As Kerry surges, Feistiness Seen Slipping (link)

[Lex]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/19/as_kerry_surges_feistiness_seen_slipping/

----snipped-----

"Kerry's remarks lasted three minutes, yet it left TV reporters without a soundbite until one CBS News producer asked the Massachusetts senator to try again.

"They don't know what they're talking about in their own economic policy," Kerry said of the Bush team. "Today it's one thing, tomorrow it's the next."

Take two was the sort of succinct, wry comment for which Edwards, not Kerry, became known among many Wisconsin voters in the run-up to their primary Tuesday, which Kerry won despite a surprising surge from the North Carolina senator.

Kerry's punchy side, so evident as he battled from behind to win Iowa and New Hampshire in January, has been far less visible since he became the party's front-runner. Instead, political analysts say, a certain woodenness in Kerry's public presentation returned this month, reminiscent of his style a year ago when he was the race's early favorite in the polls."

------end snip--------

[enki23]

1. so begins the run to the right

only, they'll call it "the middle" because that's what republicans have named it.

[BootinUp]

2. I wish someone would

point out a video of a speech where he wasn't wooden.

[Lex]

3. I know Kerry's a good guy and all.

But I'm hoping and praying this isn't going to be "Al Gore II, The Return of Wooden Man. Starring John Kerry."

The press is obviously already pushing for that.

[emulatorloo]

5. Jim - he is really good in person, but TV is a problem and has to be fixed

I saw him a few times in Iowa, and he got the crowds going - cheering, weeping etc. and is, believe it or not, charismatic. . .I have noticed the "Voter Focus Groups" on MSNBC, et al describing him as "charismatic" as well. I had always heard him described as stiff, boring, distant, and he was anything but.

However, it just does not come off on TV, and this is something his campaign seriously has to work on. He doesn't look as good on camera as he does in person, he doesn't sound as good on camera as he does in person.

The best analogy I can give is to those stupid Joan Rivers fashion reviews (my wife makes me watch them) where Joan and Melissa say "That dress was beautiful in person, but didn't read well on TV."

[Lex]

6. Same thing with Gore though.

Most people said he was warm and witty and inspiring in person.

But on TV that just didn't translate.

Believe me, no one was a bigger Al Gore fan that I was, but sometimes he just made me cringe. The SNL skit with him as President/Professor where we all have to get out our textbooks was just too true that it was sad.

I was hoping we could avoid that rap this time.

[BootinUp]

8. Ok, thanks for posting

I really want to stay positive about our prospects in Nov.

Some good public speakers are just not loved by the camera. But with practice and effort it should get better.

Hope they are taking your advice. :)

[Adelante]

23. Nice comeback

:evilgrin:

[ProfessorPlum]

4. Here we Gore again!

the "w" word is out and about. Wooden. And oh how I wish I didn't agree with it in this case.

[NashVegas]

7. This is What I Was Talking About Some Weeks Ago

when I said Kerry was the guy I most wanted to see in a 1:1 debate with Bush - but only if Howard was hiding under the podium with Kerry's balls in a vise grip.

[ProfessorPlum]

11. LOL nt.

.

[bearfartinthewoods]

17. can someone tell me if sprewing orange juice onto my keyboard

is going to cause a problem?

ooooh,,,cruel but too true.....

[Anwen]

29. LOL!

:D

[democrat in Tallahassee]

9. So, Bush just comes across as an idiot. Period. Kerry is intelligent

articulate, and seems very brigth

[Lex]

12. Gore was intelligent too.

And Gore was articulate and bright too.

[emulatorloo]

14. True, but the GWB of State of the Union '04 and MTP is just LAME! on TV

A lot can change between now and the campaign, but President Bush '04 seems lifeless and very stiff

[Lex]

28. Oh the repukes have just begun to

dust off Bush and spiffy him up for the General Election.

He looked like a moron to me from the first time I saw him and heard him speak, but apparently a lot of people in the country really *did* think he won a couple of debates against Al Gore, which is preposterous.

But it does worry me . . .

[Norquist Nemesis]

10. That's Kerry's biggest weakness

He's feisty when he's fighting for his career. He's just another long-winded politician when he's in his comfort zone.

[mouse7]

13. Kerry's staff needs to detonate all podiums and mikestands.

Kerry gets stapled to a podium, and when his hands get stapled to the podium, the droning begins.

Kerry is a far better speaker with a mike, no podium, and room to move around on a platform. No more mike stands, either. Leave a mike on a stool for the candidate. Let Kerry use a mike in hand and re-inforce that he can't stand behind a mikestand or podium.

[emulatorloo]

15. You are sooooo right. . . .n/t

[bearfartinthewoods]

22. i agree. it's one of the symptoms of senatitis

senators get longer winded the longer they serve. it's a habit he has to work on.

[Adelante]

24. Yes

This was an issue for Clark, too, I thought. The town hall meeting venue made all the difference in how he connected to the audience. Edwards does seem very much at ease at a podium.

[andym]

16. He needs to be succinct

He needs to be succinct. His tendency is to lecture.

[edzontar]

18. Now they will begin ripping him to shreds in earnest.

I don't want to watch it.

[tameszu]

19. Sorry

"Instead, political analysts say, a certain woodenness in Kerry's public presentation returned this month, reminiscent of his style a year ago when he was the race's early favorite in the polls."

But I can't help but shake the distinct feeling that this is the kind of pap that media opinion-makers invent to help fill in their pre-existing horserace storylines. "Oh look, polls are up for candidate X! That means he's more *dynamic*..." I just have such a hard time swallowing this...

[mouse7]

20. Go back and look at the stage set-ups during Iowa.

They were much more intimate. Kerry has no problems being interactive with a crowd, but he seems to return to his old style of delivery when he's put back behind a traditional podium or mikestand. Kerry's back and shoulders straighten up and his arms hang straight down toward the ground.

Put Kerry's mike in Kerry's hand. It works for him.

[CWebster]

21. see ya, nt

[CWebster]

25. Dean is out and suddenly Kerry's magic is gone?

That was timely.

[Adelante]

26. True

He needs to save the orating for special occasions and start just talking when that's more appropriate.

[Anwen]

27. Surprise, surprise, surprise!

How could people not have seen this coming?

[bullimiami]

30. Exactly

What I MOST didnt like about Kerry.

He was a Bush enabler, only showed some fight when he needed to beat Howard.
Howards gone now does Kerry go back into his slumber???

[CWebster]

31. Kerry's long sleep of the dead:

Watching Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign break down and then later surge has come as a big surprise. For over four years, Kerry has made it known that he desired the Oval Office and his place in history.
As someone who has watched Kerry over the years, seen him in other races, and observed him lose all spine when the tough votes came along, his surge is a big surprise. For 18 years, Kerry has done very little he can point to by way of accomplishment.

When he first came to the senate, Kerry was a champion of campaign finance reform, refusing political action committee money and only accepting $250 donations. Then he changed his mind and started taking big money - even forming his own presidential slush fund PAC. Kerry paints himself as a champion of the environment but what has he actually done for the environment? Just voting against drilling in ANWR isn't enough.

For the most part, Kerry has had a safe seat in the Senate. Politicians who have safe seats are the ones who are supposed to be the visionaries. They can afford to take chances as big thinkers and float the new ideas. Despite the opportunity to forward meaningful legislation and really affect people's lives in a positive way, Kerry hasn't done the job.

As he ramped up his road to the White House, Kerry could have started building his legislative resume, laying the foundation for the ideas to come. But instead, he coasted or even hurt his own cause, by ignoring political opportunities to shine in the gentlemen's club. In fact, his actions on legislation may come back to haunt him on a massive scale in the final stages of this campaign...


http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0219-11.htm