candidate watching his younger self use grave and graphic words to describe the Vietnam War.
"'Where did all the dark hair go, Tim?' Mr. Kerry tried, wearing an odd grin [my italics]. 'That's a big question for me.'"
What was odd about the grin? Did it look, dare I say it, French? We'll never know, but I suspect it's another case of reporters drinking the RNC spin that Kerry is an elite who isn't comfortable "relating to people." So when Kerry tells a joke, it's "strained," and his smiles are "odd." Meanwhile, Bush's smirk is a sign to campaign reporters that the American public like him, that he'd be a good guy to invite to the B-B-Q (never mind the fact that Bush would likely pour lighter fluid all over the burning burgers).
I didn't see the interview, but that seemed like a pretty good way to difuse a tense moment. But, then again, I'm not a political reporter for the New York Times.
And speaking of flak, Douglas Brinkley defends Kerry against the charge that his Purple Hearts were underserved.
The common line of attack against Kerry throughout the next (gawd) seven months will be to focus on Kerry's anti-war stance while undercutting his bravery during the war. This they think will deflect focus on George Bush's valiant defence of Texas while failing to go in for a physical to continue his flight training (was he practicing too much on making straight white lines on mirrors that summer?).
posted by John at 2:20 PM
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