Here we go..again...*sigh*

[ObamaKerryDem]

Now usually, whenever I see a sentence like "The Boston Herald reports.." I stop reading then and there (as they do anything BUT report. As we all know, the Herald is one of the trashiest newspapers in the country. The National Enquirer has better reporting lots of times and that's saying something!), but this is ridiculous. Not only are they clearly twisting JK's words here, but they are overreacting. I mean, can anyone point out to me what of what he is quoted as saying here ISN'T true?:

Article

He's not attacking or even blaming voter intelligence so much as HOW many get their information and the people in the press who continually shirk their journalistic responsibility in favor of sensationalism and projected ratings *cough*Fixed..I mean Fox News!*cough*

But this has clearly gotten under their skin so hey, the good Senator must've said something right! :)

[karynnj]

1. The Washington Post's plumline calls the BH headline "comicly misleading"

I would have used a different adjective - this is an attack and there is really nothing that Kerry said that was wrong or that was objectionable. (At worse, it could be wrong - because the comment is opinion - people would like the stuff better if they knew better what it was.)

Here is the WP:

* Comically misleading link-baiting headline of the day: From The Hill:

Kerry blames out-of-touch voters for Democrats' midterm image troubles

That's based on this quote from John Kerry: "We have an electorate that doesn't always pay that much attention to what's going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what's happening." And Kerry goes on to say it's "appropriate" that public anger is directed at Washington.

Also: Alex Burns reports that the NRSC will today demand that Dem Senate candidates say whether they agree with Kerry."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/the_morning_plum_98.html

Some of the posters, including one from MA, are piling on because they always do - and much of what they say has been disproved so many times that it is pathetic.

The Boston Herald has an article today asking if they wish JK were on the ballot this year. Somehow they don't get that the centerfold was incredibly lucky due to the lackadaisical attitude of both the Democratic candidate and the party itself. I suspect that they basically never gave JK credit for being the exceptional candidate that he was, so they thought MA would not go republican in the Senate as they often had in the House. The theory was that MA votes differently for the two. A more likely reason was that Kennedy (as all assume) and JK were too good to lose - and both ran in a few bad years.

I hope the DSCC and other bodies are smart enough to suggest good answers that speak to people not knowing what is in the HCR bill and the bank bill due to deliberate misinformation - and polls have shown that the bill's popularity increases if they are told what the features are.

[MBS]

2. excellent -- this makes my day.

Delighted to see that there's somebody in the media with some sense and conscience. .
hope those dem senate candidates also get what Kerry REALLY said, so they won't bite on NRSC bait.
Yeah, facts on HCR would be so welcome. . I'm AMAZED at how many people really think that benefits for elderly will be compromised by HCR. .

[wisteria]

3. Good for the Washington Post. That Hill piece taken directly from the BH was poor reporting.

They didn't even bother to ask for any clarification from Kerry's office. They just ran with the BH hit piece-which seems to indicate whose side they are on. I really thought The Hill was better than that. Even Politico didn't pick this up.

Now, what is this dribble coming from the NRSC? They are trying to corner other Senate Democrats into confirming their lies by demanding other senator's denouncing Kerry? I hope there aren't any "stupid" Democrat senators who take this bait. Unless they confirm the electorate has a right to be made at Washington.

[beachmom]

4. Salon article on it:

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/28/shenkman_kerry_americans

Shorter version: John Kerry is right, but he made a horrible political error. I guess I agree. You just can't call the voters stupid, even if they are. I actually think JK is more respectful of voters than a lot of pols, but that makes him brutally honest sometimes, and in the media world we live in, it doesn't come across very well.

[karynnj]

5. I agree, but I think there is a HUGE difference between saying they are stupid

and saying they are not informed of inattentive. What we don't know was the actual question Kerry was asked. It sounds like he might have been asked why the Democrats were doing poorly - and his answer was a serious, respectful one that he clearly believes. Here, the sentence he said is actually not the problem - it is the FRAME. The right saying Kerry thinks people are dumb - which does not come from what he said. Here, it's not just Kerry - ANY politician could be caught like this, where it is the media suggesting a meaning that it would not have been there otherwise. (The normal response then would be that he was hypothesizing that more information would lead to more support.)

I think you and the article may be right that in this slogan based media world, which is exactly what Kerry might really be blaming, that answer gets turned into the distortion it very clearly is. Yet, I wouldn't want Kerry to not be who he is - and I don't think he would be better than he is if he would resort to simplistic slogans that don't really mean what he thinks. The idea that he expressed - when the entire quote is read is the problem as he sees it - and it leads to a solution - get the facts out in as simple a way as possible.

I suspect that there are 2 reasons the right went after it - they could use it with the yacht and even the 2006 joke to define him as elitists and make him less likable - reducing his usefulness. I don't think that really works here - as only Fox and the right really took it as the Hill and BH distorted it. The second reason is that his comment here and more directly elsewhere go directly to how the US media is a huge problem - it does not inform the country on what happens in their government.

Bill Clinton absolutely did not help Kerry here - http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1284522&format=comments#CommentsArea (in his typical way, he essentially took the RW story as true and says Kerry did not mean to disrespect votes and then acts as if his view as different than what Kerry said - when in fact it really weren't. More were they any more concise, clear or less spinnable. (The difference is the RW has not Clinton = elitist meme - they have other ones.)

[Mass]

6. This is a RW meme. This week, they went after Obama, Biden, and Kerry for the same thing.

There are limits to what you can or cannot say. At some point, self-censure is not good. This is one of these moments. Tell people to listen and think, for once, about the future.

[karynnj]

7. Wow

You are right. Obama, Biden and Kerry all are saying people need to carefully look at the choices. This has to be said, because if it does not happen, we may be going on a very bad path.

[Blaukraut]

9. Good catch

All three are basically saying the same thing. Voters should pay attention and make informed decisions based on extensive research, not media-driven soundbites.

[Mass]

12. Yes, but it is a meme that frightens Democrats enough to make them avoid

telling the truth. We spent the last two years worrying about what those who hate Democrats thought, and not enough making sure that solid measures helping people are at least voted upon in the Senate (and then blaming the GOP when they did not). Nobody should be surprised that we are in this situation.

Well, even here, GOPers cant even be honest. I dont know if people from MA saw Baker's interview in the Salem paper where he can't find a Dem he worked well with? Seriously? His life must have been hell. Because Baker thinks voters are stupid. But nobody will pick on things like that.

Frankly, I dont see Kerry's thing make a lot of noise except on a few RW blogs, so my guess is that it is a non-issue, but the treatment it got from our side is fairly symptomatic of what is wrong: people being very afraid of being offensive to the GOP. Because of course they will vote for us. Really?

[karynnj]

15. The reaction on DU (not JK group) is schizophrenic

Most of the people attacking this the most are people who most praise Democrats speaking out, who would have defended this to the hilt had it been said by Grayson or Dean.

I also think Kerry's comment was far milder than Biden's or Obama's.

[beachmom]

11. Yes, but there is a reason why the RW meme is working.

Because Americans were more into American Idol than the invasion of the Iraq War. Now I have no problem with someone watching some fun TV at the end of a long day, but to willfully be ignorant and then vote for Bush for personality reasons is par for the course in this country. They SHOULD be called out on it but not by a politician from a political party that has been unable to get unemployment down (and I'm not saying it's all their fault, just that this is the impression people have). Frankly, Bill Maher says it every week.

[Mass]

13. Do you seriously think that there was something that the Herald would not have twisted?

This is my point. They twist everything. If is was not this, it would have been something else.

[wisteria]

19. I agree with your comments. n/t

[karynnj]

14. If you just read what Kerry said, it is pretty much what he has said

at least since he had to answer why Brown ran. He did say people were right to be angry. In his past statements he has spoken of people losing their jobs, their hopes to afford to send their kids to college etc, but here, we do not know if he - as he always seemed to do said that first.

The only real criticism is that he could have said that Democrats had not yet succeeded in getting out the message on what they had done. But, this was not a carefully crafted speech. It was an off the cuff answer. As to the RW saying it says people are misinformed - they provably are and the RW media (pushing this) helped make it so.

[wisteria]

8. He never called them stupid-I never read that in any of his comments.

But, he should just keep to discussing facts about his appearances. He should known that his every word and action is being watched by that propaganda paper.

[beachmom]

10. I think most voters who heard what he said (at least those who hate Democrats)

would interpret it as being called stupid. Really, they're ignorant which has nothing to do with innate intelligence, but rather how much time they wish to spend on Dancing With the Stars versus reading a newspaper. Of course, some do make the effort and think they are keeping themselves informed by watching cable news. That's almost worse than a music talent show. Al Gore said in his recent book, the best way to be informed is by reading. I really agree with him on that. Preferably more in depth articles.

And now that I think of it, Kerry is being too charitable. People DO have time for brain dead reality shows, so they actually could read a newspaper or watch PBS, but they choose not to because it's too hard.

[wisteria]

17. I see your point, and of course those looking to slam Kerry will promote the worse, but

suggesting that people are uninformed and are slogan voters does not seem to me to be calling people stupid. To me, there is a world of difference between uninformed and not seeking out the truth, and making up your own mind, and being stupid. Stupid meaning you either don't have the capacity to learn on the level of others, or you are slow.

[sandnsea]

26. who gives a crap about "those who hate Democrats"

They're always going to find some way to twist Democrats' words to come up with a reason to be pissed. That's what they want. Trying to be rational with them is like trying to be rational with drunken monkeys, or even drunks period. It's just not possible and only makes you crazy when you try.

There is so much crap out there that there isn't any way to know whether you're really informed besides going to first source material and even then you have to ask yourself about the motivation of a bill's author or the political games behind a particular speech. Look at Colin Powell and WMD. He couldn't even get at the truth and nobody wanted it more than him.

Our government is broken and the lying media has a whole lot to do with it. Mostly from their desire to appeal to a particular ideology regardless of whether they tell the whole truth or not.

[karynnj]

16. He really can't limit his comments to just those on the event

It would look as awful as Angle walking out when questions were not on the photo op as she defined it. He has to address the questions asked and I assume that he does consider what he says carefully before speaking. In reality, there are not that many times where he has actually given them sound bites. Even here, the sound bite itself doesn't work on its own. Fox "packaged" it with their blond bubble head framing it and mentioning the "yacht" and playing the joke footage again. Yet, the Kerry seen is soft spoken and concerned.

[wisteria]

18. He was at the event to promote the funding. I still see nothing wrong with limiting the questions to

the event only. In this media gotcha era, I think it would be wise to stick to facts and not offer any commentary or opinions when in a questionable media situation. Why not suggest a particular meeting with the press to discuss these other issues at another time? As you pointed out with Angle, Republicans seem to be choosing if and when they want to talk with the press. Some are better at it than others, but I can't help thinking that keeping the media at bay is not a bad thing-especially during elections.

[karynnj]

20. Angle has been hurt by doing that - in spite of the RW having their own media outlets

I would imagine that in MA, where politicians answering to the people (and the reporters) is deeply ingrained in their culture, it would go over like a lead balloon - though the many MA people here would know better. In addition, Kerry is usually very good answering everything thrown at him. I don't think he said anything here that will really be a problem for him - or the Democrats as a whole. As Mass said, it was pretty limited to the RW - who will never like or respect him.

[wisteria]

21. Yes, I know, but right now Senator Kerry isn't running for anything and he is trying to help Dem's

get elected.
I suppose it is a balancing act. You can't alienate the press, but you should be able to pick when and where you want to discuss one issue or another.

[Mass]

22. Actually, it is a pretty big issue. The question he was answering was about why Barney Frank did not

have as easy a race as in previous election. Though he could have probably said he would win easily, the question actually resonates here, and he could not skip it. Veteran Dems are in a race that is somewhat harder than they use to have. Nobody in their right mind thinks Frank would lose, and it would come as a huge shock if he did, but the simple fact the question is asked is significant and nobody can avoid answering without being seen as presumptuous or stupid. Kerry handled the question reasonably well if you read his answer in its totality, which is probably why the Herald decided to cut it into pieces and insert spin in the middle. But there was no way he was not going to answer this question.

[karynnj]

23. Thanks for the local perspective.

I was not completely sure what the question was. Given that as the subject matter, Kerry's answer is reasonable. The fact that the it was cut into pieces and spun shows that they knew, as a whole, that it was not a controversial answer. Refusing to answer in that case, in addition to looking as you said, presumptuous or stupid, would also be seen as a negative for Frank - that Kerry didn't want to speak of his chances.

[Democrafty]

24. I'm hoping he'll take a page from

the POTUS' book and continue to criticize Fox news, et. al. So many of the attacks on Frank are just homophobic and disgusting.

[wisteria]

25. Alright, I concede after knowing all the facts that he would have had difficulty not answering the

question. Still, that question had nothing to do with his appearance, but I suppose the press could not help but ask.