Blogs are like ice cream — sometimes you’re in the mood for one flavor, sometimes not. The one blog I never miss, however, is John Scalzi’s Whatever. It is quite simply the summit that all of us other bloggers should be striving for — always well-written, diverse subject matter, strong opinions, glimpses of the author’s personal life that manage to be cute without getting too cloying, and a sharp, laugh-out-loud wit that cuts through the crap to say exactly what needs to be said. Take, for example, today’s entry, in which Scalzi begins by saying that, “if John Kerry cannot beat George W. Bush in this election, he should be taken out and beaten to death with his own shoes.” Lest you think this is just another standard-issue Bush-bashing, let me point out that Scalzi spends most of the entry excoriating the Democrats for not seizing the opportunity this campaign represents. It’s an interesting read, and I think he hits the nail on the head. There is no reason why this election should be as close as it is, except that Kerry and his people haven’t played the game as well as they should have. I won’t say any more, because I think Scalzi says it better than I can. Take a look…
Oct082004
Without reading the article yet….. I have to say one thing. If John Kerry can’t win this election it’s because the Democrats picked a shitty person to run. Part of the election process is each party picking the “best” person to represent them. Do we have that on either side? Nope, however Bush has one thing going for him, experience. Kerry really has nothing but talk so far, nothing to back up his “proposals” – has this been interesting. Absolutely. If GW wins, it’s because the Democrats had Kerry as their candidate. Could have been much, much better. On both sides.
For once we’re in complete agreement on a political matter. I’ve never denied that I have grave reservations about John Kerry as a candidate, not because I doubt his ability to be president — he’s an intelligent man and, I believe, a principled man — but because I doubt his ability to win an election. The two do not necessarily go hand in hand.
Kerry has been slow to respond to attacks and he’s emphasized the wrong things about his character and his record. John Kerry does have a defensible Congressional record, despite the conservative spin that would say otherwise, and if he wasn’t so concerned with not offending people (as far too many Democrats are), he could have easily explained his anti-war activities after Vietnam, too. Instead, he continues to be dogged by accusations that he did something wrong by speaking his mind 35 years ago, something he should be turning to his advantage instead of running from.
Sometimes I feel the same way about his campaign that I do after seeing a really bad movie — I know that I could write a better script than this.
Oh, and for whatever it’s worth, I voted for Edwards in the primaries, not Kerry…