Questions Kerry DSM and grades being old news.

[saracat]

I see Ted issued a statement, but I thought Kerry people were clear that ther will be a speech just not when. I wonder if the graded thing has to die down first ? Anyone hear any time for the speech? Correct me if I am wrong but isn'rt that grades thing old news? I swear I heard it before!

[Dr Ron]

1. Old news

Yes, Kerry spoke before of not getting the greatest grades.

Kerry said he will bring it up--not specifically that there will be a speech. He may have had other avenues by which he planned to raise this initially, but with all the media hype I would assume a speech is coming.

[sandnsea]

2. There will be something

I don't know that it will be a floor speech, he never said there would be. But according to his staff, there will be something, Bolton being his primary concern, as I understand it. I don't think it helps when certain left wing groups have already started attacking Clinton and Democrats. I don't know how they expect people to endict themselves, it's just stupid.

I'd heard the rumors about the Yale grades, this is the first time they've been officially released though. Thousands of parents across the country rejoice, if Kerry got D's his freshman year, maybe there's hope for my kid too!

[saracat]

3. I am concerned about everyone beating Kerry to the punch. He has

an opportunity here to enhance his image and it is already dimming with the Kennedy release(Kennedy is already being referred to in the media as the first Senator to deal with DSM) and Feingold questioning Blair on DSM. I personally don't care "when" Kerry addresses this issue provided he does. But for the public, it had better be soonand it had better be huge.He will do himself real harm if he waits much longer.That may not be fair or right but it is the way it is! What can his PR people be thinking. I am going to call his office and ask!

[Dr Ron]

4. Might be better if others go first

The right wing media has had their noise machine working the last several days, and have been prepared with old Kerry quotes to make false claims of flip flopping. They are also spinning it as Kerry calling for impeachment out of being a sore loser.

It might be better for others to take the first shot. They weren't immediately prepared with a response to Kennedy as they were with Kerry. Then Kerry can add to this, and hopefully bring them down.

[saracat]

6. Unfortunately, much as I love Teddy, he has been so discredited by the

media, and mostly unfairly, that much of what he says is ignored.He is just that howling liberal who is "expected" to challenge the Repukes and it doesn't mean anything.I am afraid Kennedy might have watered down the impact of Kerry and DSM. If Kerry had gone first, and technically he did with his statements, there would have been an uproar. Sure the media would have attacked, but so what? There would have been coverage, now I am fearful there will be just a whimper! Unless Kerry does something HUGE, like call for impeachment. And I don't see that. But maybe he will think of something else But it has to be BIG , or they will bury it and then it is pointless.

[ginnyinWI]

12. I agree

Let Kerry give the "closing arguments", so to speak.

[rox63]

7. Perhaps they talked it over

And decided to have Kennedy bring it up first, in order to frustrate the rethug's attack plans. He said he would bring it up when he got back to Washington. He didn't say he'd make a speech about it. Maybe he decided to "bring it up" to Teddy instead.

[whometense]

8. I think so.

My first thought was that Kerry and Kennedy coordinated on this. I hardly think the timing is a coincidence, or that Teddy's trying to beat John to the punch.

Strategery. ;-)

[saracat]

10. If so, it appears to be really BAD strategy! I pray this isn't election

redux. Timing is important and they can't afford to blow it. This is a golden moment and they have got to be careful.Anything could ruin this. I think an opportunity was lost by not going yesterday. Now, the Blair visit must be maximized for impact in regard to this and the grades thing has to be blown away.And we better hope a Jackson verdict doesn't come in. Too bad about yesterday as the way had been cleared. But he must grab the moment again!

[rox63]

25. He said he'd raise the issue - He didn't say he'd give a speech

Kerry said he would raise the issue. He didn't say he would give a floor speech on it. That doesn't mean he won't give a floor speech on it at some point. Perhaps he raised the issue with his fellow Democratic Senators, and they devised a strategy to bring attention to it in a way that wouldn't run straight into the right-wing attack machine. We all know that they were gearing up to go after Kerry for this. If people other than Kerry are the ones doing the talking in public, and the GOP doesn't know too far in advance who will be saying what, their well-oiled machine won't know which way to turn.

It looks like Sen. Feingold is next in line to take hold of the DSM battering ram, and strike a few blows against *.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3804612

[saracat]

9. Oh , God . I hope not .Please. That would be awful. They would cream him f

for that. They are already starting. He needs to move on this NOW. The echoes of campaign inaction are already being heard ! Kerry cannot afford this!

[Mass]

13. We have to stop being bothered by people on the Web and focus on

real people. By now, we should know that DU and kos are not a correct representation of the Democrats. Had they been, Dean or Clark would have been the nominee.

Kerry has already done more on this subject than any other Democrats. He has spoken about the minutes in an interview and raised the real question: why are the media mum on the subject.

It had stirred some wind in the media who have spoken about the memo.

Anyway, I do not think the blogs will ever be satisfied with whatever Kerry does, so I doubt he should be bothering. In the meantime, he is going in the different states speaking to people on the ground.

[saracat]

14. It isn't the people on the Web I care about! it is the public in general!

The world is not made up of people who like Kerry. Those long knives are out and his people need to combat them. Even if this was not what Kerry intended, PR leaves very little choice now in how to deal with this. The end of the campaign was a PR nightmare and this , if ignored, with reinforce it. And it isn't just about Kerry .This would reflect badly on the Dems as well. It doesn't matter whether Kerry stated he would give a speech or not. Truth is the perception and the truth is people are waiting for something and if he doesn't do it, he will be preceived as having no follow through!

[JI7]

16. the public in general doesn't really care

and probably don't even know about what Kerry said.

[saracat]

20. That is why we are supposed to make them care.

The fact that they don't proves my point about PR. This could make them care if we play it right. Play it wrong and the public relates to the anti Kerry bloggers!

[politicasista]

22. People believe whatever garbage the media feeds them

Shame on the campaign to think that the whole SBL thing would "blow over." I think Kerry needs some forceful, fast PR people.

[saracat]

24. I don't know if he has the exact same people but the current ones are sure

slow on the uptake. I tried to work with some of them during the campaign and the stories are unbelievable! Most are just kids that know nothing. They are all patronage jobs and that is bad.And most don't care! Kerry isn't the only one in that position. The whole Party is. Until they start paying attention to PR and treating it seriously, things aren't gonna change.

[Mass]

17. It is true that Kerry sometimes lacks PR "saaviness".

but I am not sure how much the expectations have been raised in the real world on this issue.

He clearly needs to do something, but I am not sure that a speech on the Senate floor is the best solution in terms of PR, as his speeches are often ignored by the media anyway.

I guess we have to wait and see.

[saracat]

21. They are ignored because his media staff stinks!(though RW media

plays into it as well, but his people don't try!)

[politicasista]

23. I agree

That was evident during the SBL August run.

[whometense]

15. Totally agree. n/t

[sandnsea]

11. Or stealing his thunder

Whichever. He sticks his toe in the water and it opens the flood gates. I'm one that doesn't care how the gates get open, as long as they stay open.

[saracat]

18. Unless he takes advantage of this , it won't matter to him whether the

gates are open or not. it is vital that he be perceived as "leading the charge".He needs to become a "hero". Without that concept, the gates don't have a reason to stay open very long.And Kerry is the only one who could assume this mantle and rehabilitate the Dems.This is like the opportunity Gore blew by not running when he had the moral imperative. I hope the Dems don't once again reinforce how incompetent they are at PR. It isn't just the RW media. The Democrats are lousy at media!

[TayTay]

27. True dat! Ed Schultz goes apoplectic over it.

Schultz has been ranting about the Dems NOT taking advantage of the soap box that his show represents. The Dems should be falling all over themselves to get on his show, Stephanie Miller's, Al Franken's and so forth. (I have no idea why Kerry is doing limited media. He is actually quite good on these shows. It's a mystery to me. Uncle Ted goes before cameras all the time.)

Geez, we should all start sending e-mail asking the Senator, "Where you been keeping yourself dear. Come on out and do some progressive radio. There are jerks out there who will have at ya, but there is also a lot of lvoe to be harvested."

[sandnsea]

30. The left has already fucked it up

I just read a thread where Mike Malloy said the DSM can be used to stop war forever, expose all the evil US wars of the last 50 years. I read a piece on Democracy Now that wanted to go after Clinton and the bombings, all the Dems who "voted for the war", and who knows what else. If they don't get that the point is that Bush was saying he hadn't made up his mind on war, which means Congress DIDN'T vote for war; and the Congress was lied to, then there's no way to make the DSM work against Bush at all. I'ved been fighting this shit for two goddamned years. Every time we get near hanging something on Bush, out comes the left and their "voted for the war" anti-Dem bullshit. And we lose the whole thing.

Maybe Kennedy was a test run to see whether the left finally understood how this has to be played in order to get Bush. From where I sit, they failed. Kerry gains nothing from getting mixed up in this if the left is just going to fuck it up again anyway. He's put his neck out there too many times in the last two years, just to have them shit on him over and over again.

We'll see.

[whometense]

28. I understand your anxiety for him to shine, but

I also think you're missing a big point here. You have to let Kerry be Kerry.

It appears Kerry inadvertently poked a hornet's nest with a big stick last week, and that's fine. It's good he got to see how passionately people are feeling about the DSM. Most people really do seem to have a hard time getting what Kerry's about, but that doesn't mean we have to fall into that trap. I doubt he's ever gone off half cocked in his entire adult life when the stakes are this high. It's not an accident that he's a prosecutor. He won't say anything till he's sure of his facts. And even then he may, as others have suggested here, prefer to work on this behind the scenes.

If that means he doesn't get all the credit, I think he's fine with that. If I know anything about him it's that he's not doing it for the applause. He will do what he needs to do to have the greatest possible chance at success. Think of the stakes. We're talking about the worst president in history, a proven liar, who is connected beyond anything we even can imagine.

This is all of a piece with the Bolton nomination, with election fraud, with the filibuster. If it means he has to disappoint the lefty freepers in order to - dare I say it? - bring down these thugs, then he'll do it that way.

But we're the ones he needs to stand up for him and see straight through to what he's doing. You either have faith in him or you don't. All the whiners out there, for all their endless protestations about how hard they worked for his election, have no faith. I don't understand every move he makes, but I sure as hell know he understands what's going on better than I do. It would be ridiculously presumptuous of me to be telling him what steps to take.

Let Kerry be Kerry. He's not the finger-in-the-wind guy so many here accuse him of being. But he is thoughtful and strategic. And I seriously believe he's our best hope. He knows the history. Look how many years he's spent teasing out the strands of BushCo malfeasance.

[JohnKleeb]

5. I dont know

but I am pissed that people took my defense of Kerry for being honest about himself and not a cocky asshole in to a thread saying Kerry should have done blah blah blah, its not about that, its about the fact that Bush thinks its ok to be a bad student. I thought I heard about it too, its not a big deal at all about Kerry's grades, I could care less, he worked hard despite those bad grades, isnt that what should be said, Bush as IVe seen him to at graduations at colleges seems to think its ok to say hey I sucked and so can you and you can be president. Thats the problem not that Kerry didnt do something last fall, thats long gone. The democrat who had the not so good grades could be any democrat, it just happens to be our most recent nominee.

[Pirate Smile]

19. Kerry probably didn't think bad grades were something to brag

about - and I agree with him. Bush wants to act like it is cool to get bad grades and party all the time.

I did my share of that in school but I certainly know enough to not tell my kids that is what they should do. Geez.

[JohnKleeb]

26. Lemme tell you this, I had my worst academic last year as a junior

and I had one quarter where I had three F's, I was so ashamed of myself, beating myself up for it, and you know what though, Ive only had one F this entire year, I got off to a really bad start in chemistry last quarter because of the death of my grandmother and I had my appendix removed too so it was a tough start but I worked hard and nearly got a D for the quarter, I got like a B in that class now. I think a lot of what depends on your grades is your teachers, I failed chem last year but I am doing much better this year due to having a great teacher.

[fedupinBushcountry]

29. Very true

My son did really bad his Freshman year in HS, and it took him the next 3 years to get up to a 3.4 GPA. This is a kid that got a 5 on his Calculus AP, and the only other person to do it was the class Validvictorian.

Also in college he did not want to screw up like he did in HS, he graduated Summa Cum Laude, but I'll tell ya he had to give up a lot of stuff to achieve that, hours and hours and hours in the library, he even got a job in the library so he could study when it was slow at his job( making Xerox copies for students).

As for teachers, there was one College Professor who did not believe in A's, he received a B+ in that class which took away from a perfect 4.0

Oh by the way he is a HS History teacher now, he wanted to teach to change the system, he hates SOL's but his students have all passed in his 4 years of teaching. Kleeb you would like him, he lets his students eat in class, as long as they pick up after themselves, the older teachers hate that, he'll tell them just ask the janitor my room is spotless. He also allows them to listen to music while doing classwork, but the minute he is ready to teach the music goes off. A little respect goes a long way. After his 1st year 80 parents called the school wanting to get their child in his class.

[JohnKleeb]

31. I hate SOLs too

Our teachers mostly dont etiher. Kudos to him btw. I actually had a great year freshman year but then down hill.

[rox63]

32. DSM is catching fire in newspapers across the country

Here's a sampling of them, admittedly filched from a DKos diary.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/11840883.htm

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2005/06/08/m10a_bolton_edit_0608.html

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/06/08/bush_blair_deny_memo_assertion_of_fixed_intelligence/

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/06/08/excerpts_of_the_downing_street_memo/

http://www.gazetteextra.com/feingold_side060705.asp

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0608blair-memo08.html

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/11839082.htm

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050608-122757-9690r.htm

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3215932

http://www.freep.com/news/nw/blair8e_20050608.htm

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3215932

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/11841620.htm