memphiz
10-22-2004, 01:18 PM
http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/041022_kerry_john_hunt_200.jpg
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio John Kerry went hunting here, armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Four geese were shot during the early-morning hunt, but the Democratic candidate was not carrying any of the birds as he emerged from a cornfield. This exchange with journalists ensued:
.
"Did you shoot any geese, senator?" "Thumbs up." "You get any?" "Everybody got one. Everybody got one." "Why aren't you carrying yours?" "Too lazy." "Heavy?" "No. Still giddy over the Red Sox. It was hard to focus."
.
.
The conversation bears some scrutiny. Kerry went hunting because in critical swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, shooting birds and deer is a big deal. He doesn't want to repeat the mistake of Al Gore, whose vehement anti-gun positions during the 2000 campaign cost him votes in a country where tens of millions of people hunt and more than 40 percent of adults live in households with guns.
.
.
On the other hand, Kerry has a consistent record of voting for tighter gun controls in the Senate; he doesn't want to alienate tree-huggers, animal lovers or deer-doting soccer moms who like that record.
.
.
Hence the hedging on the hunt: no very dead goose in his hand for photographers, no very direct statement that he shot such goose, no hymn to the joys of goose hunting, and a not-so-subtle attempt to shift attention from limp birds to a lovely ballgame in which the Massachusetts senator's long-jinxed Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to qualify for the World Series.
.
This American election is so close, and Kerry's inclination to look at both sides of questions so ****ounced, that such balancing acts are not uncommon. In a country still shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and convinced it is at war, Kerry has had to find a way to question that war, at least as fought in Iraq, without angering the military, appearing soft, betraying lily-livered liberalism or looking unpatriotic.
.
.
He has had to speak of restoring shattered alliances without appearing to be in the pocket of the French or the United Nations.
.
.
He has had to promise to roll back tax cuts (for the wealthy) without lending credence to the tax-and-spend charges from the Republicans. He has had to seek ways to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans - that's a bigger population than Spain - who have no health insurance, without reinforcing the Republican-raised specter of a government takeover of health care.
.
All of this, for a reserved New Englander, a man of great affluence seeking to appear close to ordinary folk, has amounted to an intricate political maneuver. The relentless attacks of George W. Bush, bent on conjuring a preposterous picture of a Democrat too weak and wavering to defend America in its hour of need, have not made things any easier.
.
.
So Kerry tends to be careful. He shoots geese but does not carry dead geese in front of cameras.
.
.
Such nuance is precisely what a lot of Americans are looking for after the fixed certainties of Bush. "I want somebody who reads and reflects in the White House, not someone who just goes with his gut and then prays to God he's right," said Penny McConnell, a schoolteacher attending a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh. Then, gazing at Kerry, she added: "Tell me he doesn't look like a grown-up!"
.
.
Kerry certainly behaves like one. In these final days of the campaign, he appears vigorous, cogent, determined. He has worked his way at last to a clear position on Iraq: the wrong war, based on false arguments, a diversion from the real battle against terrorism, needlessly costly because of the sacrifice of allied support, and a conflict demanding new leadership if America is to extricate itself with honor.
.
"Do you want to put common sense back in the White House?" Kerry yells at a crowd of at least 20,000 in Minneapolis. "Yes!" comes the booming reply. Do you want a president who can deal with more than one issue at a time and stops "banging away trying to scare you?" Yes, these Minnesotans do.
.
But common sense is not for everyone. It can be plodding. It can look like vacillation. It can seem like a hard slog through tough issues.
.
"Kerry is all gloom and doom," said Gary Etzel, a jeweler at a Bush rally in Iowa. "He tells me to look at his plans on the Internet. Come on! Bush stands for what he stands for and I trust him. Kerry may be a better debater, but weÂ’re not electing a debater."
.
.
Two Americas of about equal strength now stare each other in the face, each convinced it's critical that its truth prevails on Nov. 2. Kerry's world has faith in reason, believes questions may sometimes be as important as answers, mistrusts conviction so absolute it can never be questioned, distinguishes between power and leadership, and rocks to Bruce Springsteen.
.
Bush's world has faith in faith, believes questioning empowers enemies, equates conviction with the strength that will spread freedom, is convinced there is no leadership without the pro jection of American power, and grooves to country music. In this world, real men carry their dead geese with pride.
.
**** Cheney, the vice president, was scathing about Kerry's hunting. He suggested the senator had bought his camouflage jacket especially for the occasion - in fact, it was borrowed - and said the whole thing amounted to an "October disguise."
.
.
Speaking of October, Kerry has taken to referring to the Red Sox victory as "the October surprise." A bigger one could be in store if rain delays play in the World Series for a couple of days. Game Seven, should the series go that long, would then be held on Election Day. If the Red Sox triumph for the first time since 1918, The Boston Globe would face a terrible dilemma as to how to lead the paper.
.
.
The Kerry campaign's hope is that the Page One headline would read: "Red Sox Triumph - Kerry, too." E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio John Kerry went hunting here, armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Four geese were shot during the early-morning hunt, but the Democratic candidate was not carrying any of the birds as he emerged from a cornfield. This exchange with journalists ensued:
.
"Did you shoot any geese, senator?" "Thumbs up." "You get any?" "Everybody got one. Everybody got one." "Why aren't you carrying yours?" "Too lazy." "Heavy?" "No. Still giddy over the Red Sox. It was hard to focus."
.
.
The conversation bears some scrutiny. Kerry went hunting because in critical swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, shooting birds and deer is a big deal. He doesn't want to repeat the mistake of Al Gore, whose vehement anti-gun positions during the 2000 campaign cost him votes in a country where tens of millions of people hunt and more than 40 percent of adults live in households with guns.
.
.
On the other hand, Kerry has a consistent record of voting for tighter gun controls in the Senate; he doesn't want to alienate tree-huggers, animal lovers or deer-doting soccer moms who like that record.
.
.
Hence the hedging on the hunt: no very dead goose in his hand for photographers, no very direct statement that he shot such goose, no hymn to the joys of goose hunting, and a not-so-subtle attempt to shift attention from limp birds to a lovely ballgame in which the Massachusetts senator's long-jinxed Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to qualify for the World Series.
.
This American election is so close, and Kerry's inclination to look at both sides of questions so ****ounced, that such balancing acts are not uncommon. In a country still shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and convinced it is at war, Kerry has had to find a way to question that war, at least as fought in Iraq, without angering the military, appearing soft, betraying lily-livered liberalism or looking unpatriotic.
.
.
He has had to speak of restoring shattered alliances without appearing to be in the pocket of the French or the United Nations.
.
.
He has had to promise to roll back tax cuts (for the wealthy) without lending credence to the tax-and-spend charges from the Republicans. He has had to seek ways to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans - that's a bigger population than Spain - who have no health insurance, without reinforcing the Republican-raised specter of a government takeover of health care.
.
All of this, for a reserved New Englander, a man of great affluence seeking to appear close to ordinary folk, has amounted to an intricate political maneuver. The relentless attacks of George W. Bush, bent on conjuring a preposterous picture of a Democrat too weak and wavering to defend America in its hour of need, have not made things any easier.
.
.
So Kerry tends to be careful. He shoots geese but does not carry dead geese in front of cameras.
.
.
Such nuance is precisely what a lot of Americans are looking for after the fixed certainties of Bush. "I want somebody who reads and reflects in the White House, not someone who just goes with his gut and then prays to God he's right," said Penny McConnell, a schoolteacher attending a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh. Then, gazing at Kerry, she added: "Tell me he doesn't look like a grown-up!"
.
.
Kerry certainly behaves like one. In these final days of the campaign, he appears vigorous, cogent, determined. He has worked his way at last to a clear position on Iraq: the wrong war, based on false arguments, a diversion from the real battle against terrorism, needlessly costly because of the sacrifice of allied support, and a conflict demanding new leadership if America is to extricate itself with honor.
.
"Do you want to put common sense back in the White House?" Kerry yells at a crowd of at least 20,000 in Minneapolis. "Yes!" comes the booming reply. Do you want a president who can deal with more than one issue at a time and stops "banging away trying to scare you?" Yes, these Minnesotans do.
.
But common sense is not for everyone. It can be plodding. It can look like vacillation. It can seem like a hard slog through tough issues.
.
"Kerry is all gloom and doom," said Gary Etzel, a jeweler at a Bush rally in Iowa. "He tells me to look at his plans on the Internet. Come on! Bush stands for what he stands for and I trust him. Kerry may be a better debater, but weÂ’re not electing a debater."
.
.
Two Americas of about equal strength now stare each other in the face, each convinced it's critical that its truth prevails on Nov. 2. Kerry's world has faith in reason, believes questions may sometimes be as important as answers, mistrusts conviction so absolute it can never be questioned, distinguishes between power and leadership, and rocks to Bruce Springsteen.
.
Bush's world has faith in faith, believes questioning empowers enemies, equates conviction with the strength that will spread freedom, is convinced there is no leadership without the pro jection of American power, and grooves to country music. In this world, real men carry their dead geese with pride.
.
**** Cheney, the vice president, was scathing about Kerry's hunting. He suggested the senator had bought his camouflage jacket especially for the occasion - in fact, it was borrowed - and said the whole thing amounted to an "October disguise."
.
.
Speaking of October, Kerry has taken to referring to the Red Sox victory as "the October surprise." A bigger one could be in store if rain delays play in the World Series for a couple of days. Game Seven, should the series go that long, would then be held on Election Day. If the Red Sox triumph for the first time since 1918, The Boston Globe would face a terrible dilemma as to how to lead the paper.
.
.
The Kerry campaign's hope is that the Page One headline would read: "Red Sox Triumph - Kerry, too." E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio John Kerry went hunting here, armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Four geese were shot during the early-morning hunt, but the Democratic candidate was not carrying any of the birds as he emerged from a cornfield. This exchange with journalists ensued:
.
"Did you shoot any geese, senator?" "Thumbs up." "You get any?" "Everybody got one. Everybody got one." "Why aren't you carrying yours?" "Too lazy." "Heavy?" "No. Still giddy over the Red Sox. It was hard to focus."
.
.
The conversation bears some scrutiny. Kerry went hunting because in critical swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, shooting birds and deer is a big deal. He doesn't want to repeat the mistake of Al Gore, whose vehement anti-gun positions during the 2000 campaign cost him votes in a country where tens of millions of people hunt and more than 40 percent of adults live in households with guns.
.
.
On the other hand, Kerry has a consistent record of voting for tighter gun controls in the Senate; he doesn't want to alienate tree-huggers, animal lovers or deer-doting soccer moms who like that record.
.
.
Hence the hedging on the hunt: no very dead goose in his hand for photographers, no very direct statement that he shot such goose, no hymn to the joys of goose hunting, and a not-so-subtle attempt to shift attention from limp birds to a lovely ballgame in which the Massachusetts senator's long-jinxed Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to qualify for the World Series.
.
This American election is so close, and Kerry's inclination to look at both sides of questions so ****ounced, that such balancing acts are not uncommon. In a country still shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and convinced it is at war, Kerry has had to find a way to question that war, at least as fought in Iraq, without angering the military, appearing soft, betraying lily-livered liberalism or looking unpatriotic.
.
.
He has had to speak of restoring shattered alliances without appearing to be in the pocket of the French or the United Nations.
.
.
He has had to promise to roll back tax cuts (for the wealthy) without lending credence to the tax-and-spend charges from the Republicans. He has had to seek ways to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans - that's a bigger population than Spain - who have no health insurance, without reinforcing the Republican-raised specter of a government takeover of health care.
.
All of this, for a reserved New Englander, a man of great affluence seeking to appear close to ordinary folk, has amounted to an intricate political maneuver. The relentless attacks of George W. Bush, bent on conjuring a preposterous picture of a Democrat too weak and wavering to defend America in its hour of need, have not made things any easier.
.
.
So Kerry tends to be careful. He shoots geese but does not carry dead geese in front of cameras.
.
.
Such nuance is precisely what a lot of Americans are looking for after the fixed certainties of Bush. "I want somebody who reads and reflects in the White House, not someone who just goes with his gut and then prays to God he's right," said Penny McConnell, a schoolteacher attending a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh. Then, gazing at Kerry, she added: "Tell me he doesn't look like a grown-up!"
.
.
Kerry certainly behaves like one. In these final days of the campaign, he appears vigorous, cogent, determined. He has worked his way at last to a clear position on Iraq: the wrong war, based on false arguments, a diversion from the real battle against terrorism, needlessly costly because of the sacrifice of allied support, and a conflict demanding new leadership if America is to extricate itself with honor.
.
"Do you want to put common sense back in the White House?" Kerry yells at a crowd of at least 20,000 in Minneapolis. "Yes!" comes the booming reply. Do you want a president who can deal with more than one issue at a time and stops "banging away trying to scare you?" Yes, these Minnesotans do.
.
But common sense is not for everyone. It can be plodding. It can look like vacillation. It can seem like a hard slog through tough issues.
.
"Kerry is all gloom and doom," said Gary Etzel, a jeweler at a Bush rally in Iowa. "He tells me to look at his plans on the Internet. Come on! Bush stands for what he stands for and I trust him. Kerry may be a better debater, but weÂ’re not electing a debater."
.
.
Two Americas of about equal strength now stare each other in the face, each convinced it's critical that its truth prevails on Nov. 2. Kerry's world has faith in reason, believes questions may sometimes be as important as answers, mistrusts conviction so absolute it can never be questioned, distinguishes between power and leadership, and rocks to Bruce Springsteen.
.
Bush's world has faith in faith, believes questioning empowers enemies, equates conviction with the strength that will spread freedom, is convinced there is no leadership without the pro jection of American power, and grooves to country music. In this world, real men carry their dead geese with pride.
.
**** Cheney, the vice president, was scathing about Kerry's hunting. He suggested the senator had bought his camouflage jacket especially for the occasion - in fact, it was borrowed - and said the whole thing amounted to an "October disguise."
.
.
Speaking of October, Kerry has taken to referring to the Red Sox victory as "the October surprise." A bigger one could be in store if rain delays play in the World Series for a couple of days. Game Seven, should the series go that long, would then be held on Election Day. If the Red Sox triumph for the first time since 1918, The Boston Globe would face a terrible dilemma as to how to lead the paper.
.
.
The Kerry campaign's hope is that the Page One headline would read: "Red Sox Triumph - Kerry, too." E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio John Kerry went hunting here, armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Four geese were shot during the early-morning hunt, but the Democratic candidate was not carrying any of the birds as he emerged from a cornfield. This exchange with journalists ensued:
.
"Did you shoot any geese, senator?" "Thumbs up." "You get any?" "Everybody got one. Everybody got one." "Why aren't you carrying yours?" "Too lazy." "Heavy?" "No. Still giddy over the Red Sox. It was hard to focus."
.
.
The conversation bears some scrutiny. Kerry went hunting because in critical swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, shooting birds and deer is a big deal. He doesn't want to repeat the mistake of Al Gore, whose vehement anti-gun positions during the 2000 campaign cost him votes in a country where tens of millions of people hunt and more than 40 percent of adults live in households with guns.
.
.
On the other hand, Kerry has a consistent record of voting for tighter gun controls in the Senate; he doesn't want to alienate tree-huggers, animal lovers or deer-doting soccer moms who like that record.
.
.
Hence the hedging on the hunt: no very dead goose in his hand for photographers, no very direct statement that he shot such goose, no hymn to the joys of goose hunting, and a not-so-subtle attempt to shift attention from limp birds to a lovely ballgame in which the Massachusetts senator's long-jinxed Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to qualify for the World Series.
.
This American election is so close, and Kerry's inclination to look at both sides of questions so ****ounced, that such balancing acts are not uncommon. In a country still shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and convinced it is at war, Kerry has had to find a way to question that war, at least as fought in Iraq, without angering the military, appearing soft, betraying lily-livered liberalism or looking unpatriotic.
.
.
He has had to speak of restoring shattered alliances without appearing to be in the pocket of the French or the United Nations.
.
.
He has had to promise to roll back tax cuts (for the wealthy) without lending credence to the tax-and-spend charges from the Republicans. He has had to seek ways to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans - that's a bigger population than Spain - who have no health insurance, without reinforcing the Republican-raised specter of a government takeover of health care.
.
All of this, for a reserved New Englander, a man of great affluence seeking to appear close to ordinary folk, has amounted to an intricate political maneuver. The relentless attacks of George W. Bush, bent on conjuring a preposterous picture of a Democrat too weak and wavering to defend America in its hour of need, have not made things any easier.
.
.
So Kerry tends to be careful. He shoots geese but does not carry dead geese in front of cameras.
.
.
Such nuance is precisely what a lot of Americans are looking for after the fixed certainties of Bush. "I want somebody who reads and reflects in the White House, not someone who just goes with his gut and then prays to God he's right," said Penny McConnell, a schoolteacher attending a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh. Then, gazing at Kerry, she added: "Tell me he doesn't look like a grown-up!"
.
.
Kerry certainly behaves like one. In these final days of the campaign, he appears vigorous, cogent, determined. He has worked his way at last to a clear position on Iraq: the wrong war, based on false arguments, a diversion from the real battle against terrorism, needlessly costly because of the sacrifice of allied support, and a conflict demanding new leadership if America is to extricate itself with honor.
.
"Do you want to put common sense back in the White House?" Kerry yells at a crowd of at least 20,000 in Minneapolis. "Yes!" comes the booming reply. Do you want a president who can deal with more than one issue at a time and stops "banging away trying to scare you?" Yes, these Minnesotans do.
.
But common sense is not for everyone. It can be plodding. It can look like vacillation. It can seem like a hard slog through tough issues.
.
"Kerry is all gloom and doom," said Gary Etzel, a jeweler at a Bush rally in Iowa. "He tells me to look at his plans on the Internet. Come on! Bush stands for what he stands for and I trust him. Kerry may be a better debater, but weÂ’re not electing a debater."
.
.
Two Americas of about equal strength now stare each other in the face, each convinced it's critical that its truth prevails on Nov. 2. Kerry's world has faith in reason, believes questions may sometimes be as important as answers, mistrusts conviction so absolute it can never be questioned, distinguishes between power and leadership, and rocks to Bruce Springsteen.
.
Bush's world has faith in faith, believes questioning empowers enemies, equates conviction with the strength that will spread freedom, is convinced there is no leadership without the pro jection of American power, and grooves to country music. In this world, real men carry their dead geese with pride.
.
**** Cheney, the vice president, was scathing about Kerry's hunting. He suggested the senator had bought his camouflage jacket especially for the occasion - in fact, it was borrowed - and said the whole thing amounted to an "October disguise."
.
.
Speaking of October, Kerry has taken to referring to the Red Sox victory as "the October surprise." A bigger one could be in store if rain delays play in the World Series for a couple of days. Game Seven, should the series go that long, would then be held on Election Day. If the Red Sox triumph for the first time since 1918, The Boston Globe would face a terrible dilemma as to how to lead the paper.
.
.
The Kerry campaign's hope is that the Page One headline would read: "Red Sox Triumph - Kerry, too." E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio John Kerry went hunting here, armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Four geese were shot during the early-morning hunt, but the Democratic candidate was not carrying any of the birds as he emerged from a cornfield. This exchange with journalists ensued:
.
"Did you shoot any geese, senator?" "Thumbs up." "You get any?" "Everybody got one. Everybody got one." "Why aren't you carrying yours?" "Too lazy." "Heavy?" "No. Still giddy over the Red Sox. It was hard to focus."
.
.
The conversation bears some scrutiny. Kerry went hunting because in critical swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, shooting birds and deer is a big deal. He doesn't want to repeat the mistake of Al Gore, whose vehement anti-gun positions during the 2000 campaign cost him votes in a country where tens of millions of people hunt and more than 40 percent of adults live in households with guns.
.
.
On the other hand, Kerry has a consistent record of voting for tighter gun controls in the Senate; he doesn't want to alienate tree-huggers, animal lovers or deer-doting soccer moms who like that record.
.
.
Hence the hedging on the hunt: no very dead goose in his hand for photographers, no very direct statement that he shot such goose, no hymn to the joys of goose hunting, and a not-so-subtle attempt to shift attention from limp birds to a lovely ballgame in which the Massachusetts senator's long-jinxed Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to qualify for the World Series.
.
This American election is so close, and Kerry's inclination to look at both sides of questions so ****ounced, that such balancing acts are not uncommon. In a country still shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and convinced it is at war, Kerry has had to find a way to question that war, at least as fought in Iraq, without angering the military, appearing soft, betraying lily-livered liberalism or looking unpatriotic.
.
.
He has had to speak of restoring shattered alliances without appearing to be in the pocket of the French or the United Nations.
.
.
He has had to promise to roll back tax cuts (for the wealthy) without lending credence to the tax-and-spend charges from the Republicans. He has had to seek ways to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans - that's a bigger population than Spain - who have no health insurance, without reinforcing the Republican-raised specter of a government takeover of health care.
.
All of this, for a reserved New Englander, a man of great affluence seeking to appear close to ordinary folk, has amounted to an intricate political maneuver. The relentless attacks of George W. Bush, bent on conjuring a preposterous picture of a Democrat too weak and wavering to defend America in its hour of need, have not made things any easier.
.
.
So Kerry tends to be careful. He shoots geese but does not carry dead geese in front of cameras.
.
.
Such nuance is precisely what a lot of Americans are looking for after the fixed certainties of Bush. "I want somebody who reads and reflects in the White House, not someone who just goes with his gut and then prays to God he's right," said Penny McConnell, a schoolteacher attending a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh. Then, gazing at Kerry, she added: "Tell me he doesn't look like a grown-up!"
.
.
Kerry certainly behaves like one. In these final days of the campaign, he appears vigorous, cogent, determined. He has worked his way at last to a clear position on Iraq: the wrong war, based on false arguments, a diversion from the real battle against terrorism, needlessly costly because of the sacrifice of allied support, and a conflict demanding new leadership if America is to extricate itself with honor.
.
"Do you want to put common sense back in the White House?" Kerry yells at a crowd of at least 20,000 in Minneapolis. "Yes!" comes the booming reply. Do you want a president who can deal with more than one issue at a time and stops "banging away trying to scare you?" Yes, these Minnesotans do.
.
But common sense is not for everyone. It can be plodding. It can look like vacillation. It can seem like a hard slog through tough issues.
.
"Kerry is all gloom and doom," said Gary Etzel, a jeweler at a Bush rally in Iowa. "He tells me to look at his plans on the Internet. Come on! Bush stands for what he stands for and I trust him. Kerry may be a better debater, but weÂ’re not electing a debater."
.
.
Two Americas of about equal strength now stare each other in the face, each convinced it's critical that its truth prevails on Nov. 2. Kerry's world has faith in reason, believes questions may sometimes be as important as answers, mistrusts conviction so absolute it can never be questioned, distinguishes between power and leadership, and rocks to Bruce Springsteen.
.
Bush's world has faith in faith, believes questioning empowers enemies, equates conviction with the strength that will spread freedom, is convinced there is no leadership without the pro jection of American power, and grooves to country music. In this world, real men carry their dead geese with pride.
.
**** Cheney, the vice president, was scathing about Kerry's hunting. He suggested the senator had bought his camouflage jacket especially for the occasion - in fact, it was borrowed - and said the whole thing amounted to an "October disguise."
.
.
Speaking of October, Kerry has taken to referring to the Red Sox victory as "the October surprise." A bigger one could be in store if rain delays play in the World Series for a couple of days. Game Seven, should the series go that long, would then be held on Election Day. If the Red Sox triumph for the first time since 1918, The Boston Globe would face a terrible dilemma as to how to lead the paper.
.
.
The Kerry campaign's hope is that the Page One headline would read: "Red Sox Triumph - Kerry, too." E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio John Kerry went hunting here, armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Four geese were shot during the early-morning hunt, but the Democratic candidate was not carrying any of the birds as he emerged from a cornfield. This exchange with journalists ensued:
.
"Did you shoot any geese, senator?" "Thumbs up." "You get any?" "Everybody got one. Everybody got one." "Why aren't you carrying yours?" "Too lazy." "Heavy?" "No. Still giddy over the Red Sox. It was hard to focus."
.
.
The conversation bears some scrutiny. Kerry went hunting because in critical swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, shooting birds and deer is a big deal. He doesn't want to repeat the mistake of Al Gore, whose vehement anti-gun positions during the 2000 campaign cost him votes in a country where tens of millions of people hunt and more than 40 percent of adults live in households with guns.
.
.
On the other hand, Kerry has a consistent record of voting for tighter gun controls in the Senate; he doesn't want to alienate tree-huggers, animal lovers or deer-doting soccer moms who like that record.
.
.
Hence the hedging on the hunt: no very dead goose in his hand for photographers, no very direct statement that he shot such goose, no hymn to the joys of goose hunting, and a not-so-subtle attempt to shift attention from limp birds to a lovely ballgame in which the Massachusetts senator's long-jinxed Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to qualify for the World Series.
.
This American election is so close, and Kerry's inclination to look at both sides of questions so ****ounced, that such balancing acts are not uncommon. In a country still shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and convinced it is at war, Kerry has had to find a way to question that war, at least as fought in Iraq, without angering the military, appearing soft, betraying lily-livered liberalism or looking unpatriotic.
.
.
He has had to speak of restoring shattered alliances without appearing to be in the pocket of the French or the United Nations.
.
.
He has had to promise to roll back tax cuts (for the wealthy) without lending credence to the tax-and-spend charges from the Republicans. He has had to seek ways to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans - that's a bigger population than Spain - who have no health insurance, without reinforcing the Republican-raised specter of a government takeover of health care.
.
All of this, for a reserved New Englander, a man of great affluence seeking to appear close to ordinary folk, has amounted to an intricate political maneuver. The relentless attacks of George W. Bush, bent on conjuring a preposterous picture of a Democrat too weak and wavering to defend America in its hour of need, have not made things any easier.
.
.
So Kerry tends to be careful. He shoots geese but does not carry dead geese in front of cameras.
.
.
Such nuance is precisely what a lot of Americans are looking for after the fixed certainties of Bush. "I want somebody who reads and reflects in the White House, not someone who just goes with his gut and then prays to God he's right," said Penny McConnell, a schoolteacher attending a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh. Then, gazing at Kerry, she added: "Tell me he doesn't look like a grown-up!"
.
.
Kerry certainly behaves like one. In these final days of the campaign, he appears vigorous, cogent, determined. He has worked his way at last to a clear position on Iraq: the wrong war, based on false arguments, a diversion from the real battle against terrorism, needlessly costly because of the sacrifice of allied support, and a conflict demanding new leadership if America is to extricate itself with honor.
.
"Do you want to put common sense back in the White House?" Kerry yells at a crowd of at least 20,000 in Minneapolis. "Yes!" comes the booming reply. Do you want a president who can deal with more than one issue at a time and stops "banging away trying to scare you?" Yes, these Minnesotans do.
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But common sense is not for everyone. It can be plodding. It can look like vacillation. It can seem like a hard slog through tough issues.
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"Kerry is all gloom and doom," said Gary Etzel, a jeweler at a Bush rally in Iowa. "He tells me to look at his plans on the Internet. Come on! Bush stands for what he stands for and I trust him. Kerry may be a better debater, but weÂ’re not electing a debater."
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Two Americas of about equal strength now stare each other in the face, each convinced it's critical that its truth prevails on Nov. 2. Kerry's world has faith in reason, believes questions may sometimes be as important as answers, mistrusts conviction so absolute it can never be questioned, distinguishes between power and leadership, and rocks to Bruce Springsteen.
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Bush's world has faith in faith, believes questioning empowers enemies, equates conviction with the strength that will spread freedom, is convinced there is no leadership without the pro jection of American power, and grooves to country music. In this world, real men carry their dead geese with pride.
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**** Cheney, the vice president, was scathing about Kerry's hunting. He suggested the senator had bought his camouflage jacket especially for the occasion - in fact, it was borrowed - and said the whole thing amounted to an "October disguise."
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Speaking of October, Kerry has taken to referring to the Red Sox victory as "the October surprise." A bigger one could be in store if rain delays play in the World Series for a couple of days. Game Seven, should the series go that long, would then be held on Election Day. If the Red Sox triumph for the first time since 1918, The Boston Globe would face a terrible dilemma as to how to lead the paper.
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The Kerry campaign's hope is that the Page One headline would read: "Red Sox Triumph - Kerry, too." E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
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