Newsweek is already pointing the finger at John Kerry in the event that the Democrats don't do as well as they had expected. This must be because voters are stupid and would fail to vote for Democrats running in state and local elections because of what Kerry said. It certainly couldn't have anything to do with the party platform. I haven't been thrilled with the Republicans lately but I also haven't seen the Democratic party offering anything better.
If the Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate, it may be a case of "better the devil you know". I also think that any scandals or inappropriate behavior will affect the chances of candidates that weren't directly involved. I know there are plenty of crossover voters but I also think that many people remain true to their parties even when they become disenchanted with the party's politicians as a whole. My candidate is good, I just wish those people in the other states would elect someone better than they have.
As for Kerry's "botched joke", if that's what he wants to call it, fine. But wouldn't most people who said something like that by mistake try to clear it up immediately? As soon as he heard the gasps from some of the audience he should have realized there was a problem, explained what he meant to say and added that maybe he should stick to politics and leave the humor to ________ (insert the name of any left-leaning comedian.) Unfortunately, the ability to mock himself or admit to mistakes is not something he seems to be able to do. It's unfortunate for Democratic candidates too, not because I think that people will assume their local politicians agree with his original statement but because they had to waste time speaking against it rather than talking about their ideas and plans (assuming they have any).
Posted by marybeth at November 6, 2006 11:00 AM Politics