More Donk Debate Reactions

John Derbyshire at The Corner - DON'T ASK ME

Watched the debate in repeat late last nite from the bottom of a deep happy well, having spent the previous 3 hrs scarfing down a Chinese New Year banquet with lots of that clear Chinese liquor you can use for cleaning out grease traps.

Let's see: Edwards knows squat about Islam, Clark is agnostic about whether my President is a "deserter," Sharpton doesn't know what the Federal Reserve Board is, Kucinich wants to pay my kids' college fees (you know, from out of that big brass-bound chest in the White House basement, the one labeled GOVERNMENT MONEY), Dean has a cold, Kerry served in Vietnam, Lieberman mnghhh.

Please don't make me write about the debate Kathryn.

John Ellis provides his take and an interesting discussion of the press view of Kerry - The Kerry Nightmare

Veteran reporters and commentators who watched last night's debate in New Hampshire agree that Kerry emerged unscathed and therefore the winner (in political terms). Clark was awful, Dean was qualudian, Edwards reinforced the idea that he's not quite ready for prime time and Sharpton was (and is) a fool.

So the take-away was Kerry is going to win the New Hampshire primary. If he does, then all the money will start flowing his way and it will be very hard to deny him the nomination.

This is a grim prospect for the veteran reporters/columnists. I would venture to guess that 85% of them would vote against Bush in virtually every hypothetical (save Sharpton). But I would also guess that 85% of them can't stand Kerry. So their mood is sour.

Why don't they like Kerry? Because they think he's a pompous phony. The new phrase making the rounds is "Gulfstream populist" (his wife, Theresa, owns a private plane). And they're tired of the whole Vietnam shtick. They heard it in his Congressional race back in the seventies, in the race against Ray Shamie in 1984, in the race against Weld in 1996 and they're hearing it again in Iowa and New Hampshire. And they're just sick to death of it and of him.

The French guy served in Vietnam? Who knew?