Althouse: "Please stop it. Stop talking."

November 1, 2006

"Please stop it. Stop talking."

Please stop it. Stop talking. Pleeeassee. Stop. Please. Stop. He will not stop!

ADDED: Here's the full 9:24 minutes -- if you really want more.

38 comments:

KCFleming said...: I would be rich if i could invent the cure for logorrhea.

Somehow, Kerry's 'righteous indignation' schtick just doesn't seem to be working here. And that dro-o-o-one. Ack!

There are none so deaf as he who will not listen.; 11/1/06, 8:13 AM
Sissy Willis said...: Botch a joke here, botch a presidential race there . . . Pretty soon you're talking bigtime loser.; 11/1/06, 8:16 AM
Sloanasaurus said...: Kerry's comments have mobilized many conservatives who were prepared to sit this election out or vote for independent parties.

This story has legs and will carry into the election.; 11/1/06, 8:16 AM
Ann Althouse said...: The man should have immediately apologized... profusely... and done everything he could to separate what he said from his fellow Democrats. He is a selfish fool. It's just headslappingly awful.

"I'm not gonna let these guys..."

Ugh! When he talks tough... he sounds like a nasty old bastard. But he's hurt fellow Democrats and he's making it worse... Why?; 11/1/06, 8:21 AM
drew said...: Ann, you might have missed a comment made by Imus earlier in the morning on the same subject. Prior to having Mr. Kerry on the air to "rehabilitate his comments", Imus said something that was/is dead-on correct:

"John Kerry always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, and he's not...." I may be misqouting somewhat, but this was the essence of the comment.

I think that this is in fact the case, that Mr. Kerry seems to truly believe that he "gets it" when everyone else is an unsophisticated boob. As my father said to me (perhaps on far too many ocassions) "...what makes you think that you're right and the rest of the world is wrong?"; 11/1/06, 8:27 AM
AllenS said...: "Ugh! When he talks tough... he sounds like a nasty old bastard. But he's hurt fellow Democrats and he's making it worse... Why?"

Because he is an idiot.; 11/1/06, 8:29 AM
KCFleming said...: He may be a loser, but at least he's still got the hat.

See how fun this is? instead of the task at hand (discussing the merits of candidate A or B) Kerry is wildly successful at swinging the conversation around to him?

If they ever remake Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?", Kerry's story would be a great modernization for former child star Jane Hudson (Bette Davis).

"I'm Baby John Kerry!

Oh! Do you mean you're really the Baby John Kerry?

Yes, I am! And I'm going to revive my run for President exactly as I used to do it. Of course, some of the arrangements will have to be brought up to date.

Politics changes so much, doesn't it?"; 11/1/06, 8:38 AM
Meade said...: LOL: Sissy and Pogo!

I think Drew nails it.

As I'm sure you know, astrophysicists recently discovered that not only is the universe expanding but that it's expanding from every point in the universe. This means, for one thing, that we are each and every one of us the centers of the universe.

Unfortunately, like all too many folks, John Kerry hasn't kept up with his homework and still believes that the universe is expanding from his own grandiose entitled tin-eared center...

and his alone.; 11/1/06, 8:47 AM
Laura Reynolds said...: Amazingly, I still people driving around with Kerry Edwards bumber stickers, like some badge of honor.. "at least I didn't vote for Bush!"

As time goes on, is that really something you want to brag about? I can understand holding your nose and voting for him (sort of) but 2 years later, calling the senate floor from Switzerland, Teresa don't call me Heinz Kerry anymore, where's those military records you promised, still no legislative accomplishments...; 11/1/06, 8:48 AM
Fritz said...: IMUS says stop; translation: Please don't tell the voters how leftists really feel.; 11/1/06, 8:49 AM
tjl said...: "But he's hurt fellow Democrats and he's making it worse... Why?"

Based on lots and lots of anecdotes of Kerry doing something arrogant and clueless, people in Massachusetts say that the initials JFK mean "Just For Kerry." His behavior in this situation is perfectly consistent with the many stories demonstrating his arrogance and sense of entitlement.

Kerry evidently believes that no publicity is bad publicity. He couldn't care less about his fellow Dems as long as he can once again focus the nation's attention on himself.; 11/1/06, 8:58 AM
reader_iam said...: Now I'm hearing that John Kerry says he botched the joke by inadvertently leaving out the punchline: "Just ask George Bush" (to have been delivered right after "... stuck in Iraq.)

Does this make sense? I mean, Lord knows I'd never argue that Bush is a deep thinker, an accomplished "big S" scholar, a great speaker or even generally erudite in the accepted sense. But he did graduate from college***, after all, and has an MBA. Neither degree was issued by a community college, unless that's how we now describe Yale and Harvard, respectively. So how does that joke work, exactly? If anything, by his rather inchoate logic, Kerry oughta be arguing AGAINST staying in college, etc. etc. etc.

Weird.

**[From Wikipedia: "He was a C student, scoring 77% (with no As and one D, in astronomy) with a grade point average of 2.35 out of a possible 4.00.

By comparison, also via Wikipedia: "Over four years, Kerry maintained a 76 grade average and received an 81 average in his senior year."]

This whole thing is so tremendously absurd, and I mean in the "capital A" sense as well as the generic one. The next week can't POSSIBLY pass too fast for me.; 11/1/06, 10:16 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Fen:
*Thanks for that fact. I did not know John Kerry served in Viet Nam. Hmmmm. Imagine that.; 11/1/06, 10:32 AM
Anonymous said...: "**[From Wikipedia: "He was a C student, scoring 77% (with no As and one D, in astronomy) with a grade point average of 2.35 out of a possible 4.00."

Well the D Kerry received in astronomy correlates with his thinking of himself as the center of the universe...; 11/1/06, 10:34 AM
Maxine Weiss said...: Verbiage, loquacious-ness, garrioulous-ness...

... a true Boston Brahmin!

Peace, Maxine; 11/1/06, 10:41 AM
Joe Giles said...: All the ads need to say:

"Vote for my Democratic opponent, and John Kerry gets a promotion."; 11/1/06, 10:52 AM
goesh said...: -with a chest full of Purple Hearts and no scars on his body, he can call the troops dumb if he wants to; 11/1/06, 11:01 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Wow, even that decrepit old bastard Imus can still get a good line off once in a while. He should offer to give lessons to Kerry.

Or maybe, Kerry should tell his jokes in French- afterall that was his best subject in college.; 11/1/06, 11:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Why did so many listeners in the audience gasp?

According to Kerry they don't count, since they're "crazy" for thinking he was disrespecting those who serve.; 11/1/06, 11:08 AM
michael farris said...: This has got to be the stupidest story ever and will remain so until the next Republican talking point (with apologies to Roy Edoroso).

He's not a candidate for anything and latching onto this stinks of desperation and deceit and the thought the it might work doesn't speak well of anyone involved.

Is political discourse degraded so far in America that anyone takes any aspect of this seriously?; 11/1/06, 12:00 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Michael Farris said"
.."He's not a candidate for anything and latching onto this stinks of desperation and DECEIT and the thought the it might work doesn't speak well of anyone involved."

Michael, where is the deceit? A top Dem said what he said- it's on tape and his words caused significant outrage. So, I ask you again what does deceit have to do with it?

My 2 cents- Dems ought to stop defending has beens like Bill Clinton and John Kerry and Jimmy Carter. Cause they don't gain any new voters when they do and Dems would be better off by nottaking the bait and rushing to defend. I suggest you fight today's battles but use today's Dem stars not yesterday's.

As to why non-Dems should not take my advice, we have way too much fun kicking Kerry and Bill Clinton.; 11/1/06, 12:25 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: He's not a candidate for anything and latching onto this stinks of desperation and deceit and the thought the it might work doesn't speak well of anyone involved

Neither is George Bush a candidate, yet the ads that I see on television are formulated as if the Democratic candidates are running against him. It is a stupid story, but this is what we get in the stupid season with stupid and self centered politicians.

LOL verification word YOEECBK Channeling Howard Dean I guess.; 11/1/06, 12:28 PM
KCFleming said...: Re: "Is political discourse degraded so far in America..."

Michael, I would love to vist the time when poltical speech in the US was a high-level intellectual debate about important topics.

But it's always been a nasty dogfight. Nastier at times (Lincoln, for one).

Regardless, this controversy is not a minor one, but strikes at the heart of the domestic argument over the Iraq war. He spoke the words of Kos and Firegoglake.

Should we quit fighting yesterday? Do we change strategies, or just tactics? What is our long term goal?

I'm willing to go there. But Kerry wants to sling dumb jokes, so we do that instead. My fault, or Kerry's?; 11/1/06, 12:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Desperation?

Why is Kerry suddenly persona non grata if he's done nothing wrong and this is just a desperate Republican ploy?

Deceit?

How has Kerry been maligned or misrepresented? He told community college students that if they study and work hard, they either: 1) won't end up the military, or 2) won't end up making similiar decisions to those of a man with two Ivy-league degrees and college grades equal to Kerry's (and whose Iraq invasion plan Kerry voted for, btw).; 11/1/06, 12:32 PM
Mortimer Brezny said...: IMUS: OK. You’re not going to Tennessee for Harold Ford, are you?

KERRY: No.

IMUS: Good.

KERRY: I was not going down there.

IMUS: Thank you...

LOL!!!!!!

wv: jsfsfsut

Do I see Jesus at the Univ of TN?; 11/1/06, 12:35 PM
michael farris said...: "Neither is George Bush a candidate, yet the ads that I see on television are formulated as if the Democratic candidates are running against him."

There's a significant policy difference between Bush, a sitting president and the junior senator from Massachussetts who's not running at present (full disclosure: I voted for Kerry but he was close to my last choice and I really hope he'd just go. away.; 11/1/06, 12:36 PM
vnjagvet said...: "Kerry should apologize"

Hillary Clinton
George W. Bush
Harold Ford
John McCain

That is an interesting quartette isn't it?; 11/1/06, 12:40 PM
The Drill SGT said...: vnjagvet said...
"Kerry should apologize"

Hillary Clinton
George W. Bush
Harold Ford
John McCain

That is an interesting quartette isn't it?

and which 2 of the above hope that Kerry will run in 08? :); 11/1/06, 12:50 PM
Hey said...: DrillSGT: uhh i'm pretty sure George and John want JFK to run in 08. Not so much Hill and Harry.

This could have been ended yesterday by a simple "I screwed up and I'm sorry", but no. He went on the offensive. And boy was it offensive!

Kerry now has no scheduled events up to election day. The cancelations are coming in fast and furious. A Kerry event would have made the candidate look bad and distracted from the race. That's a bad twofer, but it's the kind of twofer that JFK is great at.

How many days of the end of the election will be consumed by this? We're at 2, I'm betting this goes through Friday, at least. That's not exactly tactical brilliance. Plus what else are they going to talk about on the Sunday shows (filmed on Fridays)? He didn't just keep digging his hole, he called in a freaking backhoe!; 11/1/06, 1:04 PM
Joe Giles said...: Betcha that joke was funnier in the original Persian.; 11/1/06, 1:10 PM
Mortimer Brezny said...: How many days of the end of the election will be consumed by this? We're at 2, I'm betting this goes through Friday, at least. That's not exactly tactical brilliance.

Oh, but that IS tactical brilliance. If I'm Hillary or Harry or any Dem seeking to burnish his/her conservative cred, I'm getting on one of those shows and castrating Kerry to boost my turnout.; 11/1/06, 1:25 PM
Brent said...: Michael Farris,

Please tell us your thoughts about the brewha surrounding Lynne Cheny that consumed the weekend news cycles.
She is not running for office either.

Was that fair game for Democrats?; 11/1/06, 2:12 PM
Revenant said...: I would love to vist the time when poltical speech in the US was a high-level intellectual debate about important topics. But it's always been a nasty dogfight. Nastier at times (Lincoln, for one).

And even earlier than that.

"He is a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father." -- said by supporters of John Adams, of Thomas Jefferson, during the 1800 election. They further claimed that he favored legalized incest and prostitution. For his part, Jefferson's supporters accused Adams of planning his child into British royalty and give the country back to England.

Later, Andrew Jackson's supporters called JQ Adams a "pimp"; Adams retaliated by claiming Jackson was the son of a mulatto man and a British army whore.

Really, a look at American history shows that modern campaigns are actually some of the *nicest* ones we've ever had.; 11/1/06, 2:41 PM
Revenant said...: Soldiers . . .Iraq . . .Soldiers. . . Iraq. . . will be the all the impression that remains in six days

Um, you need some verbs and adjectives to go with "Soldiers" and "Iraq". Indeed, from your post it isn't even possible to discern if you're for or against the war, think things are going well or poorly, or feel positively or negatively about our military forces there.

It would appear that you think the juxtaposition of "soldiers" with "Iraq" has some obvious meaning. It doesn't.; 11/1/06, 3:06 PM
Al Maviva said...: Kerry reminds me of Otto in "A Fish Called Wanda." Imus reminds me of Wanda here.

WANDA: But you think you're an intellectual, don't you, Ape?

OTTO: Apes don't read philosophy.

WANDA: Yes they do, Otto. They just don't understand it. Now let me correct you on a few things. Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every Man For Himself." And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are mistakes Otto. I looked 'em up.; 11/1/06, 3:27 PM
The Drill SGT said...: I missed this line

Incidentaly, when you say I have done something in the past I have told the truth in the past. I have never done anything except tell the truth. And I'm not going to take anybody's comment to suggest that somehow my telling the truth was a mistake. The American people rely on the truth, and when I came back from southeast Asia, I told the truth, and I am proud that I stood up and told the truth then, and I have told the truth about Iraq every single step along the way.; 11/1/06, 6:54 PM
Jazz Bass said...: he's an empty suit that was postulated as the leader so he'd lose and set up HRC in '08. he took a hit for the team so as to burnish their cred with suitable outrage. rovian? coordinated?

he is a pompous asshead as his first missive after the initial reaction showed. DNC/Kos talking points personified. fishy? coordinated?

The Left has one note: We're not Bushies. That's a hollow premise to bet the future on (for anyone with sense). Thus by fashion or faux pas, this gets people's attention on the attrition. He can go away now. He did a good job. Good Doggie.; 11/1/06, 7:44 PM
Sixty Bricks said...: Kerry is so very your typical politician.; 11/1/06, 7:57 PM