I’ve been following the story that accuses John Kerry of having an affair. This is about politics so I feel I have to explain why I’m interested in this rumor. I enjoy following politics and I’ve been hoping for a brokered convention in Boston, and maybe even a Hillary Rodham Clinton nomination. True or false I hope this rumor sticks to John Kerry.
I came across this story on the Drudge Report on 02/12/2004.
I went home that night expecting to see something on the national news about the rumor. Not a thing mentioned on any of the major TV news sources. They were talking about it on the local radio station on the drive home, but CNN ABC CBS FOX MSNBC no mention, only stories about President Bush going AWOL.
This left me in the uncomfortable position of considering Rush Limbaugh might actually have some reason for claiming there is a bias in the main stream media. As much as it hurts here is Rush Limbaugh’s take on the Kerry affair news coverage.
Some of the overseas papers covering the story
Today Singapore
The Sun UK
Even if the story turns out to be BS the US media should be reporting on the facts. There are several unasked/unanswered questions.
In the original article at Drudge it said that Al Gore had considered Kerry as a running mate in 2000 but decided against Kerry because of the rumors of an affair. So has anybody asked Gore for his response?
The woman in question Alexandra Polier works for the Associated Press. I think the Associated Press could call a reporter on their payroll and ask to confirm or deny the story. No instead we have the father of the reporter calling Kerry a “sleazeball” without explanation. (From Pakistan)
General Clark was mentioned on Drudge leaking the story to the press off the record. Why not just ask the guy directly if he made the comment?
The Republicans have been taking the blame for this rumor spreading around the internet, but I don’t believe it was the Republicans. I think they would have the foresight to wait until after Kerry won the nomination before leaking this to the press. The rumor was on WatchBlog a week before showing up on the DrugeReport.
There are some unanswered questions, and I am interested in answers, but only if there is any validity to the story. Raising the story off after posting on conservative websites does not make it news, and I would hope the news media would show the same restraint as they showed with the claims against Bush senior that he had an affair. As it turns out, he did have an affair and it never made the US press until just before or after the election, and then only in the magazines like the Nation.
The Press are constantly hammered for being liberal, but I actually see liberal window dressing in a media that is more and more conservative. What is more concerning to me is the move towards more and more programming that pits extremes against each other with hardline conservatives screaming their frustrations in vitriolic tones and hardline liberals often screaming back in equally vitriolic tones, and nothing in between.
Why do I hear people refer to Rush Limbaugh as a political commentator when he is nothing more than a relatively uninformed political cheerleader for the right who distorts facts to suit his political bent.
Fox news seems to offer a poor excuse for Infomercials as news with uninformed talking heads sitting around in comfy chairs spouting out opinions as fact. As Fox news begins to edge out CNN and other news organizaitons for viewers, it’s not surprising that the nation moves more to the right and knows less and less about the real problems we face as a country.
Did Kerry sleep with this woman? Who cares??? Did George Bush lie to the american public about weapons of mass destruction? Nobody cares!! Did this administration divert our attention from the war on terrorism to settle old debts? Nobody seems incensed by that!!! We have lost focus in the true war on terrorism, and now believe our only diplomatic weapon is military force.
Does the press help unravel these questions for the american public? No. We focus on whether the leading Democratic candidate slept with a young woman, and to hell with the political debate. You may find that the media is showing its liberal bias in this case, I actually think that the thinking press may have momentarilly taken charge for a few seconds before gutter politics takes over once again.
If you would like to know what the woman who is reputed to have slept with Kerry thinks of this whole affair read her statement released to the press.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/02/16/politics1300EST0543.DTL