WSWS: The vetting of John Kerry

[RichM]

"...Over the past month there has been a remarkable transformation. A candidate widely dismissed as an also-ran and has-been has become the likely Democratic Party nominee, and the favorite, if the election were held this month, to be the next president of the United States, according to public opinion polls.

This turnabout has little to do with Kerry’s skills as a candidate or his ability to “connect”—as the American media jargon puts it—with average voters. The privileged son of a US diplomat, educated at a Swiss boarding school and Yale University, Kerry’s social background is similar to that of George W. Bush. They even share membership in the Yale secret society Skull and Bones.

While undoubtedly more intelligent and articulate than the current occupant of the White House—a random drawing from the phone book would suffice for that—Kerry is otherwise a run-of-the-mill bourgeois politician and representative of the American ruling elite, with a leaden speaking style and a tendency to pontificate and equivocate..."

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/feb2004/elec-f21.shtml

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Translation:

"Not rad enuff for us k00l k1ds."

--bkl

[trumad]

2. Snarf..

Well put BKL..

[NewYorkerfromMass]

7. good use of the keyboard too.

hammers home the point like so TOTALLY dude!

[blm]

3. He must have forgotten that Kerry exposed more government corruption than

any lawmaker in modern history when he investigated BCCI, IranContra, CIA drugrunning and Reagan and Bush's illegal wars in Central America.

Yep....Kerry's run of the mill, but only to those who are forgetful or truly ignorant of his actual record.

[Old and In the Way]

4. or perhaps he is just plain nervous about a Kerry Presidency

and how those investigations may finally reach conclusion.

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. Socialists tend to favor a change in policies. Kerry doesn't

It is not at all remarkable that Kerry is more popular with those who don't really have a problem with the policies of the bush regime, but are turned off by bush's manner and personality.

Kerry is much more eloquent, much more telegenic, and very skilled in phrasing things in ways that sound much more attractive.

[Kolesar]

6. Kerry’s social background has no bearing on his abilities

Other successful politicians have come from prep school and monied backgrounds: JFK and FDR. I have heard that he was not from the ultra wealty anyway (although he was much better off than my father the steelworker).

Of course this is WSWS we are reading here

[regnaD kciN]

8. A "Swiss boarding school"...?????

The privileged son of a US diplomat, educated at a Swiss boarding school and Yale University, Kerry’s social background is similar to that of George W. Bush.

Uh...Kerry and I both attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. Although it gets snowy there in winter, it is definitely part of the U.S.A. Or, as Lloyd Bensten might have put it, "I lived in Switzerland. Switzerland is a friend of mine. And you, New Hampshire, are not Switzerland."

[RichM]

10. He certainly did attend boarding school in Switzerland. Here's a link -

"...Kerry is a man without geographic roots; his youth stretched through a dozen towns across two continents... By the time he was 10 years old, he was shipped off for an eight-year odyssey at boarding schools in Switzerland and New England, where 'home' was a dormitory or an aunt's estate."

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061503.shtml

If you Google on his name + "boarding school" + Switzerland,
you get several hundred other reliable sources.

So, despite your smart-assy tone, it looks you don't know what you're talking about, wouldn't you say? It never occurred to you that one can attend St Paul's for some years, AND ALSO attend another school? Pretty smart of you. :crazy:

[mobuto]

12. Kerry spent one year in middle school

at a Swiss boarding school.

I'm sure that experience transformed him into the running dog of the corrupt, imperialist bourgeoisie.

Or something like that.

;-)

[teryang]

9. Looking at the list of supporters

I don't think we'll be seeing any great relevations about the macro crimes of our time, like 911, anthrax, Iraq and the concommitant obstruction of justice going on at various levels.

I think Kerry's campaign skills had a lot to do with his success. He shook off a lot of the leaden style and pontificating.

No doubt the media is helping him. They don't want any firing squads for treason for members of the current junta when he takes power. There won't be any prison sentences, either.

Some candidates like Dean and Kucinich would probably go after the current criminals in office.

There are a lot of other issues which are critical to the continued survival of democracy which this article doesn't address, like access to the courts. Even in an autocracy, access to the courts is one of the most fundamental rights. The current regime intends to put the final nails into Montesquieu's checks and balances by effectively eliminating the right to sue for redress of injuries. This would be the death knell.

[mobuto]

11. Ok, go vote for Eugene Victor Debbs' ghost

But I'll stick with the only candidate who can beat George W. Bush.