by Bernard Chapin
Much like the rest of America, I have had very little first hand exposure to John Kerry’s personality in the past, but, over the course of the last few days, it has become discernible to me that the Senator is closer in spirit to a cardboard cut-out than to an actual, oxygen- inhaling, human being. Sean Hannity’s assessment that Kerry “has no core” strikes me as being completely accurate. This was particularly evident during an interview with John Miller during “Sunday Night Baseball.” It informed potential voters that the man who may soon be our president is the prototype of a disaffected, elitist liberal. He pretended to know something about baseball (and sports in general), but was as easy to see through as a lace shirt.
Most of the country, even if they are only nominal baseball fans, understands that one of the premier rivalries in all of sports is between the Red Sox and the Yankees. They hate each other and are prone to fighting; which is exactly the reason why so many of us make a point to watch their games.
Senator Kerry mysteriously showed up at the Sunday game in Boston and the fans responded by booing him vigorously. They did so principally in response to his presence, but also due to the incompetent way in which he threw out the first pitch. What made the negative reaction to him completely appropriate is that Kerry is less familiar with the team he supposedly loves, the Boston Red Sox, than he is with Austrian economic theory. A few weeks ago, when asked who his favorite player on Boston was, he said “Manny Ortiz,” which was a combination of the first and last names of two completely different players and not anybody’s name in particular.
It reminded me of the words of another fantastically wealthy leftist, who once referred to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as "Mike McGwire and Sammy Sooser." Not only is there is no obvious difference between the politics of Senator Kerry and Senator Kennedy, but there is also no distinction in their outlook toward the masses as neither of the Brahmins are remotely interested in the things normal people do.
Later in the game, Kerry, like an android embedded with faulty microchips, compounded the damage of his presence by openly cheering for the Red Sox whenever they scored or did anything. That would be perfectly acceptable if he were not running for national office, but, as we know, he unfortunately is. Yankees fans hate the Red Sox, and also hate everything associated with team. It is probable that Kerry alienated thousands of swing voters with his antics. While I acknowledge that he will certainly win New York state, I suspect that he does not realize the psychological importance of a popular vote victory to the Democratic grievance machine. I’m sure an operative will explain it to him in the near future.
Yet that was nowhere near the end of the gaffes concerning his visit to Fenway. I’m still laughing about reports that he walked into the Red Sox locker room and asked the players where the men’s room was. I would think he’d be so used to advocating androgyny that it wouldn’t make any difference to him what closet he chose to relieve himself in.
The one thing that surprised me was that nobody else brought up a bizarre comment he made about Roger Clemens. When asked about the former Red Sox great, Kerry said something beyond baffling. He claimed that Boston fans still liked Clemens and it was obvious in the way in which they sang his name (“Roger, Roger”) when he used to visit the stadium in his Yankee uniform. In my mind, this comment was more absurd than any words or acts which proceeded it. I was astounded. I gave the television the full John McEnroe treatment by exclaiming, “You can’t be serious!” Yet, by all indications he was.
In this regard, Red Sox fans are no different from any other supporters in the way they try to disrupt and irritate those who turn their back on their city by joining other franchises. I have been at many a Blackhawks game where the fans taunted former goalies or wings for hours at a time after they moved on to teams that actually cared about winning. Eddie Belfour’s a good example. After he left Chicago, whenever he’d visit, the rafters would resound with “Eddddieee, Eddddieee.” Believe me, these chants were not intended for the purposes of inspiration. The fans wanted to rattle him and get him off his game, and that’s exactly what the Red Sox fans wanted to do to with Roger Clemens.
I was amazed and disappointed at the press’s reaction to his wife’s speech on Tuesday. Most analysts were diplomatic in their assessments. In my view, there’s no reason to be. Teresa Heinz Kerry is an awful speaker and she gave one of the most annoying, self-absorbed speeches I’ve ever witnessed. She reeked of vanity and seemed to be only one step of separation removed from Barbara Streisand. This was living proof that Lasch was right when he wrote that we lived in an “Age of Narcissism.”
Only the most partisan Democrat could pretend that she provided her audience with anything other than an illustration of just how powerful the tranquilizing properties of Valium are (although, if she wasn’t so sedated, the speech would have been far worse). Mrs. Heinz Kerry called on the women of the world to have their voices counted as their valuable opinions have been discounted for too long.
In what country was she referring to? On these shores, it’s all Oprah, all the time. “Listen to Women” is a mantra in the United States. We defer to females the same way assistants do to Donald Trump. Teresa also enlightened us as to the fact that freedom is no longer gender neutral and must be represented with the pronoun “she.”
Overall, this is a most peculiar couple as only the wife alone appears to be made of flesh and blood–and, in her case, that’s not much of a compliment. If George W. Bush loses this election to the likes of Dr. Roboto and his Sumac-lipped “life partner,” he has nobody to blame but himself.
Much like the rest of America, I have had very little first hand exposure to John Kerry’s personality in the past, but, over the course of the last few days, it has become discernible to me that the Senator is closer in spirit to a cardboard cut-out than to an actual, oxygen- inhaling, human being. Sean Hannity’s assessment that Kerry “has no core” strikes me as being completely accurate. This was particularly evident during an interview with John Miller during “Sunday Night Baseball.” It informed potential voters that the man who may soon be our president is the prototype of a disaffected, elitist liberal. He pretended to know something about baseball (and sports in general), but was as easy to see through as a lace shirt.
Most of the country, even if they are only nominal baseball fans, understands that one of the premier rivalries in all of sports is between the Red Sox and the Yankees. They hate each other and are prone to fighting; which is exactly the reason why so many of us make a point to watch their games.
Senator Kerry mysteriously showed up at the Sunday game in Boston and the fans responded by booing him vigorously. They did so principally in response to his presence, but also due to the incompetent way in which he threw out the first pitch. What made the negative reaction to him completely appropriate is that Kerry is less familiar with the team he supposedly loves, the Boston Red Sox, than he is with Austrian economic theory. A few weeks ago, when asked who his favorite player on Boston was, he said “Manny Ortiz,” which was a combination of the first and last names of two completely different players and not anybody’s name in particular.
It reminded me of the words of another fantastically wealthy leftist, who once referred to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as "Mike McGwire and Sammy Sooser." Not only is there is no obvious difference between the politics of Senator Kerry and Senator Kennedy, but there is also no distinction in their outlook toward the masses as neither of the Brahmins are remotely interested in the things normal people do.
Later in the game, Kerry, like an android embedded with faulty microchips, compounded the damage of his presence by openly cheering for the Red Sox whenever they scored or did anything. That would be perfectly acceptable if he were not running for national office, but, as we know, he unfortunately is. Yankees fans hate the Red Sox, and also hate everything associated with team. It is probable that Kerry alienated thousands of swing voters with his antics. While I acknowledge that he will certainly win New York state, I suspect that he does not realize the psychological importance of a popular vote victory to the Democratic grievance machine. I’m sure an operative will explain it to him in the near future.
Yet that was nowhere near the end of the gaffes concerning his visit to Fenway. I’m still laughing about reports that he walked into the Red Sox locker room and asked the players where the men’s room was. I would think he’d be so used to advocating androgyny that it wouldn’t make any difference to him what closet he chose to relieve himself in.
The one thing that surprised me was that nobody else brought up a bizarre comment he made about Roger Clemens. When asked about the former Red Sox great, Kerry said something beyond baffling. He claimed that Boston fans still liked Clemens and it was obvious in the way in which they sang his name (“Roger, Roger”) when he used to visit the stadium in his Yankee uniform. In my mind, this comment was more absurd than any words or acts which proceeded it. I was astounded. I gave the television the full John McEnroe treatment by exclaiming, “You can’t be serious!” Yet, by all indications he was.
In this regard, Red Sox fans are no different from any other supporters in the way they try to disrupt and irritate those who turn their back on their city by joining other franchises. I have been at many a Blackhawks game where the fans taunted former goalies or wings for hours at a time after they moved on to teams that actually cared about winning. Eddie Belfour’s a good example. After he left Chicago, whenever he’d visit, the rafters would resound with “Eddddieee, Eddddieee.” Believe me, these chants were not intended for the purposes of inspiration. The fans wanted to rattle him and get him off his game, and that’s exactly what the Red Sox fans wanted to do to with Roger Clemens.
I was amazed and disappointed at the press’s reaction to his wife’s speech on Tuesday. Most analysts were diplomatic in their assessments. In my view, there’s no reason to be. Teresa Heinz Kerry is an awful speaker and she gave one of the most annoying, self-absorbed speeches I’ve ever witnessed. She reeked of vanity and seemed to be only one step of separation removed from Barbara Streisand. This was living proof that Lasch was right when he wrote that we lived in an “Age of Narcissism.”
Only the most partisan Democrat could pretend that she provided her audience with anything other than an illustration of just how powerful the tranquilizing properties of Valium are (although, if she wasn’t so sedated, the speech would have been far worse). Mrs. Heinz Kerry called on the women of the world to have their voices counted as their valuable opinions have been discounted for too long.
In what country was she referring to? On these shores, it’s all Oprah, all the time. “Listen to Women” is a mantra in the United States. We defer to females the same way assistants do to Donald Trump. Teresa also enlightened us as to the fact that freedom is no longer gender neutral and must be represented with the pronoun “she.”
Overall, this is a most peculiar couple as only the wife alone appears to be made of flesh and blood–and, in her case, that’s not much of a compliment. If George W. Bush loses this election to the likes of Dr. Roboto and his Sumac-lipped “life partner,” he has nobody to blame but himself.
