[Speed Gibson,
Monday September 20, 2004 at 10:33am]
Hugh Hewitt was Right
Shot in the Dark linked an article noting Senator Kerry's lack of organizational skills. He should have been able to build a significant alliance of veterans, as in thousands, not the one or two dozen he currently has. Someone who could get France and Germany to send troops to Iraq should have no trouble organizing a campaign office. But like former Vice President Gore in 2000, Kerry has had to make at least two major shakeups, and there are still several weeks to go.
This made me think of Hugh Hewitt's comments the day John Edwards became Kerry's running mate. Hugh said something like, "The first big decision of his campaign and he fumbles it." Hugh argued that Edwards was too light and too similar compared to Gephardt and others.
Hugh's show regulars and many callers disagreed, saying that Edwards' youth, personality and oratory skills were a big plus to the candidate so obviously weak in these areas. But the jury is in: Edwards has turned out to be a bust. He draws no crowds, the press doesn't follow him, and he raises much less money than hoped. There was no poll bounce when he was named, nor after the convention, completely upstaged by a true master, former President Bill Clinton.
In other words, Hugh Hewitt was right. Channeling the unspoken thoughts of unborn children might work in a courtroom, but that's not the skill needed on the stage or out on the campaign trail.
I, too, thought Hugh Hewitt was wrong. We all had been fearing this silver-throated trial lawyer for almost four years, and he had largely lived up to his press in the Primaries. A little more experience and he might have finessed Kerry for the nomination as everyone scrambled to pick up the Howard Dean pieces. Some Democrats wrung their hands, wishing they could somehow move Edwards to the top of the ticket, but it was too late for that.
So let me now personally acknowledge the veteran experience of the Commissioner of the Northern Alliance.
This made me think of Hugh Hewitt's comments the day John Edwards became Kerry's running mate. Hugh said something like, "The first big decision of his campaign and he fumbles it." Hugh argued that Edwards was too light and too similar compared to Gephardt and others.
Hugh's show regulars and many callers disagreed, saying that Edwards' youth, personality and oratory skills were a big plus to the candidate so obviously weak in these areas. But the jury is in: Edwards has turned out to be a bust. He draws no crowds, the press doesn't follow him, and he raises much less money than hoped. There was no poll bounce when he was named, nor after the convention, completely upstaged by a true master, former President Bill Clinton.
In other words, Hugh Hewitt was right. Channeling the unspoken thoughts of unborn children might work in a courtroom, but that's not the skill needed on the stage or out on the campaign trail.
I, too, thought Hugh Hewitt was wrong. We all had been fearing this silver-throated trial lawyer for almost four years, and he had largely lived up to his press in the Primaries. A little more experience and he might have finessed Kerry for the nomination as everyone scrambled to pick up the Howard Dean pieces. Some Democrats wrung their hands, wishing they could somehow move Edwards to the top of the ticket, but it was too late for that.
So let me now personally acknowledge the veteran experience of the Commissioner of the Northern Alliance.