About
	Contact Us
	Articles
	Topic Index
	Reports
	Quotes
	On the Web
	Links
	TW Tracker
	Support

Times Watch for March 3, 2004

Incoming Bush Attacks, Sir!

     "Sprinter Faces a Marathon," Todd Purdum's front-page story on Sen. John Kerry's string of primary victories on Super Tuesday, lays the groundwork for a long two-man race for the presidency.

     Purdum shows Kerry triumphant: "In just six weeks, John Kerry has made short work of every dogged Democratic rival, rebounding from political near-death to vibrant life as his party's all-but-official nominee. But as Ronald Reagan delighted in reminding the Democrats 20 years ago when he became the last Republican president elected to a second term: 'You ain't seen nothin' yet.' Propelled by the twin tides of electability and inevitability since his upset victory in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 19, Mr. Kerry now stands atop a Democratic Party that is energized and unified in its opposition to President Bush, who is no better than tied with or trailing Mr. Kerry in the latest polls."

     After outlining Bush's early strategy, there's this flattery: "In war and politics, Mr. Kerry has proved himself in past battles and he professed to be ready for the fray. 'Before us lie long months of effort and of challenge and we understand that,' he said in victory last night. 'We have no illusions about the Republican attack machine and what our opponents have done in the past and what they may try to do in the future. But I know that together we are equal to this task. I am a fighter.'"

     Purdum cites more of Kerry's alleged toughness, echoing the puzzling concerns of Democrats that their party's nominees aren't tough enough: "Earlier, Mr. Kerry left the campaign trail and returned to the Senate to cast an unshrinking vote in favor of extending a 10-year ban on assault weapons that expires this year, and to accuse Mr. Bush of 'walking away' from his 2000 campaign pledge to support its extension. He may be from Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry seemed to be all but shouting, but Michael S. Dukakis he is not."

     (Actually, to get technical about it, on gun control Kerry is much like Dukakis, the liberal Massachusetts governor and gun-control zealot in whose administration Kerry served as lieutenant governor.)

     Purdum then insists: "For now, the Democrats' spirited primary contest and Mr. Kerry's almost weekly victories have put the Republicans on the defensive."

     Purdum concludes with a poll fact-let showing few respondents are confident they know enough about the candidates to make an informed choice. Purdum warns Kerry of the tough road ahead: "Starting now, Mr. Kerry must help fill in the blanks. Mr. Bush will be only too ready to do so."

     How Bush might try to do that, Purdum doesn't say; the word "liberal" doesn't appear in his long story, though evidence of Kerry's liberalism abounds.

For the rest of Purdum's story on Kerry's victories, click here.

• Campaign 2004 | Michael Dukakis | Gun Control | Sen. John Kerry | Todd Purdum

Marriage Defenders and the Return of George Wallace, Take 2

     Another day, another Times column that conflates supporters of traditional marriage with anti-black racists. This time it's Nicholas Kristof, whose Wednesday column, "Marriage: Mix and Match," notes: "Long before President Bush's call for a 'constitutional amendment protecting marriage,' Representative Seaborn Roddenberry of Georgia proposed an amendment that he said would uphold the sanctity of marriage. Mr. Roddenberry's proposed amendment, in December 1912, stated, 'Intermarriage between Negroes or persons of color and Caucasians…is forever prohibited.'"

     Subtle as a flying mallet, Kristof then makes his comparison explicit: "In Mr. Bush's call for action last week, he argued that the drastic step of a constitutional amendment is necessary because 'marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society.' Mr. Roddenberry also worried about the risks ahead: 'This slavery of white women to black beasts will bring this nation to a conflict as fatal and as bloody as ever reddened the soil of Virginia.'"

For the rest of Kristof's column, click here.

• Amendment | Civil Rights | Columnists | Gay Marriage | Nicholas Kristof

E-mail TimesWatch Director, Clay Waters, with TimesWatch feedback at cwaters@mediaresearch.org