I think it was the Summer of '84. We were all gathered in Worcester as the candidate was about to swing through and was going to meet our group among others. He was moving up and if he was successful, his incumbency would carry him through other campaigns, but this one would be tough and nothing could be taken for granted. I believe he would have met with the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association for Man Hamster Love if it existed.
So in he comes and shakes hands all around. The first thing everyone noticed about him was how perfectly groomed he was. Think of some guy you know with a rep as a snazzy dresser. Well, forget it, he was a slob beside your man. He looked like a sculpture out of GQ.
So he sits down and we discuss what we want. After some small talk, he agrees to what we ask and get up and leaves. After he is gone we stand for a second. Everyone starts to look at everyone else. We all start to smile and, almost in unison, we say, "We've just been lied to."
In looking back, I can think of what we saw when he talked to us. Well groomed, insincere, polished. One thing though, he did not impress anyone as being too sharp. It was a short meeting and it may be unfair. there are some people after a few minutes, right or wrong, you say, wow, there's a bright lad or lass. Not him.
I guess by now I should not be surprised by what John Kerry says.
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The American political class - nothing much to cheer about since its 18th century heyday - seems either to have taken a temporary turn for the worse, or simply to have bottomed out in a nadir of terminal mediocrity that will last until its (and our) dissolution. I can't decide which.
Thinking back on the presidential candidates whose campaigns I can remember, at least with vague childhood impressions, takes me back to Nixon's downfall, then Ford v. Carter, then Carter v. Reagan. Then Bush and . . . whoever it was, Mondale, I guess. Then Clinton, and more of whoever it was (I can't be bothered even to remember the names), then now. I am not, in retrospect, impressed.
The more I read about politics, the more I'm struck by two things. The political contest itself is about as amusing, and about as unseemly, as watching two hookers fight over a strip of sidewalk. It can be a hoot for a while, and then you're disgusted with yourself for even caring how it turns out.
My other impression is that - read what we will, study what we might, ponder as we may - we will never really know how our own government operates. Too big, too labyrinthine, too guarded and self protecting, too dismissive of those who exist only to foot the bills.
On those few occasions when I have gotten even the slightest inside information from somebody who, for example, once worked for Donald Rumsfeld, or who knew Newt Gingrich's daughter, or who worked for the admiral in charge of the US fleet in the Persian Gulf, I have always come away wih the sense that we are only dimly, dimly aware of the tip of the iceberg, and even the journalists must be laughing their asses off at us.
ps: I realize that the above comment (mine) has nothing to do specifically with Kerry and his stupidity. It was just something I felt like getting off my chest, and it applies to Kerry and pretty much everything else I see on the political horizon. By the way, you have a nice blog.
Thank you for your comments and kind words.
You know what they say about the Catholic Church. It must be divine to have survived so much bad leadership.
Well, maybe American Exceptionalism is true for the same reason. For my kids sake, i hope so.
De Tocqueville and others spoke about the mediocrity of the political class, as the smart ones would get rich in commerce. That is dead on.
One thing that is terrible is the primary system which is choosing the president via show biz. I'll blog about that someday with the title: The night I saw Bill Clinton win the presidency.
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