Digitus Impudicus

I, Of Course, Disagree

So I wrote to him. Here’s what I said (if he responds I’ll post it here).

Jim,

I have to disagree with you when you wrote, “The predictable explosion of enthusiasm for Kerry and the optimism about his chances in the mainstream media will not be interrupted by a mere breaking of the debate rules.”

I’m not saying you’re wrong, though I remain unconvinced. I’m saying that I think you are missing the point. Whether we stop the mainstream press from doing cartwheels for Kerry isn’t the issue at hand. The Swifties demonstrated that. It’s one of the central lessons of the Rathergate episode.

The VRWC trio of Talk Radio, Fox News, and the Pajamahadeen (of which I’m a card-carrying, though small-time member) can now make enough noise to sidestep the mainstream press to a significant degree. Just because Tom, Peter and Dan aren’t saying it doesn’t mean it’s not being heard by millions. Not anymore, at least.

You also wrote, “No one has much incentive to make an issue of this, least of all the President or the Bush campaign - they would be immediately labeled whiners by Kerry and his fans in the media.”

I have to take issue with this, too. Not in the central point you made, but the level of determinative value you place on this point. Obviously, the President and his people can’t address this. But there are tens of thousands of others out there who can, will, and are talking about it, and nowadays, some of them have some pretty loud voices. And the sweet part is that there’s no way the Dems or their handmaidens in the mainstream press would call us whiners because, in order to do that, they’d have to bring up the subject.

They’re in a hole regarding this matter. They just don’t realize how deep it is.

Sure, we’ll never turn the die-hard Kerryphiles away from their candidate, but that’s never been the issue. It’s those people who were sort of undecided and were impressed by Kerry’s apparent depth and breadth of foreign policy knowledge and aplomb during the debate. If those people catch wind of that impression being based on a fraud (cheat notes), that will most definitely not impress them.

In the end you may be proved right in this. This may not catch fire. But because of the items I mentioned above, it just might. And if not this, perhaps something else may come along that follows the Rathergate/Swiftie road to ignominy.

Regards,
Ken