As if Clinton playing the sax on Letterman wasn't good enough.
Kerry shows up in top form, doing what he does best - criticizing Bush without actually presenting alternatives. Kerry slams Bush and blames him personally for all sorts of problems. Now, I'm no fan of Bush, but it's a little extreme to hold him accountable for the entire spectrum of ills that faces our country. And, of course, Kerry himself completely fails to present a compelling alternative to what Bush has already done.
Yes, Mr. Kerry, we know you have issues with how Bush is running things, but what exactly is your magic plan to make the country great?
I also find it a little odd that Kerry, who refuses to take a stance on pretty much anything (beyond saying that he opposes whatever Bush says), criticizes Bush for failing to discuss the issues. And of course Kerry has to utilize his latest strategy - he starts bashing Bush for bashing him with the swiftboat adds. Oh, touche! Way to elevate the dialogue and avoid negative politics Mr. Kerry!
John Stewart, who has actually impressed me in the past by hounding guests with serious questions, lobbed Kerry a bunch of softballs and jokingly mocked some of the more prominent anti-Kerry rhetoric. To his credit, Stewart has admitted in the past that he's a Democrat, and he's not exactly a real journalist. But still, the Daily Show is the closest thing to news a lot of people from my generation even encounter with any regularity.
I'll come out and say it - I disagree with pretty much everything Bush stands for. Emperialism, religious fundamentalism, fiscal irresponsibility, erosion of consumer protection laws, slashing of environmental regulations, failure to acknowledge problems with health care and education, creation of additional Federal beauracracy when we need to streamline what we have, extending law enforcement powers to new heights, ignoring the Geneva convention whenever technically possible, holding people incommunicato as enemy combatants... and the list just rolls on and on. But Bush sure as hell didn't do it all alone, and the hypocrites in the Senate (Edwards and Kerry most notably) were right there voting Yea like good little lapdogs.
As much as I despise many of Bush's positions, at least I know what he stands for. He's a known and pretty much predictable quantity. Kerry, on the other hand, refuses to tell us what he believes in or how he plans to enact it - and for a lot of people I think that's going to be a deal breaker.
Mr. Kerry, if you're reading my blog, please take this to heart - if you don't start presenting some real stances on real issues with real plans to fix real problems, your campaign is doomed. I don't care what the analysts are telling you - you will not be able to win this election simply by being somebody other than George W. Bush.