The link: http://slate.msn.com/id/2108714/
Just in case you didn't believe me that the Slate is liberal, check that shit out. Hus sent me this link, I started reading through it and commenting on it to him, and in doing so I realized there's enough pockets of rarified opinion in there, it demands comment.
Arnovitz: “I'll pull the lever for Kerry, if for nothing else than to defeat the misconception that being contemplative is somehow paralyzing.” >> I can't fathom how Kerry manages to convince intelligent people that he's 'contemplative.' They seem to mistake his lack of a position for a position so sophisticated, it's hard to pin down. Kerry is really everything wrong with a politician, rolled into a single package. He's a chameleon on the issues, willing to agree with everyone at once, take every side of every issue, and then pretend to be consistent and firm. Nobody is claiming that being contemplative is paralyzing. They're saying the guy isn't contemplative, he's deliberately motionless, and he pretends to it's cause he's busy thinking. If you never move in a given direction, nobody can object to where you're going.
Arnovitz: “Watching the president of the United States, the one person in our country whose endorsement can legitimate any initiative, use gay people as a political chew-toy to advance some kind of theological agenda has been the most infuriating and surreal political experience of my citizen life.” >> Hussain says it's not about the issues, and I have to agree, based on this nonsense. Bush's stance is no on gay marriage, yes on civil unions. This is a divergence from the Republican party platform, which is no on both. It's also the exact same stance Kerry holds on the issue. Yet somehow Arnovitz thinks Bush is 'using gay people as a political chew-toy,' and Kerry/Edwards of “Dick Cheney's Gay Daughter” fame, are not. What fucking planet do you live on, guy?
Berman: “But Bush has got to be the most ham-handed president in American history. He is incompetent even at expressing whatever is valid in his larger worldview.” >> This guy has his head on straight. He's voting for Kerry, which is a shame, but at least he's smart enough to be objective about what Bush is about, what he can do, what he can't do, and what his real failings are. Anybody who actually knows anything about Bush's strategy for fighting terrorism knows that it's going well, that it was really his best option, and is consistently dumbfounded by how hard it is for him to explain. Considering that's really his main job, I can't see why it's not being handled. For Berman, I guess that's a deal breaker. For me, it's just strange and disappointing, but I don't need to be spoonfed the truth, so I forgive it.
Blodget: “Kerry : Not perfect, but 'reality-based.'” >> Huh? Reality? Like the totally realistic assumption that France is going to rush to his aid because he's a nice guy? How can people associate Kerry with reality?
Boutin: “So I'll take a chance on Kerry, but if he wins I'll skip the victory party. Too many of his supporters have proven as divisive, dishonest, and hateful as they imagine their bogeyman Karl Rove to be.” >> Yup. Personally I think that the Democrat's assault on the Oval Office has sent new records for brazen disrespect of America, and the office of the President. I definitely lay blame on guys like Ken Starr, and other Republicans who got the whole “disrespect for the President” train rolling, but even after it was obvious that this sorta shit was damaging for the nation, and not productive, the Democrats took it to brand new levels, and with a four month interruption after 9-11, they haven't stopped attacking since.
Carter: “When you pour billions into homeland security without achieving a significant net gain in security, I think there's a problem.” >> I hear this line over and over, and it never ceases to infuriate me. Has there been another attack since 9-11? In over three years? No. So what the fuck are you talking about? Now, I'm not about to run around claiming that America is definitely more secure. I don't really know. But to confidently state that we're not any more secure? Based on what, exactly? Based on the fact that the OHS hasn't cut down on the rate of baseless assertions? Shit, dude, it's like Smokey the Bear says “only you can prevent yourself from spewing fabricated bullshit.”
Curtis: “If Bush wins Tuesday, I'll tip my wide-brimmed hat to Karl Rove, the über-operative, who will have successfully turned two well-credentialed U.S. senators into liars, war criminals, or both.” >> Really? So John Kerry didn't violate the UCMJ when he met with the North Vietnamese in Paris? John Edwards wasn't an ambulance chasing trial lawyer, who earned multi-multi-millions off junk science? There's nothing amazing about Rove, in fact I have to bet the guy was amazed by just how easy the Democratic primaries decided to make his job. God forbid the Dems nominate somebody like Wesley Clark, who isn't a demonstrable traitor... Then Rove might have had to actually do some work.
Fritz: “If Bush gets re-elected, I might have to change citizenship and move to another country.” >> Promises, promises, promises. You've got a good last name for it, buddy. I hear North Korea is beautiful in the early fall.
Kenner: “The simple fact is that [Bush] is the only candidate who has had the courage to envision a long-term solution to the danger of terrorism—the liberalization and democratization of the Middle East. John Kerry, on the other hand, cannot manage to think beyond the next political obstacle.” Leave it to the fucking intern to have a more mature view of this election than any of the “talent.” There's a couple things I look for to determine if somebody has got a fucking clue or not. A big one is whether or not they understand the strategic vision behind the invasion of Iraq. All you really need to gain this knowledge is to have a clue, or at least to be willing to pay Stratfor to give you one. Kenner has this clue, and sadly, most of his well-paid bosses don't. Oh well, I'm sure they'll trade him a staff position for his promise to stop thinking too much. He even sees what's really behind the “flip-flop” moniker. Kerry's vision is so shortsighted, he just lives from debate, to TV spot, to stump speech. He'll say whatever the shifting political winds suggest, and hope nobody ties to reconcile it all later.
Noah: “Sen. John Kerry is the least appealing candidate the Democrats have nominated for president in my lifetime. I'm 46, so that covers Kennedy, Johnson, Humphrey, McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton, and Gore.” >> I just love this quote. It's really dead on, too. I always bring this up to dad when he gets pissed at Bush. You've got to love how the Dems rose to the occasion and put this fucking schmuck forward. Even his own people know he's an asshole. Or, as Noah says, “He's pompous, he's an opportunist, and he's indecisive. Although I'm impressed by Kerry's combat record in Vietnam, I can't suppress the uncharitable suspicion that what drew him there wasn't patriotism so much as a preppy passion for physical challenge and the urge to buff his future political resume.” Yup. Although, I'm not sure what's so impressive about 4 months and a ticket home based on bogus purple hearts.
Powell: “Bush and Co. stole the 2000 election. Bush lied to the country about WMD in Iraq. He ordered an attack on a sovereign nation, ignoring the United Nations. As I write this, 1,109 American soldiers are dead. Thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children are dead.” >> The “art guy” should probably stick to art. At this point I'm less offended that he's buying the parroted party line, than that he really thinks it needs to be parroted again. “Bush lied, kids died!” Shut up, dude. We've found mass graves filled with Saddam's victims. He killed hundreds of thousands of his own people. His war with Iran killed millions. There's no comparison. Get some fucking perspective, you infant.
Stamaty: “Because I believe Bush is arrogant, ill-informed, reckless, and politically uncompassionate and unwise in his policies that favor the rich and ignore many important concerns.” >> Another “illustrator.” Apprently illustrating is very time consuming, and leaves you only a few spare moments to assimilate the DNC party line, before scribbling more carricatures of Bush drinking oil, or something.
Weisberg: “I remain totally unimpressed by John Kerry. Outside of his opposition to the death penalty, I've never seen him demonstrate any real political courage. His baby steps in the direction of reform liberalism during the 1990s were all followed by hasty retreats. His Senate vote against the 1991 Gulf War demonstrates an instinctive aversion to the use of American force, even when it's clearly justified. Kerry's major policy proposals in this campaign range from implausible to ill-conceived. He has no real idea what to do differently in Iraq. His health-care plan costs too much to be practical and conflicts with his commitment to reducing the deficit. At a personal level, he strikes me as the kind of windbag that can only emerge when a naturally pompous and self-regarding person marinates for two decades inside the U.S. Senate. If elected, Kerry would probably be a mediocre, unloved president on the order of Jimmy Carter. And I won't have a second's regret about voting for him. Kerry's failings are minuscule when weighed against the massive damage to America's standing in the world, our economic future, and our civic institutions that would likely result from a second Bush term.” >> ABB, baby. I just love this shit.