August 03, 2004
Dems in action...
Brendan Miniter notes in OpinionJournal that, while Kerry is calling for a larger military, Congress is actually working on it. With no help at all from "Senator" Kerry. Also:
... Then there's the small matter of getting soldiers the body armor they need in Iraq. No one can seriously suggest that the military isn't spending enough money. The problem lies in the supply chain, which somehow isn't getting all the necessary gear to frontline troops. But once again, legislation has passed the House to help address the problem and now is in need of a champion in the Senate. And in this case it even has a snappy name, "Rapid Acquisition Authority"--snappy by Capitol Hill standards.I really was planning to avoid this sort of "carping at Kerry" post, but the stuff is so, well, bizarre. Kerry could put just a little time into these things, and then claim he was actually "doing something" about the problems. Actually "accomplishing" something as a senator. He's flubbed a big chance. I guess after decades of doing nothing, it doesn't even occur to him.This legislation is very simple. It would allow the secretary of defense to bypass Pentagon bureaucracy when it comes to equipping soldiers in the field during war. This power would only kick in when a combat casualty has occurred and wouldn't authorize any additional money to be spent. We know it works, because the bill was modeled on an Army test program that successful equipped troops shortly before they invaded Afghanistan.
Mr. Kerry was given two easy ways to champion the interests of military voters recently, and be flubbed both of them. Now he's asking for their votes.
For really odd, imagine this: You are a political candidate at a rally, and a sudden rainstorm leads you to borrow a nearby lawyer's office for press interviews. She sits there quietly for 90 minutes while you impose on her space, and you never even talk to her or thank her!
...Kerry and Edwards retreated to De Blassio's law office as news crews from CBS, FOX and CNN conducted interviews with both men. De Blassio said neither Kerry nor Edwards acknowledged her even though she sat quietly through the more than 90 minutes they were questioned by the reporters.Inappropriate? It's crazy! Unbelievable."There was no etiquette whatsoever on the part of John Kerry and John Edwards," De Blassio said. "I was just disappointed. For guys doing a small-town stump, to stop in my office and not even acknowledge me, I thought it was inappropriate."...
[link, thanks to Betsy Newmark]
It's also a very good example of the 70-Year Cycle at work. Dems are three generations removed from coming into power in the 1930's. And now they are like people who have inherited money and a place in the family business from grandpa, but have no idea how the family business really works. They value things like being on the board of the Museum of Modern Art, and imagine that that makes them superior people destined to lead. Guess what, the other shareholders are tossing them out.
Posted by John Weidner at August 3, 2004 08:56 AMJust bill the campaign at $500 an hour. There's something fishy about complaining about not being thanked. What kind of generosity is it that demands anything in return.
The 70-year cycle theory unfortunately focuses on the wrong thing. What has to be accounted for is why anybody gives Kerry the time of day. Somehow absolute phoniness slips through the normal filters of half of the nation. Is this every 70 years?
On the other hand Bush doesn't strike me as phony at all, so perhaps I suffer a similar delusion.
He gets a pass from me because his moral reasoning is right on, without the customary rags of morality dressing some other interest. He's not too good at articulating it, is all.
Posted by: Ron Hardin at August 3, 2004 03:16 PMLet me guess, you don't live in a small town.
I don't think it's the lack of thanks she's complaining about, but being treated sort of like a servant, who is expected to be "invisible."
I have some more to say here, but I think it's turning into my next blog post...
Posted by: John Weidner at August 4, 2004 09:00 AMThe De Blassio story says something about the character of the contemporary Democratic Party.
It's not just Kerry and Edwards who behave with Do-You-Know-Who-I-Am disdain. There are lots of similar anecdotes about both Clintons, in and out of the White House. The lordliness of the Kennedys is legend. And Al Gore wasn't known for the common touch, either.
By contrast, in all the vilification of George Bush, I've never heard a single such story about him. Elitists often disparage the Yale-educated, Harvard-MBA, jet fighter jock, ex-governor, as a hick because of his down-home folksiness. But he would have thanked Ms De Blassio personally.
I'm not convinced of your 70-year cycles, but it certainly seems that power held too long breeds elitism and all its character defects.
Posted by: lyle at August 4, 2004 09:10 PM
Well, if there really is a 70-year cycle, this will only be the third shift..so there isn't a huge body of evidence. It will be interesting to see what happens. We will see if the Republicans move to a commanding lead in Congress over the next few elections.
One of the most interesting things is the changing attitudes among young people. I see lots of anecdotal evidence of that. My generation, the boomers, is too old to change much now. But the Dems among us are the 3d generation. The WWI's were the New Dealers, the WWII's like JFK followed, and then the Vietnam generation. And the way the Lefties of my generation cling absurdly to the memory of the 60's is the tip-off...too long in power, totally out of ideas and vision...
