Analyzing Kerry

James Lileks has what I think is the most accurate assessment of John Kerry I’ve seen:

So why does Kerry want to be president?

The reason is almost tautological: John Kerry wants to be president because he is John Kerry, and John Kerry is supposed to be president. Hence his campaign’s flummoxed and tone-deaf response to the swift boat vets. Ban the books, sue the stations, retreat, attack. Underneath it all you can sense the confusion. How dare they attack Kerry? He’s supposed to be president. It’s almost treason in advance.

I think he’s onto something here. I think Kerry has always viewed himself as a sure thing. The Democrats clearly believe that the general electorate hates Bush as much as they do. They don’t have to offer solutions themselves, all they have to show is that John Kerry is an acceptable alternative. Hence the military posturing at the convention – it’s not a matter of Kerry having strong policies, it’s that Kerry himself is strong.

The problem with that is that the American public doesn’t harbor the same hatred of Bush that the Democrats do. They like George W. Bush as a person, even if they disagree with his policies. They don’t care that Kerry served in Vietnam. A lot of people served in Vietnam. Cousin Fred served in Vietnam, and you wouldn’t want Cousin Fred as President. Just being in the military doesn’t make you a better President. It doesn’t make you wiser or better able to handle politics.

For all Kerry’s talk of “nuance” his convention had none. His posturing with the flag and his “band of brothers” was about as subtle as Courtney Love. More than that, it was inauthentic. Nobody really believes that John Kerry is the type to sit around and drink beers at the VFW – more like drinking French champaign at the yacht club. It was an attempt to put on the façade of strength without actually changing policy.

That is precisely Kerry’s problem. Certainly all politicians are self-serving to some degree. But Kerry is one of those people, like Al Gore, who seem to assume that they have some right to the Presidency. I think the reason for Kerry’s reaction to the Swift Boat Vet controversy is because it has shattered the façade he has tried so hard to create. John Kerry is a war hero – and anyone who challenges that view has to be dealt with. I have a feeling that much of this is coming from the candidate and not his campaign staff.

The problem is that Americans tend to dislike patricians, career politicians, and opportunists. Kerry’s beliefs are whatever will get him elected. Bush’s beliefs are based on what he believes – even if it’s politically inconvenient. Given the choice between a patrician empty suit and a man who has far more resonance with the common people, the advantage will always go to the latter.

Those who approach the Presidency from a sense of entitlement tend not to do well, a testiment to the common sense of the American voter.