Kerry Insults the South

You thought Governor Dean was in trouble for offending the South, I think Senator Kerry may have steeped in what may not be 10WD40.

The headline reads: "Kerry Blasts Bush's Daytona 'Photo Op'"

Kerry, who has a commanding lead in the race to oppose Bush this fall, chided the president for taking time out Sunday to attend the Daytona 500, saying the country was bleeding jobs while he posed for a "photo opportunity." Bush had donned a racing jacket to officially open NASCAR's most prestigious event in front of some 180,000 fans. "We don't need a president who just says, `Gentlemen start your engines'," Kerry said. "We need a president who says, `America, let's start our economy and put people back to work."

The implication that anything is more important than NASCAR will fall on some deaf ears. For myself, I think the Senator may sound a little pompous and boring, but maybe I'm just partisan (yawn).

UPDATE: John Fund agrees in the OpinionJournal's Political Diary:

...compounded yesterday by Mr. Kerry's bizarre decision to trash Mr. Bush for an appearance in Daytona that was obviously hugely welcome by fans and participants alike.

Mr. Bush never fails to be lucky in his choice of opponents. First it was Ann Richards, then Al Gore and now John Kerry. Mr. Bush always ends up with rivals who can't cure themselves of an urge to express contempt for him personally in ways that register (rightly) as contempt for millions of voters too. Telescoping Mr. Bush's recent difficulties into troubled re-election prospects may be premature after all. Mr. Kerry is already grotesquely overplaying his Vietnam credentials, likely to boomerang in the fall. Now, in a mood of premature triumphalism, he seems intent on turning himself into a blue-state snob too.

Posted by jk at February 16, 2004 03:01 PM