Okay, so here's the "devastating" KERRY Campaign Flick

[liberalpragmatist]

Remember yesterday there was something in the NY Daily News about a "devastating" behind-the-scenes look at the Kerry campaign?

Well, there are some clips up at Political Wire (http://www.politicalwire.com), AND... sorry if I'm a little underwhelmed. Some are kind of funny, but they don't strike me as anything out of the ordinary for a political campaign. Hell, there are West Wing-scenes that are more contentious than that.

And the moment where Hillary Clinton "cringes" and "rolls her eyes" at a Kerry-gaffe in the debate? She's rolling her eyes at Bush's "got wood?" moment.

Anyway, take a look for yourself.

[Mass]

1. Definitively underwhelmed.

[saltpoint]

2. Agree. There's not much here to shame Kerry --

-- especially when almost any citizen of the world can -- in a click of a mouse -- see the horrifying images of Abu Graib prison, a U.S.-run torture chamber.

"Bringing democracy to the Middle East!" the Bush administration like to say.

The images from Abu Graib say different, and history will record those as destroying what very little validity Bush had for the assault in the first place.

This film on Kerry will do no serious damage, permanent or otherwise.

[Goldeneye]

3. What is the pony thing about?

I was laughing sooo hard. What are they talking about?

edited for punctuation and to add that I thought the NYT magazine picture was really good. I tore it off and kept it. Also, I don't understand why the staffers would swear so much when they knew they were being filmed, but other than that I didn't see anything to weird.

[liberalpragmatist]

4. I have no idea

And is that the most incriminating thing they can find? It sounds like a campaign inside joke.

[Nederland]

22. It was an inside joke

However, I think the point was that the advance team was asked to waste time doing stupid things that had nothing to do with winning an election and then got reamed out when they didn't fulfill a ridiculous request.

[sandnsea]

9. Marvin's birthday

And I love the swearing because I swear like that all the time and so does everybody else I know. Compared to some other shitty pictures, the NYT was good, but there are so many that are ten times better. The worst pictures possible were consistently used last year. I know the picture situation drove me nuts, and alot of other people I talked to.

[Goldeneye]

21. Ah, the swearing...

I don't mind it. Swearing is pretty much part of life, but why swear when you know your being filmed?

[sandnsea]

23. Because it's honest

Why pretend nobody swears? Quite enough of that kind of holier-than-thou hypocrisy, as far as I'm concerned. Glad the Kerry people didn't participate.

[Goldeneye]

24. I guess that makes sense.

I'm just thinking how I wouldn't swear in front of my grandma, but this isn't quite the same.

[whometense]

12. Look at the PONYTIME clip.

It's about a birthday prank they played on Marvin. It's cute. Has very little to do with Kerry.

[babylonsister]

5. Interesting; why was this done? Is someone or a bunch of

yokels feeling threatened, perhaps? Another smear campaign? I too was underwhelmed.

[Mass]

7. RW smears, clearly

Dont know who the author of this movie is, but a comment that he makes about the SB ("the problem is that the Swift Boat is largely true") made me jump.

In addition, the original article was written by a RW gossip columnist.

And the remark about Hillary was clearly made to oppose Kerry and Clinton's teams. It is clear that she rolls her eyes at Bush's bad joke.

[sandnsea]

10. On Hillary

That's what I thought too and I'm glad to see it. Sounds like more shit to divide Dems. Who wrote that about her rolling eyes again? I don't remember and I want to keep track.

[Mass]

13. Here

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/349711p-298362c.html

[whometense]

14. Crystal clear.

I don't see any way you can read that as her rolling her eyes at anything Kerry said.

I loved Seti's comment afterwards = "That's weird..."

[LittleClarkie]

25. Was it at least interesting in a behind the scenes sort of way

if one is interested in inner workings and such?

So the Clinton staffers were salvating in vain?

[blondeatlast]

6. DAMN! That was

duller than dishwater, really.

[sendero]

8. I thought the debates...

... were the high point of the Kerry campaign myself.

[andyhappy]

11. I have been so tough on kerry

since the election...and he did drive me nuts.

but dammit...seeing that footage of him I just cannot believe that he is not our president.

welcome to the twilight zone...grrrrrr!

[LittleClarkie]

15. Well, the NY Daily News IS rightwing, isn't it

It's amazing to me to see folks except the word of a Right Wing rag when it's about somebody they have an issue with. When did papers like the Boston Herald or the NYDN suddenly become credible sources for progressive news? When they dis a Dem you're upset with, that's when.

And a Right Wing rag's GOSSIP COLUMN, to boot. Geez Louise!

[NYCGirl]

16. Not really. Slightly right. It's the NY Post that's the rightwing rag. NT

[LittleClarkie]

18. Heh. Oopsie.

Still a gossip column and all, one that seemed to be trying to portray both Clinton and Kerry in a bad light.

Do Lloyd Grove's politics normally show? If so, which way does he tend to lean?

All in all, I suppose it doesn't matter much. Grove's job is to make something out of nothing to sell papers. I just wish some weren't so ready to swallow a bit of nonsense.

[NYCGirl]

19. Nope, he's just showbiz. I read his items sometimes from Salon's "The Fix"

gossip column.

[Adelante]

20. I'm old enough to remember when

The New York Post was a great liberal newspaper. Such a loss.

[karynnj]

17. That wasn't even a Kerry gaffe

His point was Bush had a small amount of (passive) business income that per their definitions would count him as small business. (From memory it was less than $100 and the company had Lumber in its name.) The point was they were saying that many in the top 1% or 2% were really self employed people whose business income is taxed via their personal income. Kerry's point was correct and well taken.

[Yupster]

27. The problem was that Kerry said that Bush owned part of a

lumber company which turned out to be completely not true.

Bush isn't the swiftest, but he was fast enough to jump on that gaffe and it made for one of the weirder moments in debate history.

Turns out that Bush's tax returns showed he had a royalty check from a company called Crosstimbers, which is an oil company. I guess one of Kerry's people saw that on the tax return and assumed it was a lumber company which is pretty funny since there isn't any lumber in West Texas other than tumbleweeds and mesquite.

Anyway, it was a truly weird debate moment.

Kerry could have at least comeback saying that he didn't know what kind of a company it was but his point was that Bush owned a little bit of some company, but he just stood there and absorbed the laughter.

[Mass]

28. Anyway, No big deal there

and it seems pretty clear that Clinton was rolling eyes at Bush. (nearly nobody got what Bush meant, and he really look weird).

But thanks for the explanation.

[karynnj]

29. okay, I understand

I really didn't see it that way - as Bush was very strange. It wasn't Kerry's turn to speak - so I think that would have violated the rules. I heard no one call it a gaffe afterwards. (Compared to the millions of Bush mistakes calling Crosstimbers a timber company seems insignificant.) There is no way to spin that Kerry didn't win all three debates.

[wisteria]

31. I haven't heard that it wasn't a lumber co as you say, however

no one listening or watching the debate would have known it wasn't a lumber co. That information wasn't shared with the audience. And the location wasn't mentioned either. It is possible to be part owner of business outside your residential state. I think I recall reading that it was in fact a lumber co. that Bush earned income on. I recall it being proven that Bush was actually misinformed-not Kerry. And the laughter was over Bush's corney joke and I believe Kerry did smile at the joke.

[jillan]

26. I know I'm suppose to be upset over this BUT

the only thing I saw offensive was the swiftboat liars, and that guy who said they were right...

I liked watching the clips. It was humorous watching Kerry complaining of the heat and smell in that locker room. "Whoever worked out in here last left a part of themselves". Haha - I know that feeling!

And it was AWESOME seeing that Ohio rally with Bruce singing, and the huge huge crowds.

sigh.....

[zulchzulu]

30. Wow...people were cussing and stuff...OMG!

I totally agree...underwhelming...and if anything, people get a chance to see some of the behind the scenes stuff...

I have some footage of people being kicked out of Bush rallies because they had a t-shirt that had a peace sign on it...I wonder if that would be funny to a Chimphead.

[wisteria]

32. The best parts were seeing Kerry again and hearing

"No retreat, No surender".