May 13, 2004

The games people play

By Richard Baehr
Senator Ted Kennedy bellowed this week that Saddam's torture chambers never closed; they are just under new American management.  The comment was so outrageous that John Kerry tried to create some distance from Kennedy, saying he understood the sentiment but would have 'framed it' differently. This is a game which has played out a few times already in the campaign. Remember the earlier Kennedy charge that the Iraq war was hatched in Texas on the ranch, and the decision was hidden from the Congress.  The game is for Kennedy to make a hateful, angry charge once he stumbles to the podium with his vast girth. This charge then opens the party's door to the Indy Media/loony left/Naderite crowd, who feast on America— and Bush—hate. John Kerry then plays the distancing game, without actually repudiating the over the top remark by Kennedy.  So Kerry shows some kind of maturity for the middle of the road and independent voters, and gives Kennedy the rope to lasso the...(Read Full Article)