06-04-2004 

QUOTABLES:

“Much of Kerry's problem is superficial. He's as stiff as a GI Joe. He's infatuated with the 1960s...” – William Saletan, Slate’s chief political correspondent. [LINK to full article, “The Thin Man” Sept. 2, 2003]

“John Kerry has a new 757 jet to use while he campaigns for president... did you see it on the news? This is a really cool plane. In the event that Kerry starts speaking, oxygen masks fall from the ceiling to keep people awake.” – Jay Leno.

AMERICAN HEROES

Sgt. Brian Wood, American Hero

This message was recently posted on FreeRepublic.com [LINK]: “My brother Sgt. Brian Wood was killed in Iraq on April 16th and since his voice can not be heard any longer, our family is trying to get an email he sent to every American who is willing to read it. We thought this email, sent from Iraq Thursday morning, April 15th, from Sgt. Brian Wood (serving in the 1st Infantry Division) to his Uncle Mike, might help shed some light on the current war situation:”

Hey Mike, Sorry about getting this off kinda late, been pretty hectic around here recently. Not quite sure what you're hearing from the news, I don't get a whole lot of time to follow it. For the most I feel that the Iraqi people actually appreciate us being here. The attacks that are happening are basically a result of unemployment, and a few terrorists (or whatever you want to call them) paying people off to do the attacks. From what I've heard from the locals around my sector they are pretty much just trying to do what they can to improve their quality of life. But when so many people are out of jobs, they will pretty much do anything they can to make ends meet to provide for themselves and their families. There are many issues that need to be resolved as far as rebuilding their country. And though the people want as many issues resolved as quickly as possible, they can't be resolved that way in an efficient manner. There are already many Iraqi police and ICDC which are basically the guys we are going after, and they use the support of the coalition forces as a cover, so the rest of the people won't be able to fight back. So it may be a long road ahead, but for the large majority of the Iraqi people, they want us here, and they want us to help them rebuild. That always makes me feel good about being here, actually making a difference in these people's lives and giving them opportunities they've never had. It always amazes me how people don't think we should be here. I don't think they really understand what life is like here and how these people were treated.

[NOTE: Do you know an 'unsung' American Hero or Heroine? Our country is full of great people whose stories inspire, encourage and lift our hearts. Send us your story -- and a photo, if possible! -- and we'll try to include it here on our website. Please include your name, state and phone so we can verify. To submit, click here.]

BUSH BEAT

Just POlitics

John Kerry: Stump Problem

It’s no secret. Sen. John Kerry’s campaign stump speeches are boring. Reporters write about it, late night talk show hosts joke about it, and no doubt Democratic National Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe stews about it.

Here are a few odes to the Kerry stump problem we’ve collected:

“John Kerry has a new 757 jet to use while he campaigns for president... did you see it on the news? This is a really cool plane. In the event that Kerry starts speaking, oxygen masks fall from the ceiling to keep people awake.” – Jay Leno.

“He is a wooden campaigner...” – writes Newsweek’s chief political correspondent Howard Fineman.

“Senator and Presidential candidate John Kerry has been criticized for his cold, wooden demeanor and uninspired message...” -- Adam Nagourney, New York Times.

“Kerry has been tagged a wooden Al Gore clone” – New York Metro Magazine.

“Kerry sits onstage in a row of veterans, several of whom speak on his behalf. My eyes wander across the row and come to rest, with familiar incredulity, on the wooden guy in the white shirt. Of all the guys in this row, can you believe this is the one running for president?” – William Saletan, Slate’s chief political correspondent. [LINK to full article, “The Thin Man” Sept. 2, 2003]

 “Cleland lights up the crowd with zingers, plain talk, and more animation than Kerry can manage with four limbs. While Cleland works his magic, Kerry sits expressionless behind him, squinting and repeatedly touching various parts of his hair to make sure they're in place. They're fine, but Kerry seems terribly anxious that somewhere, somehow, a hair is out of place....” – William Saletan.

“Much of Kerry's problem is superficial. He's as stiff as a GI Joe. He's infatuated with the 1960s. He keeps talking about "our generation" to an electorate that is no longer of his generation. He speaks the language of the Kennedys, which now sounds flowery and phony. He adorns his prose with words like "lavish" and "astonishing." He calls the audience "my fellow Americans." He tells them he's "honored to join you in this endeavor." For the thousandth time, he begins a sentence with the pointless preface, "And I say to you today …" At another point, he proclaims, "Let me put it plainly: If Americans aren't working, America's not working." This is what audiences always have to wade through to get at whatever it is Kerry is trying to say: Nuggets of nothing, wrapped in pretentious rhetoric, compounded by the pretense of plain speaking.” – William Saletan.

Moore gigantic antics

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy (R/MN) is displeased with mockumentary film maker Michael Moore and his gimmicky flick "Fahrenheit 9/11" and its trailer. It seems Moore has only included what suited his agenda in his holdup-style interview of the U.S. Representative. Here’s how Kennedy tells it:

"I was walking back to my office after casting a vote, and all of a sudden some oversized guy puts a mike in my face and a camera in my face," said the Minnesota Republican. "He starts asking if I can help him recruit more people from families of members of Congress to participate in the war on terror."

Kennedy said he told Moore that he has two nephews in the military, one who has just been deployed in the Army National Guard.

Ah, but Kennedy has since discovered that his response to Moore was cut from the trailer and film.

"The interesting thing is that they used my image, but not my words," Kennedy said. "It's representative of the fact that Michael Moore doesn't always give the whole story, and he's a master of the misleading."

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