Reply to Op-Ed piece on Kerry's NASA photo

[Scooter24]

I am writing to you to show my disgust over your article on July 28 casting Kerry as a "goof" during his trip to Cape Canaveral.

Republicans who find it necessary to degrade Kerry over these pictures should be ashamed of themselves. Not only are they demeaning our space program, but also the thousands of people personally involved in its daily operation.

It's an insult to the hundreds of people who work tirelessly every day to protect our astronauts safety and advance the astronomical sciences. Many of whom must wear those "silly" clean suits.

It's an insult to those people who gave their life in pursuit of the exploration of space, their childhood dream, who rely on those people who wear these "silly" clean suits to design, build, and maintain the shuttles.

It's an insult to a cornerstone of the American dream -- our childhood curiosity of space. It's indefensible that some find it funny to mock our leaders who make an honest attempt to study and witness the advancement of our progress, not just from a chair in a big white house, but from inside the actual device that delivers those people to the vast land of promise and curiosity.

John Kerry should not be laughed at because he wore a "silly" clean suit, he should be commended for his efforts to see first hand the science and mechanics involved to explore our universe. For those of you who find it funny, I encourage you to write to the parents of astronauts William McCool, or David Brown, or Mike Anderson, all of whom lost their lives in last years Columbia tragedy, and let them know how silly the people who wear those clean suits look. Keep in mind while you do, that those individuals you are insulting make up the backbone of our nations space program -- our scientists, our astronauts, our engineers.

There is no excuse for this level of ignorance. It's time for those who wish to cast negative spin on these pictures for political gain to grow up and recognize Mr. Kerry's sincere effort to embrace our technological advancements. At the very least, he is not learning by simply reading it in a briefing drafted by advisors, but from the actual source.

[ewagner]

1. Nice letter.

It sounds like you have some experience here and you spoke knowledgeably and well.

Congrats on a good letter.

[lovedems]

2. Excellent!

Do you write this? It is really, really good! :thumbsup:

[Scooter24]

4. Yes....

I did...

And thankyou...It's my first letter :)

[lovedems]

6. You are off to a great start!

With letters like that, you should be a regular contributor to LTTE! Again, nicely done!

[JI7]

3. VERY GOOD letter, the Kerry campaign should respond in a simlar way

don't try to be offended or defensive about it. tell them what kerry was doing was a positive thing. and that the republicans are insulting the people who work everyday there when they attack kerry for wearing the suit.

[UTUSN]

5. Charles GIBSON of GMA Is About to Do His Own Slime Job

right now. The promo was him holding up the NY Post or other rag with the pic and the Headline, "Houston We Have a Problem". He said, "Why did they LET this picture be taken?" Not that he was sincerely concerned. His smirking said it all. Diane SAWYER said, "And it has some people crying Foul." About to start 9:50 ET.

[UTUSN]

9. GIBSON & 3 Were Yukking It Up

Clare SHIPMAN, George STEPANOPOULIS, and another dweeb couldn't stop giggling and looking at the pic. They said it was a true screw-up by campaign staff, that despite total scripting things like this happen, that the campaign is alleging somebody leaked it, that there was an arrangement that the pic would NOT be released. They did show the Daily News cover that had both the JK pic and the Shrub pic in the blue pajama top. Steppi said that the pic might not be a super big deal but that it taps into fears/unknowns that people feel about JK.

[BlueEyedSon]

7. Kudos, Scooter!

[true grit]

8. Pure ignorance

Every electronics employee recognizes these suits. I wear one every day at work. It shows that these Reps including Pat Robertson haven't got a clue what it means to work for a living. Do they laugh at firemen and policemen?? John Glenn could handle this. Do you suppose NASA just went Democrat??

[DemBones DemBones]

15. Yes, and medical personnel wear similar "goofy" outfits,

whether in clinical practice or research. Then there are the many people who wear hard hats and safety glasses, safety shoes, on the job, or uniforms of some kind. A lot of real people wear unfashionable clothing because it's necessary (or at least required) for their job.

The media are just pretending to be the cool kids in high school, making fun of someone who's smarter than they are for being "weird."

[Jon8503]

10. Excellent Letter

I found it rather disingenuous the republicans were trying to make fun of this photo as Kerry was getting an education on such an important part of our lives. Also, it was my understanding that they had to wear the suit; unlike Bush and his dressups.

Remember when Bush was wanting to go to the moon again and get space exploration under his hat and here they are making fun of our space program.

[Gin]

12. send it to the Kerry camapaign...they need to turn this around...

excellent letter.

[soothsayer]

16. Need to turn what around? This is a non-issue.

Who sees this as an issue? It's ridiculous to even give that pic another thought.

[redqueen]

14. Hi Jon8503

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[maxpower]

11. Bravo

Well said.

[redqueen]

13. Excellent letter!

Bless you for sending this in... we all need to let our thoughts be known to the hacks that trade in this garbage. Their editors too!

:thumbsup:

[liberalmuse]

17. Lovely letter!

I hope it's published! But...can we still mock Bush in his flight suit?

[SkipNewarkDE]

18. Is that any less silly than...

Bush prancing around in a flight suit on the deck of an aircraft carrier, with the banner "Mission Accomplished" behind him?

[Scooter24]

19. I would have..

seriously considered that but Kerry didn't get television coverage of his trip, nor hold a press conference about it. Bush's role was staged to tie himself and his party to the psuedo-accomplisment being portrayed by the flight suit and banner. It was one big photo op. There's wasn't any educational or learning experience to gain that could give Bush an advantage. Now if Kerry would have showed up at NASA and came out in space suit complete with helmet just for photos and then held a press conference about it, I wouldn't have complained. Plus, Kerry's suit was a typical garment worn everyday by scientists, it wasn't anything special that he got in just for photo's.

I view the two events differently.

[Justice]

20. You Know What I Would Like to See?

People on the stage at the DNC wearing their work "uniforms"

Nurses, cops, fast food workers, MBTA workers, firefighters, electricans, warehouse workers, carpenters, plumbers, clean room engineers, members of the military.

I'd like to see them stand around John Kerry and say, take that Republicans. This is insulting to have republicans make fun of the protective or assigned clothing a worker must wear each day.

[stopbush]

21. But...you'll never see bush in a silly NASA clean suit!

He couldn't be bothered to visit the Johnson Space Center in Houston even ONCE the entire time he was Gov of Texas.