Dec 22 media coverage of SoS appointment [View all]
Mixed bag, as always. I know, I shouldn't be surprised after closely following the usually maddening coverage of Sen. Kerry over the last decade or so, but, nevertheless, I continue to be astonished how Beltway and Media "wisdom" (not) continues to base judgments on superficial criteria, and how many still don't get who this man is. I'm especially frustrated and befuddled by the number of people who misunderstand and mischaracterize John Kerry's reserve and dignity as "aloof", and mistakenly conclude, from his civilized demeanor, that he is less "progressive" than more raucous voices. That's why I was so happy to see the David Ignatius article and its approving citation in the American Prospect article. (See other threads in this group). But it's still all too rare. In the 2000 election, some commentator (was it Hendrik Hertzberg?), noting the superficial issues in the Gore-Bush race, said something like , If Bush wins, the election of the president of the United States would be reduced to the superficiality of the presidency of the Student Council. That pretty much summarizes (with a few welcome exceptions) the press corps these days. And it's adults like Kerry who suffer from the junior-high press coverage the most.
Today's Globe coverage . . http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012/12/22/kerry-familiar-face-the-world-stage/qGcu9Az4zk21O5HkZE6VlI/story.html
(There are also more stories on Globe website on the senate, race, etc)
Italics are mine.
While Kerry has tamped down diplomatic fires for Obama, he has stepped ahead of the administration on a handful of crises. He joined McCain as an early proponent of a more aggressive policy toward Libya, pushing for using military forces to impose a ‘‘no-fly zone’’ over Libya as Moammar Gadhafi’s forces killed rebels and citizens.He was one of the early voices calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down as the revolution roiled the nation last year.That independent voice may be tempered once he takes over as the administration’s top diplomat.
. . .
During his tenure, Kerry has pushed for reducing the number of nuclear weapons, shepherding a U.S.-Russia treaty through the Senate in December 2010, and has cast climate change as a national security threat, joining forces with Republicans on legislation that faced too many obstacles to win congressional passage.
He has led delegations to Syria and met a few times with President Bashar Assad, now a pariah in U.S. eyes after months of civil war and bloodshed as the government looks to put down a people’s rebellion. Figuring out an end-game for the Middle East country would demand all of Kerry’s skills.
. . .
But Kerry (during 2004 campaign) was pounded by the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, a group that made unsubstantiated claims challenging Kerry’s war record of a Silver Star, a Bronze Star for combat valor and three Purple Hearts. His candidacy also was dogged by his anti-war stance in April 1971 when he testified before the committee he would later chair and famously asked, ‘‘How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?’’
. . .
‘‘I arrived in Islamabad, I think, five days after Ray Davis had been taken into a jail in the Punjab and was at very real risk of being hauled out of the jail and lynched,’’ Coons (Sen. Coons, DE) said. ‘‘Sen. Kerry was about to show up and negotiate on behalf of the administration. And it was clear that both the diplomats and the military folks we met with viewed him as a real man of credibility and experience who was likely to contribute meaningfully to those negotiations.’’
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