Arrogance and distance

Remember when Kerry spilled on the slopes and was asked about it at the bottom? His response was to blame that son of a b#*$& Secret Service agent that cut him off. "I don't fall (or spill or whatever)," he concluded. I thought that episode was the high watermark of arrogance for Bullwinkle. But no .....

So W is riding his bike and falls. In the article, Kerry has a concluding sympathetic line.

But (Paul Harvey voice-over), now, it's time for the rest of the story.

Drudge is reporting (yes, a little bit of a contradiction in terms - but even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while), that the immediate response of Kerry came as follows: President fell off bike today... Kerry told reporters in front of cameras, 'Did the training wheels fall off?'... Reporters are debating whether to treat it is as on or off the record... Developing... "

Whether it is true or not is an interesting issue. Because it seems so consistent with Bullwinkle's persona that it is immediately thought of as probable. From the "I don't own any SUVs, my family does" to being subjected to the sagging breasts of his daughter in the south of France - the more we get to know this guy, the less and less he seems like one of us.

We are here; Kerry is over there. Viewed from a distance, he is palatable, perhaps even likeable. Viewed up close: he wears too much of both baby powder and cologne; his shoes shine because they are always new; his teeth are white but his breadth has an underlying rancid quality that he constantly battles with both spray and Tic Tacs.

Now we are beginning to find out something: you can't make silk out of a sow's ear.