John Kerry and John Edwards were on 60 Minutes tonight in their first TV interview as a couple.
A couple of observations: First, until I saw this interview, I lent little credence to the story that Edwards could steal the spotlight from Kerry, after all, only Kerry is running for president and who pays attention to running mates?
After watching the interview, I would suggest to the campaign that they never do another dual interview. Kerry is a smart guy, and so is Edwards, but there's no question that side by side Edwards is the one you watch. He talks like Bill Clinton, while Kerry talks like Lurch. Edwards even once put his hand on Kerry's arm to silence while he finished his answer. It was rather sad, actually.
So, note to Kerry-Edwards campaign: Keep these guys apart. Send Edwards on a tour of the South, and send Kerry in the other direction. Separately they could do wonders, but together it's death.
My second major observation after watching the interview is that the American Media has probably sunk to its lowest levels. It was astounding that 60 Minutes, our most respected and venerable news program, filled half of their show interviewing the challengers in one of the most contentious elections in our history, and didn't manage to raise one issue of substance.
Leslie Stahl asked them about charisma, about past votes, about how they like each other, but never once about how they would lead the country should they be elected. Throughout it all, I was hoping against hope that Kerry would call her on it.
My dream:
"Look Leslie, I'm running for President of the United States. Do you understand that? I'm not running to be everyone's dad, and I'm not running to be their drinking buddy. This is the hardest and most important job on earth and if you'll excuse me, I frankly couldn't care less what people think of my hair or my wife or my shoes or my bank account. It all misses the point, and as an esteemed member of the press, you should be ashamed of yourself for the questions you're asking us. I'm tired of being polite. When you start doing your job, you can ask me about mine."
Wouldn't that be awesome? I swear, people would vote for the guy who had the balls to say that.
The last part of the interview included the candidates' wives, as if they are in any way relevant. As they opened the shot, John Kerry and Theresa were rearranging their hands, trying to get comfortable and clearly not aware that the tape was rolling yet. Leslie's voice-over begins: "Look at the Kerrys' hands. You'd think this was their first interview together."
What the fuck is that, Leslie? What possible point were you trying to make?
In his inanae segment that closes the show, Andy Rooney took some shots at Theresa Heinz Kerry himself. He wanted to ask John Kerry if his wife "makes him nervous sometimes." He wanted to ask Edwards the same question, about Kerry's wife. He then put up a photo that appeared to catch Mrs. Kerry telling Edwards' son to take his thumb out of his mouth before a photo session.
Oh the horror! Can you imagine?! What nerve that woman has, giving instructions to someone else's child in the middle of a media circus! Is this the kind of woman we want married to the president? What if she tells your son or daughter to take their thumb out of their mouth? What's next? I'll tell you what's next: mandatory gay marriage, that's what.
Why can't she just stand there and -- if she has to talk -- say things that don't mean anything? Shouldn't she just be championing no-brainer issues like education and libraries? Doesn't she have some cooking to do?
Finally, I received the latest issue of The Week the other day. I like The Week because it gathers many sources and basically presents the competing sides of issues without taking sides (much). It's a good quick summary of the week's events, as advertised. There isn't a whole lot of depth, but if you only have time for one news magazine, it's not a bad choice.
This week, though, they had this cover:
I'll grant that it's a funny picture, but what I don't understand is why they're portraying Kerry as dead in the water -- literally -- and in need of a savior when he's been leading in most major polls for weeks. An incumbent president during a war has some of the worst poll numbers EVER, and somehow Kerry is already floundering? Attention The Week, you're on notice. Shape up, or I'll keep complaining.
