John Kerry gallops ahead on Achilles' Heels; Joe Lieberman withdraws; Clark and Edwards hang on; Dean hangs out.

Feb. 5, 2004: PoliSat .Com's Political Satire/ Commentary* Daily Update # 00·· ™©·2004·(Home)·
*Where the satire is always commentary, but the commentary isn't always satire (but you'll know the difference)·
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John Kerry gallops ahead on Achilles' Heels; Joe Lieberman withdraws; Clark and Edwards hang on; Dean hangs out.·

John Kerry, a war hero who cut his political teeth as an anti-war protestor angering many of his fellow veterans and and spent most of his political career voting for cuts in military and intelligence programs, is galloping ahead of his competitors on Achilles' Heels. Voters (in contrast to political activists) choose for whom they'll vote for President on gut instinct more than wonk-like policy analysis. Most of the political activists participating in the Democratic primaries have made a calculated decision that electablility outweighs ideology in selecting a candidate.

Partly to reassure that group (by underscoring a gut-level appeal to likely general election voters) Kerry seeks to inoculate himself from his long anti-military,¹ anti-intelligence,² anti-Desert-Storm senatorial voting record by ritualistically (but truthfully) describing himself and those who served with him in Vietnam as a "Band of Brothers." It seems self-evident that Kerry has recognized that what propelled him ahead in Iowa was contrasting himself to Dean on the issue of electablility by emphatically and publicly rebuking Dean for saying the capture of Saddam Hussein didn't make us any safer and that Usama bin Laden should be accorded a presumption of innocence as though Dean perceived (a) capturing or killing bin Laden were a law-enforcement mission rather than warfare and (b) bin Laden's having bragged about being the mastermind behind 9-11 shouldn't matter. Those emphatic rebukes of Dean eclipsed the perception of Kerry as a waffler on Operation Iraqi Freedom, and his status as a genuine hero gave the pragmatic activists confidence he would have a strong "gut level" appeal to likely general-election voters.

John "Achilles" Kerry.·

What are the Achilles' Heels on which Kerry is galloping (and Galluping) toward the nomination? One is the left back foot of the Democratic Donkey (i.e., the ideological Left), which may find a Nader candidacy more attractive as an ideological statement rather than a purely pragmatic anti-Bush vote. Another may prove to be an invisible, but equally dangerous, Achilles Heel-- i.e., efforts by Hillary Clinton sympathizers to attempt to sabotage Kerry's chances but without leaving any fingerprints (or trying to create an appearance of pro-Bush fingerprints). It's a Machiavellian theory, but we all know that Machiavelli was "born again" in the late Twentieth Century and inhabits the collective bodies of James Carville, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. A third Achilles Heel is the risk to Kerry (but benefit to the country) if the circumstances in Iraq continue improving or other circumstances demonstrate the wisdom of Operation Iraqi Freedom in a way to prevent Kerry from eating his foreign policy cake and having it too. A fourth Achilles Heel is Kerry's illusion that he can continue having his cake and eating it too regarding the extent to which he would have made French and/or German and/or Russian and/or Chinese support a sine qua non for military action without appearing to contradict the principle upon which he rebuked Dean for implying we should not have initiated military action without the "permission" of the UN and/or the French. It's a tightrope. Will Kerry find himself riding a heel-less Donkey? It's hard to believe the Donkey won't have at least one lame heel.

What about Joe Lieberman, one of the most genuinely decent men in public life? He certainly displayed political courage in continuing to emphatically support Operation Iraqi Freedom despite equivocating at the margins about how Bush implemented the policy Lieberman supported. In light of the overwhelming rebuke Lieberman suffered from Democratic activists, one continues to wonder why he doesn't join Zell Miller and Ed Koch in supporting Bush.

Clark and Edwards continue hanging on to hopes for success while Dean hangs on with the best hope of setting records as a political "energizer bunny" (to use Dean's own terminology). Edwards seems to be counting almost exclusively on his "nice guy" image to offset the perception that there is very little "there" there. However, his likeability, despite status as one untested in executive authority, probability makes him a suitable running mate for Kerry. Clark will still be wandering down the yellow-brick rode. Perhaps in 2008, he'll show up as a third party candidate or maybe try to recast himself as a Republican. --Jim Wrenn, Editor@PoliSat.Com.

¹·Although the denotation of "anti-military" is akin to pacificism, the political connotation of "anti-military" describes a political philosophy generally favoring limitations on, and/or reductions of, military capabilities and strongly opposing utilization of military power as an instrument of foreign policy. Kerry is obviously not literally "anti-military," but his voting record over a long period consistently fits the political connotation of being "anti-military."

²·Although the denotation of "anti-intelligence" is (as is "anti-military) akin to pacificism, the political connotation of "anti-intelligence" describes a political philosophy generally favoring limitations on, and/or reductions in, intelligence-gathering capabilities. Kerry is obviously not literally "anti-intelligence," but his voting record over a long period consistently fits the political connotation of being "anti-intelligence."

Editor's Note: For the text only version of the text accompanying the animation "John Achilles Kerry," click here if you've already viewed the animation. If you haven't already viewed the animation, why spoil it by viewing the text first?·

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I'm Kerry, a Warrior Real.
Except for my Donkey's left heels,
I'm clearly invincible
except to a principal
unless someone's guarding my heels.

They'll think it was Paris or Hector
whose arrow flew straight on the vector
for wounds that will heal
while I stay concealed
to wait 'til oh-eight for my nectar.

My seating has caused liquefaction
of makeup for pigment diffraction,
and though I resemble
the one who dissembled,
I'm Janet, whose last name is Jackson.

Janet Jackson???