Clipping blog

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John Kerry: Barack Obama’s New Sparring Partner Posted: 19 Jun 2012 07:32 AM PDT Does this seem like a smart move to you? I ask because I can see about a half dozen ways it could go terribly wrong. President Obama has tapped Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, to play Republican Mitt Romney in mock debate rehearsals, Obama campaign officials and the senator's office confirmed Monday. Kerry will help Obama prepare for among the most consequential events of his reelection campaign — the three fall debates against Romney. As the senior senator from Massachusetts, Kerry has studied Romney's career and campaign style for nearly two decades and has first-hand knowledge of his record as governor. Okay, it makes sense for the President to bring someone in who has clear command of Mitt Romney’s record and campaign style (though, to be honest, Kerry has no better insight into Romney’s recent campaign work than, say, John McCain). On the other hand, if the Obama people truly believe this, then they’re in deep, deep trouble. Kerry has long been considered one of the Democratic Party's most skilled debaters, and his performances in more than 25 debates in the 2004 race earned plaudits. Some credited his strong debates against President George W. Bush with tightening the race in the closing weeks of the 2004 campaign. Now I remember the 2004 campaign and John Kerry did not clean George Bush’s clock with any regularity at all during any of the three debates. As “one of the Democratic Party’s most skilled debaters” he should have, considering that the MSM spent 8 years characterizing President Bush as a stumble-tongued buffoon. You do remember that persistent meme, don’t you? I sure as heck do. The truth is, George Bush’s approval rating dropped below 50 percent right before the election and Kerry couldn’t put him away despite the concerted MSM push predicted by Newsweek’s editor Evan Thomas (an example of which you can see here). The most memorable part of any of the 2004 debates had nothing to do with John Kerry but with a suspicious bulge. No one can remember one memorable thing Kerry said during a Presidential debate and he sure as heck wasn’t trumpeting his rhetorical superiority over Chimpy McHitlerBurton in the days preceding Election Day. I suspect there are two reasons the Obama team has tapped Kerry to spar with the President. First, Kerry fits the stereotype the left has of Mitt Romney — an out of touch rich white guy from the northeast — like he was born to it, which, come to think of it, he was. Second, Kerry will put on a good show but he knows his place and won’t do much to really push the President in rehearsal. As we’ve seen over and over again, Barack Obama can’t take a political punch. There is no chance his campaign team will bring in a sparring partner who can or will draw blood in a practice debate. Those are fine reasons to bring in a stiff if your guy is on the top of his game and has the drive to stay there, but Barack Obama is not the orator we were told he is and his Eye of the Tiger is more the Jaw of Glass Joe. John Kerry won’t make him a better debater. In fact, he may just make him worse. (Graphic from Charles Williams’ Flickr site)

The Delivery Presents – Kurt Schlichter on Caring, Conservatism, and Zombies Posted: 18 Jun 2012 09:14 PM PDT Kurt Schlichter joined me in Episode 151 to talk about his new book, I Am a Conservative: Uncensored, Undiluted and Absolutely Un-PC, which you should all buy right away and not just because I get a small fraction of the purchase price if you use that link or because Kurt is my friend. His book is genuinely good: smart, funny, and invigorating. If current events have you weary and you need a straight shot of conservative nitro, Kurt’s book is for you. And so is The Delivery, by the way. There’s a good bit about halfway into the first segment where we talk about how you don’t have to ask permission to create, and put your creation into the market, I think you’ll like. Entrepreneurship is easier today than it has ever been. The more people realize that, the more we’ll dispense with the old gatekeepers (and the political ideology that rules the vast majority of them). Kurt stuck around for the second half, during which we talked about the movie Prometheus and how Ridley Scott managed to make a spiritual movie entirely without God. We also kicked around how we’d bring World War Z to the big screen and ranted a bit about how Hollywood overthinks the simple zombie movie. You know, that makes me wonder. This is the third time Kurt and I have spent a good chunk of The Delivery on zombie movies. I honestly don’t know why that is, except that we both like the genre and really want Hollywood to drop the cutesy stuff and tell a solid story. If you have a better answer, feel free to drop it int he comment section! [audio:http://www.takethatproductionsusa.com/podcasting/td/TD151.mp3|titles=The Delivery - Episode 151]

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