Every Picture Tells A Story, Don't it: Kerry 'n' Edwards vs. Bush 'n' Dick

[Plaid Adder]

Catwoman started a thread yesterday comparing the image of Kerry and Edwards together with the image of Bush and Cheney together, making the point that Kerry and Edwards are vastly more pleasant to look at. THis is true, and sadly it probably will matter; but looking at the picture of K&E on the front of the execrable rag Red Streak (a Chicago thing trying to snag young people who, in their view, don't have time to, like, read text) I was thinking that we're gonna win the image war in another important way:

Edwards looks younger than Kerry, but not by all that much. So Kerry gets some elder-statesman points, but on the whole they look like peers. Bush and Cheney are probably not that much farther apart in age, but they have a real father/son thing going on--and in the wrong direction. Cheney always looks like Bush's overprotective parent. So in our image, Kerry looks like the leader of the team, which he should; in theirs, Bush looks like he's brought his dad to his graduation.

Also, Edwards seems to have the effect of making Kerry look more animated and excited. It's about all Cheney can do to keep himself from looking like the corpse at a funeral. He's got two modes: sinister, and bored. That's not helping anyone on his team.

Kerry and Edwards both look healthy, although you wouldn't say Kerry looks youthful, ever. Cheney looks like he's had about one more bypass than he's actually gone through, and it may be me, but I think Bush is looking worse and worse these days. Meanwhile, Kerry is not ever going to win a smiling contest, but Edwards very well could. Bush's smile is a smirk and Cheney's is a grimace. Advantage us.

None of this, of course, has any bearing on who will be better at running the country. However, since the American voters have pretty much established that that's not what they vote for, it's just as well we have some of the superficial bullshit factor on our side.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[hippiegranny]

1. yep, might as well cash in on the superficial

'cause you know it's gonna play. i definitely think we've got all the marbles in this round of play. john and john vs. who's your daddy?