Thursday, July 5, 2012

Republicans, Mitt Romney is Your John Kerry

Nice bod, Mitt! But where are the magic underwear?
Image from Boston Globe.
In much the same way that "gay" is not an insult, but that many homophobes would think it so, I don't think comparing somebody to John Kerry is a bad thing. But Republicans do. They may sort have forgotten about him, but when he was running for president in 2004, they hated the man (and oddly, his wife). When they weren't insulting his service to the country, they were (oddly, again) picking on him for being elite and (oddly, still) too French.


Willard Mitt Romney got out of Viet Nam (though he demonstrated in support of the draft, and the war) by being a Mormon missionary in Bordeaux. You know where that is, kids? Yep, France. Trying to convince wine drinkers to become Mormons. . .which is kind of hilarious (thanks to John Fugelsang for the observation).  So, though Kerry and Romney's Viet Nam-era records are polar opposites, they're both elitist rich guys, or perceived to be. And they both like rich guy things.

Kerry. Image from Live Shot.
Back in 2004, one of the most memorable images was that of Kerry windsurfing. I don't know why, exactly. It showed him to be fit and active, and I really, really didn't understand why that was so negative. Then again, I didn't understand the big deal of Michael Dukakis in a tank either, so what do I know? But somebody on the right please tell me, how is this picture of Mitt on a Jet Ski any different (and on the bitch seat, no less!)? And while you're at it, tell me what was so funny about John Edwards' hair and physical appearance, when you have your own Capt. Hairdo/department store mannequin?

And of course, we can't forget that the windsurfing picture was used in an anti-Kerry ad, accusing him of "flip-flopping." Nobody--not John Kerry, not anybody--has proven to be a bigger flip-flopper than Mitt Romney.

[Excerpt]


Mitt Romney on a jet ski — the GOP candidate’s Kerry moment?


The last thing Mitt Romney needs is a John Kerry moment that conjures up F. Scott Fitzgerald’s description of the very rich: “They are different from you and me. . .”

Read more at: Boston Globe

4 comments:

  1. Well, your side has Obama playing Jimmy Carter.

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  2. Jimmy Carter was perhaps the most decent, honest politicians to ever hold the office. I liked him. And I wonder if the troubles that beset his administration were entirely his fault. The "malaise" that the nation was in would have perhaps happened to anyone holding the office. It was a very awkward transition time for me (middle school) and the nation (disco)! Anyway, I've always said that people act like they want a morally upright, honest person to be president. We had one!

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  3. There were three huge demographic shifts happening during the Carter administration that sent more people into the workforce than the economy could possibly absorb: the baby-boomers were coming of age, women were embarking on careers outside the home in greater numbers than in previous decades, and veterans were returning from Vietnam. These trends began during the brief Ford administration and took years to shake out.

    Carter is the only ex-president I would want for a next-door neighbor. I agree that he is perhaps the most honest and decent man to ever hold the office. However, I think his scruples crippled his effectiveness. He had no stomach for the disguised quid-pro-quo games that get bills through Congress. Carter is a better man by far, but Clinton was a better president, in my opinion.

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  4. Sounds well reasoned, Jill. I was just a kid--poisoned by arch Republican parents who HATED Carter--but I always just got the impression that he was a good guy. I do know that going into the election, Carter was ahead until almost voting time. And there is fairly good info that there were back room deals with Iran to get the hostages released AFTER the election, to make Reagan look like a hero. I think today's St. Ronnie storyline is almost as bad of a distortion of the real man as the one usually floated about Carter.

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