Rethinking John Kerry

May 29, 2004

I think the time has come to reevaluate my support for John Kerry, which has been rather soft. Kerry was not my first choice for nominee (Dean), or indeed my second (Edwards), or my third (Clark). But it is becoming increasingly clear to me that what I thought I knew about Kerry I really didn’t know. So perhaps it’s time for me to flip-flop.

The conventional wisdom on Kerry—even among some Democrats—is that he’s a timid and long-winded elitist political opportunist running a disorganized campaign. Put that way, he really doesn’t sound like much of a prize.

But after reading this interview with Salon, I realize I have not actually done any careful direct examination of Kerry. Most of my impression of Kerry as a candidate has come from other jumpy Democrats and a media that pretends if a candidate isn’t buying ads, he isn’t doing anything important.

Which raises an interesting question: how much of the press’s steady drumbeat of “Kerry isn’t doing anything” is intended as a marketing ploy to encourage the purchase of more ad time? Kerry is certainly touring and speechifying, but that rarely seems to make it into the press. Only now, with Kerry about to make a multi-million dollar ad buy, does the press seem to want to say Kerry is making “first steps” in his campaign.

As for the rest of it—if my impression of Kerry has been manufactured by people who haven’t been bothering to actually pay attention to Kerry, then how much of that could be considered true? I’m going to have to spend much more time looking at this candidate myself, rather than through the lens of mass-media and armchair blogmentary.

Posted in Politics