The media pundit's pundit. Written by NYC insider Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine covers news, media, journalism, and politics.
What’s not funny
: CrushKerry.com — which, by its very name and mission, is hardly aiming to be fair and complimentary to John Kerry (they’re hardly the League of Women Voters, after all) — comes out in agreement with the Kerry campaign’s complaint against the latest Bush commercial, which makes goofy jokes about the Democrat’s wind-surfing and flip-flopping over the war in Iraq. Says CK:
Therefore, we feel the windsurfing spot was an unfortunate mistake.
And that
Good point by you and the folks at CK (not KK as you have it. All us self-respecting doughnut lovers know that KK stands for Krispy Kreme…). Although I will say this. I saw the ad and didn’t immediately think it was insensitive. And I usually have pretty good radar for such things. Now that it’s pointed out…
thanks; fixed the initials.
The commercial directly lampoons nothing but Kerry’s opportunistic changes, not anything to do with the war itself. Anybody not already firmly committed to Kerry can see that.
And so I think the Kerry camp is playing into the hands of the Republicans (once again) by acting prickly and offended (once again) and hurling charges of insensitivity; the astounding predictability of Kerry only makes it easy for Bush to brightly delineate Kerry as seething but ineffective, not to mention gratingly self-important. The worst thing Kerry could do was to produce a “rapid response” video that trembles with anger over the commercial, which is apparently what’s already happened. Rapid response is bad if it’s so rapid it’s brainless.
The commercial in itself was only worth a few giggles, but the effect it had on the Kerry people demonstrates how mismatched the campaign efforts are. If Kerry manages to pull this off, it certainly won’t be because of superior strategy.
Have to respectfully disagree with you on this Jeff (and with the folks at CK). I saw this ad and it never even crossed my mind as being insensitive or unfair. Besides, it’s not like the commercial only mentions the war in Iraq, it also talks about health care premiums and education reform, all the while, showing Kerry looking ridiculous on his windsurfer.
Looks more like a clever spot that uses humor to illustrate the point about Kerry’s ever-changing opinions on almost everything. The Kerry campaign just sounds like a bunch of whiners.
When I saw the ad for the first time, I laughed out loud. I wish more political ads used humor to make a point. I thought the ad was a clever take on Kerry’s flip-flopping —- I didn’t see anything insensitive or unfair either, although I suppose some people see ALL political ads as unfair.
I think paladin brings up a good point, especially with the Kerry campaign, it seems that every ad that comes out the Kerry campaign releases some sort of statement that this ad is unfair and they should pull it. Or Kerry will say they are attacking his patriotism or something like that. Give us a break.
It’s such a defeatist attitude. Why don’t they just respond to it in a way that would benefit them, that’s what political campaigns are all about. And Kerry’s campaign is just awful.
………. it is so hard to believe someone would equate the deaths in iraq with the flip flopping of karey,,,, his changing opinion on everything just causes more deaths ,, the terrorist think if he gets elected he will give in to them,,,, sad
That’s true, freedom. If anything, Kerry’s inability to remain firm on an issue involving the life and death of scores of soldiers and civilians, considering who he is and the fact that he is taken seriously at a national level, is actually far more offensive than any jokes made at his expense. And it’s a little too late for him to finally pick one position and stick with it *now*. Far too late.
At the same time, all across the country, we’ve worked so hard to level playing fields that we don’t let the best stand out; it’s damned near politically incorrect in some districts to be smart.
Don’t you know it. But it’s been going on for a looong time. I was in HS in 1982, a budding geek on the math team, and after the smart kids from the math team getting all the A’s (what a surprise huh?) some parents whose kids really shouldn’t have been in an advanced math class started complaining to the administration. What happened? The math team got canned (because the smart kids were getting preferential treatment of course). No one was served. All because some parents were upset that smart kids got A’s and average kids (in math anyway) got C’s.
oh bah. can that get moved to the education post?
I have to disagree with you and CrushKerry here. The ad isn’t lampooning Iraq. The ad is lampooning Kerry’s utter inability to articulate a coherent position on what we should do in Iraq, which is the most important issue in this election. Bush at least articulates a clear and coherent position; it may be right, it may be wrong, but we know what it is so we can evaluate it. (In my opinion, he’s right on the big picture- that we should have gone in- but has managed the transition to (hopefully) democracy atrociously.) What is Kerry’s position? No matter how much he says so, the French and Germans can’t and won’t help and that would not change anything anyway. Other than that, I truly have no idea what he thinks or would do.
And THAT’S the joke.
It’s good