Political Botox…

It really looks like they’re going to kiss, doesn’t it? I mean, they might as well…

So Senator John Kerry finally decided on a running mate. If you saw the early edition of the New York Post, they ran with the story that Dick Gephardt was the pick. They even ran a front page reminiscent of “Dewey Defeats Truman,” saying that “The Shadow” was to be the Democrat running mate.
Looks like they were as wrong as I was, unfortunately.
I’d said several times in Quick Hits especially that Sen. Richard Gephardt of Missouri would be the Vice Presidential pick. He was the logical choice based on his tenure in the party, his leadership in the Senate, and his experience in Washington. As far as politics and leadership, Gephardt has qualities and items on his resume that John Edwards simply doesn’t have.
A few months back, it was rumored that John Kerry had received Botox injections to help hide the lines in his forehead. For those of you who are unaware, Botox is a trade name for botulinum toxin A. In this way, Botox is related to botulism–a form of food poisoning that occurs when someone eats something containing a neurotoxin produced by a particular kind of bacteria. The most serious symptom of botulism is paralysis, which in some cases has proven to be fatal.
By skipping over Gephardt, Kerry has given his campaign a shot of “political Botox” in the form of John Edwards.
I mean, let’s face it…he’s a good looking guy and has great charisma. He really knows how to work a crowd. He’s got a great smile. He can get a cogent message across. He seems to have all the intangible qualities that make him a decent running mate. Therein lies the rub.
John Edwards is a decent running mate, there’s no doubt about it. He is, however, terribly unqualified to be the Vice President of the United States. This means he is also ill-prepared to take over as President according to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. The question is then called: what are John Edwards’ qualifications to be the Vice President?
Well, he’s a United States Senator. OK…he’s a neophyte United States Senator. Edwards is in his first term as Senator from North Carolina. Since joining the Senate in 1999, Edwards has been the primary sponsor on 74 bills–none of which have come out of Committee to a vote to become law.
This is his first term in any elected office and has not even been a regular voter. While running for the Senate in 1998, it was revealed that he’d only voted in 50% of the elections he was eligible to. That’s a hard sell for someone who wants to be the Vice President of the United States.
Alright here’s one I’ve heard a lot: Edwards has more foreign policy experience than George W. Bush had when he became President. OK…that may very well be true, but if he does it’s only because he sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Even then, sitting on a committee doesn’t mean he’s got experience at anything:

“One evening while he was campaigning for the Senate in North Carolina, Edwards was faced with a choice of several events he might attend. An advance man suggested, ‘Maybe we ought to go to the reception for Leah Rabin’ Edwards responded, ‘Who’s she?’ ‘Yitzhak Rabin’s widow,’ replied the aide. ‘Who was he?’ asked Edwards.” (Charles Peters, “Tilting At Windmills,” Washington Monthly, 6/1/03)

“Last week, Edwards offered vague answers in discussing U.S. policy toward Asia, and North and South Korea. Edwards said his approach would be ‘something different than what the administration has, which is almost a nonexistent policy.’ He also said Bush has ‘alienated a lot of the South Korean leadership.’” (Scott Martelle and Mark Z. Barabak, “Edwards Fumbles On Foreign Policy Answers,” Los Angeles Times, 2/24/04)

MSNBC’s CHRIS MATHEWS: “And back in the last presidential election, a Boston TV reporter, Andy Hiller, asked the president — presidential candidate George W Bush if he could name the four world leaders of four hot spots around the world. They were Chechnya, Taiwan, Pakistan, India. Do you think that was a fair set of questions to put to a guy running for president?”
EDWARDS: “No.”
MATTHEWS: “Do you think it would be a fair question to put to you right now?”
EDWARDS: “No. Absolutely not.”
MATTHEWS: “So you don’t want to go that route? That was the option you have. I have the answers here, if you wanted to try, but since you don’t want to try, we’ll move on. If you — Are you sure? You don’t want to answer these questions? I know you know at least one of them. You know who’s head of…”
EDWARDS: “Let’s don’t go there.”
(MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 10/13/03)
Those are just a few examples. Don’t believe what they tell you, Edwards has no foreign policy experience. He’s a freshman Senator. He’s brand new to this job.
So…no bills that have become law, no foreign policy experience, no leadership experience in the Senate, and a remarkably liberal voting record. Yeah…that’s balance on that ticket, huh, folks?
Like I said, he’s ready to be a running mate, but he’s hardly qualified to be the second most powerful person in the United States. Just think, John Kerry passed on years of real experience and leadership with Dick Gephardt to run with this guy and there were others who were far more qualified for the job.
Looking at his resume, he’s hardly the right guy for the job. John Edwards wasn’t put on this ticket for his abilities as a legislator. Edwards is here for his “Botox Quotient” to smooth out the wrinkles in the Kerry campaign. That’s all.
President Bush was asked about Kerry’s selection of Edwards today by a member of the White House Press Corps. The reporter noted that Edwards was being described as “charming, engaging, a nimble campaigner, a populist and even sexy” and then asked “How does he stack up against Dick Cheney?” the President immediately responded, “Dick Cheney can be President. Next?”
The press latched right on to the “pretty boy” qualities Senator Edwards possesses, but failed to ask something of substance, as usual.
Five words. That’s all it took. The President gave the issue all the substance it needed.
Kerry is proud of his decision, but he had better hope that his injection of “political Botox” doesn’t turn in to political botulism, proving fatal to his campaign.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com