Raines on Kerry : 'Lurch Gone to Choate'

[demdave]

NEW YORK Former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines, on the hot seat again as controversy over the newspaper's Iraq coverage during his tenure continues to swirl, has written a column for The Guardian in London today on John Kerry that concludes that he "has to get better as a candidate." One problem, according to Raines: Kerry is "pompous" and "ponderous."

He also declared that Kerry has an "Addams Family" face--"as if Lurch had gone to Choate."

Where Bill Clinton's most famous campaign message was, "It's the economy stupid," Kerry's seems to be, according to Raines, "It's the war, sort of, and it's the economy, maybe."

Raines believes Kerry can win "in a campaign that's going to become the political equivalent of a street fight" but every time he talks to "a reporter who has covered him, new doubts creep in about his ability to connect with voters.


http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000523125

[molly]

1. Yada-yada-yada

[geek tragedy]

2. See that door, Howell?

The one labeled "For irrelevant has-beens?" Make like Jayson Blair and walk through it already.

[MallRat]

3. Can we trust a single thing this man writes?

Credibility: ZERO.

-MR

[Cocoa]

4. what trenchant commentary

almost as insigtful as all the Times crap about Gore's clothes in 2000.

[Just Me]

5. With a dark beard, I think Kerry would look alot like Lincoln. n/t

[demdave]

12. Too close to call

[benfranklin1776]

15. One thing is certain

The first two are light years beyond Dumbya in their abilities and qualifications to be President, the second much more so than the first, but even the first stands head and shoulders above the current resident of the White House, intellectually and morally. It is indeed a fortuitous thing for our nation that the electorate of 1860 did not make their choice on the basis of an aberrant and perverse fixation on the supposed shortcomings of the personal appearance of the third man and rob us of his leadership and wisdom which salvaged our democracy from destruction.

[molly]

16. John Kerry is an extremely attractive man and

his intelligence and class and restrain make him all that more attractive and appealing.

[stevedeshazer]

23. Is that you in the top pic?

A lot of us here are wondering.

[David Dunham]

6. Raines is a lonely and disgraced man. Ignore him.

Howell Raines has been an angry man ever since he was forced to resign in disgrace last year as NY Times head because of his cover up of the Jason Blair scandal and other improprieties. He is now shunned in most NY social circles. About the only person left who listens to him is his girlfriend, Maureen Dowd.

[underpants]

7. The executive editor of the "LIBERAL" NYT???

Hmm doesn't sound like the leans to the left to me.

[apathy]

8. I hope everyone here responds to the content of the article

instead of the messenger (Raines).

[molly]

10. I did - yada-yada-yada

[Cocoa]

14. I couldn't find any

[salin]

24. Somehow when the "message"

includes physical attack/smears (Lurch - of the Adams Family) it is hard to take the "message" as anything serious beyond a slam. Doesn't appear to be a sincere message, but one intended to resonate with a particular audience and one that tries to coin new phrases to see if they get picked up and circulated (an old trick among those trying to see if they still have "influence.") Color me skeptical.

[blm]

9. What a juvenile attempt at journalism. What a buffoon.

He shames himself with this tripe much more than Kerry.

[thebigidea]

11. guess he's making a play for that sweet RW $$$ now that he's jobless

Hey, Thurston Raines the III - I hear the Washington Times would lOVE to have you on board.

[Beetwasher]

13. So, Because Kerry's Not Running Around Parrotting Some Idiotic Hackneyed

SLOGAN for six grueling months he doesn't have a message?

Hello Dumbass! (Raines, NOT THE POSTER!) You're not talking about a message, you're talking about a slogan. Kerry's GOT a message, he just hasn't started repeating a slogan ad nauseum yet.

Marketing fundamentals here. You don't want to wear out your SLOGAN(S)too soon. Kerry will roll out his when the time is right. It will still be fresh in the voters ears and minds and not sound like some stale repetitive worn talking point.

Think of how SICK they are going to be 6 months from now hearing Bush's lame repetitive schtick "steady leadership, flip flop, terror terror terrror, 9-11 9-11 911-- blah blah blah blah blah...."

[lancdem]

18. Good post

People seem to forget Clinton didn't hit his stride with "It's the economy, stupid" until convention time.

Kerry will be fine.

[amber dog democrat]

17. As if his opinion matters.

I never heard of this person until just now. Faced with the chimp on one hand I would support Quasi Modo if I had to instead of Mr. Bring Em On / Mission Accomplished .

[colonel odis]

19. howell, i understand fox news is looking for commentators

c'mon, howell, lead it off with some saul on the road to damascus thing about how you now understand the real direction the country needs to take.

hack.

[oasis]

20. Raines is known mostly for lowering journalistic standards. Screw him.

[Stuckinthebush]

21. Pick up on those GOP talking points...

It's easier than real journalism.

[yardwork]

22. Anyone have a photo of Howell with his mouth full or something?

I usually don't stoop to insulting people's appearances, but in Howell Raines' case I'll make an exception.

Let's post pictures of him and discuss the funnier and more peculiar aspects of his physiognomy.

Then let's have some pictures of Mr. Raines surfboarding, skiing, and riding his motorcycle, not to mention playing ice hockey. We can critique his athletic abilities.

[qanda]

25. How does mentioning what he looks like

Equate to being an objective observer? It's not like he can easily change his face. I think people will grow weary of these types of very personal attacks.

[librechik]

26. I am totally furious at these hoity toity phonies who pretend to know

what's best for America and what the citizens need to know and especially think. Raines is tops on my FU list, but Keller is no better! He was a grinning enthusiast for Clinton's illegal impeachment!

I would scream, but I'm too angry to even do that. This has been a tough day for me--Bush was here in town! Then he dominated the tube!

eeek!

[stevedeshazer]

27. Check out demdave's profile

Bye, Dave!

By the way, when you called me a flag-hater...I called you a coward.

Guess who was right?

[saigon68]

30. ADIOS

He called me a couple of bad things too--- oh well

demdave's profile

[Judi Lynn]

33. That illustration is STUPENDOUS. So glad you posted it.

I had to send it in an e-mail to someone the moment I saw it.

Thanks to Stevie D. for letting us know the air will be a little fresher around here for a while!

I have never seen so much expressed in such a small number of words: referring to the discussion on poor nations, not Dave's tombstone.

[saigon68]

31. dupe sorry

[TahitiNut]

32. Well, that took long enough.

:eyes: So far, I'm STILL batting 1.000 -- haven't called one wrong yet. (But NEVER publicly.)

[Voltaire99]

28. LOL! The Lurch comparison...

...is one I've been using for months. But Gore Vidal, as usual, still has the best line: "Kerry reminds me of Lincoln. . .after the assassination."

In his essay in this week's Guardian, Raines is perfectly right to argue that Kerry needs more than cosmetic tuning. Kerry needs a message on which he doesn't hedge, flip flop, or sound like the lecturer at a Kennedy School grad seminar splitting hairs. Through this weakness, which is the product of years of technocratic compromise, Kerry reveals the tug of war between his right wing allegiance to the Liebermanesque Democratic Leadership Council and his attempt to restore lustre to the vestiges of his more sensible, liberal past. The result is schizophrenia. What's more: it's just plain soulless and boring.

Kerry has not only to stop giving the GOP ammunition, but he has to reconcile his philosophical and psychic splintering if he hopes not to alienate voters for whom the Democratic candidate is supposed to be more than an equivocator mumbling watered-down Republican positions. This will take much work, and it's far from clear Kerry has it in himself. But then we said that in the primaries. Sigh.

Come on, John. Get your act together.

[Canuckistanian]

29. I can't think of anyone more irrelevant than Raines...

He is one of the few people in America who is distrusted, discredited and disliked by both sides of the political spectrum.

And as for his ability to judge others - I give you Judith Miller and Jayson Blair.

Not to mention the vicious smear campaign against Gore that NYT scribes gleefully participated in, with nary a peep from their "Executive Editor"

Why do we waste bandwidth on him????

[jayavarman]

34. Kerry didn't even go to Choate!

Next thing you know Raines will be trying to tell us that Gore went to Episcopal

Or that J F Kennedy went to Exeter

or that Dubya went to Groton

or that Poppy went to Kent

I man, if this guy cant even get his prep schools right, why should we believe Anything he says?

:eyes:

[gristy]

35. THANKS FOR POSTING!

Maybe you can find some more people with zero credibility who want to tear down Kerry? Sure you can!

[Moderator]

36. Please don't post editorials in LBN

Locking.