On the eve of the first anniversary of the war in Iraq with the Democratic nomination cinched, Kerry jetted to Idaho to go skiing. As Kerry snowboarded down a hill, a Secret Service agent inadvertently found himself in the senator's path. Kerry took a header. When reporters later asked Kerry about his fall, he snapped, "I don't fall down." Kerry blamed this tumble on his "son-of-a-b-tch" Secret Service agent. Son-of-a-b-tch Secret Service agent? The agent complained about Kerry's treatment and remark.
(Maybe the agent feels miffed since his job description requires him to take a bullet, if necessary, for Sen. Kerry. A little gratitude might be appreciated.) A spokesperson for the Secret Service said, "Obviously, the complications and burden of being monitored 24 hours a day is not just a simple inconvenience. But Sen. Kerry should understand agents are working for his safety and well-being." (According to the Drudge Report, reporters observed Kerry falling at least six times.)
Likability?
Kerry faults Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, accusing the president of "unilateralism" based on "arrogance." For, as president and commander-in-chief, Kerry expects to be able to bring to the table all parties interested in forging multilateral approaches to worldwide issues. In other words, Kerry expects to use his diplomatic flair and non-arrogant personality to convince the French, Germans and Russians -- all of whom did business with Saddam Hussein and lost money and influence after his fall. Does Kerry expect the governments of the Middle East to come to the table and agree on encouraging the spread of democracy while it threatens to destroy the leaderships' power? Presumably, Kerry expects to use his warm, persuasive personality to cobble together a coalition that the war-mongering, arrogant President Bush could only dream about.
Likability?
Kerry reminds me of a story I once read about the San Francisco Giants' slugger Barry Bonds. Mired in a batting slump, Bonds sat in the locker room and complained about his uncharacteristic struggle to get his offense going. I can't put my finger on the problem, said Barry aloud. I'm struggling. Can't buy a hit. Bonds then looked up and noticed a chronically poor-hitting teammate nearby. Bonds turned to him and said something like -- you must feel like this all the time.
So, how could the often tone-deaf Kerry work on his likability? He could drop the approach -- sincere or contrived -- that Bush equals Satan. Or maybe he should ask Butchy Cataldo.