Kurtz

It's been well-documented that Howard Kurtz, probably the most prominent media critic in the country, is a Republican shill.  But I was floored by yesterday's article.  The gist of it was that Kerry's in trouble because of personality problems.  The following is a long section, but it's so comical that I just have to include it:

Let's take a look at how this charge gained traction--to the point that several pieces have been written about the so-called likability factor (or lack-of-likability factor) in recent days.

First, there's obviously a few grains of truth here. Kerry can seem stiff and tends to orate when he speaks, often in convoluted Senate-speak. The man looks dour, like he's perpetually worried about global warming or something. In some of these articles, friends are quoted as saying that he's really a funny and terrific guy in private--the same sort of testimonials that were offered by pals of Al Gore.

Second, Republican flacks are peddling this line--Kerry is grating, he doesn't wear well, he looks French, he's not as natural as Bush, and besides, the senator and his wife are too rich to relate to ordinary folks. (That's the reason for the focus on Kerry's wealth--ironically, from people supporting the son of a president and grandson of a senator who summers in Kennebunkport).

Finally, though, I believe it has to do with the press. Reporters are writing these stories because they're not particularly fond of Kerry or, at a minimum, agree with the critique that he's an awkward pol. Kerry never had a particularly great relationship with much of the Boston press corps, and the same is proving true with the national media.

All this is more important than it may seem at first blush. Most people are not going to vote for a potential president unless they're comfortable with that person coming into their living rooms for the next four years. I happen to think this was an underrated factor in the Bush-Gore race.

Gee, Howard, do you think it was a factor in the race?  I'm not a media critic for the freaking Washington Post and I can, off the top of my head, list ten examples of how the media's dislike of Al Gore led to unfair coverage, and it's not speculation to say that that had an impact on the national perception of the guy.

Beyond that, look at the hilarity that ensues when one flips Item Three and Item One and puts them together.

A)  The media is creating the perception that John Kerry's personality is undesirable.

B)   John Kerry has an undesirable personality.

You watch:  the whole "Kerry just isn't a likeable guy" meme is only starting to roll. 

Apparently, as long as our President is likeable, it's OK if he takes extremist positions on the environment, the judiciary, civil rights, and secrecy.  As long as he's likable, it's OK that he lies to start a war.  As long as he's likeable, it's OK that his Administration reveals the names of covert operatives, endangering national security for partisan slander.  As long as he's likeable, it's OK that his people threaten the jobs of those who are looking to tell the truth on the cost of his proposals.  As long as he's likeable, it's perfectly OK that he be incompetent.

You watch.

1:21:32 PM    comment []

Meyerson:

The Republicans have subjected Kerry's time in Vietnam to the kind of going-over normally accorded war criminals. Did he really deserve that third Purple Heart? How big, exactly, was that piece of shrapnel that had to be removed from his left arm?

We could, I suppose, ask an equivalent question of Bush, but only if they awarded Purple Hearts for paper cuts incurred in the campaign headquarters of the Republican Senate candidate for whom Bush worked during the year he was supposed to be serving with the Air National Guard in Alabama.

 

9:22:59 AM    comment []