Special Edition: The Media ? John Kerry?s Base
Special Edition: The Media ? John Kerry?s Base
D.C. Reporters: 12-to-1 for Kerry
?As John Kerry celebrates his nomination with a coast-to-coast bus trip...conservatives are complaining about his good press. They say that journalists? liberal bias has colored the reviews of the Democratic convention and his speech....When asked who would be a better President, the journalists [at the Democratic convention] from outside the Beltway picked Mr. Kerry 3-to-1, and the ones from Washington favored him 12-to-1. Those results jibe with previous surveys over the past two decades showing that journalists tend to be Democrats, especially the ones based in Washington. Some surveys have found that more than 80 percent of the Beltway press corps votes Democratic.?
? New York Times reporter John Tierney, in his August 1 ?Political Points? compendium, on what he found when he surveyed 153 journalists at a press party in Boston.
Thrilled By a ?Blistering Attack?
?He delivered a blistering attack on President Bush on Iraq. He said that we were ?misled into war,? that we went into war ?because we wanted to, not because we had to,? and ?we went into war without a plan to win the peace.? That was a very, very tough attack. And he says that he will wage the war with the lessons he learned in war. That?s going to be tough for the Republicans to respond to.?
? ABC?s George Stephanopoulos during live coverage right after John Kerry?s speech to the Democratic convention, July 29.
?I was standing next to the young speechwriter who worked with Kerry on this speech, a young man named John Ghotheim (sp?). The look on his face: rhapsody throughout. I don?t know how this was perceived at home. But here in the Massachusetts delegation, where I was standing, it was perceived very well.?
? ABC?s Dan Harris during live coverage, July 29.
?People who served with him in Vietnam said, ?You can?t believe what he?s like in battle. He just changes. He gets this look over him.? And when I saw him walking down the aisle tonight on the way into the speech, I said, ?Oh yeah, there?s that look.? And I just knew at that point that he?s going to nail this, and he did. I have never seen the man speak so well.?
? Time?s Joe Klein on CNN?s NewsNight, July 29.
Kerry at His Sweaty Best
?John Kerry working himself literally into a sweat. Or as my high school English teacher would prefer, into a high state of perspiration. An almost literal thunder inside the hall, shaking the Fleet Center in a way that it seldom shakes, if ever, even during a Celtics basketball playoff game or a Bruins hockey playoff game. These Democrats, as the speech built, having what amounted to maybe a three-thousand-gallon attack about every three minutes, united in a way the Democratic Party has not been for about half a century.?
? Dan Rather during CBS?s live coverage of the Democratic convention, July 29.
?This is the best speech I have ever heard John Kerry make. I listened to a lot of speeches back there in the primary. This was the best. This was a very deft critique of policy.?
? Bob Schieffer during CBS?s live coverage, July 29.
?Turning Toward Enemy Fire?
?For those who doubted John Kerry could pull off a stirring speech, doubts dispelled. For those who doubted John Kerry could unite a traditionally fractious party, doubts dispelled.?
? ABC?s Charles Gibson, Good Morning America, July 30.
Charles Gibson: ?If you?re a Republican operative, a close advisor to President Bush, you?re hoping John Kerry last night lays an egg.?
George Stephanopoulos: ?And he doesn?t.?
Gibson: ?Boy, he did not.?
Stephanopoulos: ?Not at all. I mean, John Kerry went out there and he went right into the teeth of Republican issues. I mean, it was the political equivalent of turning toward enemy fire and charging the hill.?
? Exchange on Good Morning America, July 30.
?When he stood up and said, ?John Kerry, reporting for duty,? you could feel the whole room say, ?Yes!? Because they realize that in the post-September 11th world, the Democrats cannot yield on the issue of defense or terrorism or values. They have to be embraced and articulated and fought from different perspectives, and I think that John Kerry laid that out last night.?
? NBC?s Tim Russert on the July 30 Today.
Byron Pitts, Kerry?s TV Toady
?Senator Kerry is a very superstitious man. Just before he steps into the hall, he will do what he has always done before a major moment in his life. He will make a sign of the cross, then kiss the St. Christopher?s medallion his mother gave him as a child. As he walks in, notice his left pocket. Inside his left jacket pocket are two things Senator Kerry always keeps with him: The Vietnam dog tags he wore in Vietnam, still wrapped in the black gaffers tape he used in Vietnam to keep those dog tags quiet as he went on patrol. And a four-leaf clover that a voter in Iowa gave him in January when he was trailing badly in the polls. To those who know Senator Kerry, they say both those items are reminders this evening that often in his life John Kerry has been down, but he always finds a way to get up. Tonight, he has to be up.?
? Reporter Byron Pitts during CBS News live coverage just before John Kerry?s speech, July 29.
?Integrity, That?s What Matters?
?It was four years ago during the Democratic convention, not far from where we stand tonight, that John Kerry stood near his father on his deathbed. Earlier, as the family was preparing to leave John Kerry?s home in Boston, I?m told he whispered to his sister, ?Remember the words of our mother on her deathbed when she said, ?John,? knowing he would run for President some day, ?remember, John, integrity, that?s what matters.? Tonight, John Kerry tried to show that integrity.?
? Pitts a few moments after Kerry finished his speech.
Touting Kerry?s Day of Destiny
?For Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, tonight?s acceptance of the Democratic nomination is more than merely a day, it?s his destiny....A gifted athlete and captain of the debate team at Yale, Kerry followed his idol?s [John F. Kennedy?s] lead and enlisted in the Navy in 1966. In Vietnam, Lieutenant John F. Kerry rescued a comrade in combat, killed an enemy soldier, won three Purple Hearts and one Bronze Star....The day before his speech, Kerry crossed Boston Harbor with some of his crewmates from Vietnam, his band of brothers. They have one battle left. But tonight the loner will stand alone here in his hometown one more time and look to do what John F. Kerry has nearly always done ? find a way to win.?
? Pitts on CBS?s The Early Show, July 29.
Kerry Gives the Party Its ?Soul?
?Dan, based on the crowd?s reaction, John Edwards has done what he came here to do. He took this massive convention center and turned it into a courtroom, some 15,000 people into 12 jurors, and he spoke to each one. Tonight, if John Edwards put the face on the Democratic Party, youthful and hopeful, it will be Senator John Kerry?s job tomorrow night to give it its soul.?
? Pitts during CBS?s live coverage after John Edwards spoke to the convention, July 28.
No Bashing, Just Scorn & Insults
?No Bush-bashing in this speech tonight, but lots of lines that brought the crowd to its feet, especially when he took on the President, the Defense Secretary and the Attorney General, who will honor the Constitution, he said, in his Cabinet.?
? NBC?s Tom Brokaw during live coverage a few moments after John Kerry spoke before the Democratic convention, July 29.
Falling in Love with John Edwards
?The personality that Edwards exudes when he comes to these events is something that?s pretty infectious with these delegates. And I talked to one delegate yesterday who says, ?You know, I?m coming to like John Kerry, but I haven?t yet fallen in love with him. But I will tell you this, I have fallen in love with John Edwards.? It?s obvious the charisma out there gets to everybody here in the Fleet Center.?
? CBS?s John Roberts during live coverage shortly after John Edwards finished his convention speech, July 28.
Edwards Another Ronald Reagan?
?He [John Edwards] talks about the best and the bravest who won?t be left behind. He talks about this ?great shining light.? He says, ?Tomorrow is better than today.? Those are all Ronald Reagan?s lines.?
? Newsweek Managing Editor Jon Meacham during MSNBC?s live convention coverage on July 28.
Teresa: Sexy and Spectacular
?I thought it went fantastic, frankly. I mean, this is the week that started with the news that she had told a reporter to ?Shove it,? which made all the rounds of the Internet, and yet she stood at that podium, and I thought she came off as the finest European actress really. I mean, she was likable, she?s gorgeous, she was kind of warm and earthy, and for people who don?t know her ? and this was your first introduction to her ? I thought she did spectacular.?
? Boston Globe reporter Nina Easton on CNN?s NewsNight with Aaron Brown following the second night of the Democratic convention, July 27.
?People talk about John Edwards being the sexiest politician in America. I think Teresa Heinz may be the sexiest spouse of a national candidate in my memory. She comes across pretty strong, soulful, tender even, in a way. So I think she had an effective performance.?
? Wall Street Journal reporter John Harwood on CNN?s NewsNight a few minutes later.
But Who?ll Destroy Dick Cheney?
?A tactical question for you. If John Edwards is going to go around the country talking enthusiastically, optimistically even blithely about the Democratic Party, who?s going to attack the President and Vice President Cheney??
? Peter Jennings to ABC News Political Director Mark Halperin during live coverage on July 28 after Edwards? convention speech.
