Hey did you see this link from Peter Daou's page on Salon

[TayTay]

http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2006/01/why_the_long_fa.html

Geez, that's, ahm, depressing. And what the heck does does dysphoric mean. (Cuz, that wasn't the guy we had a beer with in Boston. He was pretty friggin lively, if you ask me.)

[ProSense]

1. Interesting analysis.

I did notice that about the photos after the vote too. The photos show that Kerry was fighting his heart out. This one is not so bad:

[Mass]

2. The other theme of the pictures I saw was that Kerry was alone,

pushing the theme (may be true) that Democrats were mad at him.

[sandnsea]

3. dysphoric????

:eyes: good lord. Ladies, we definitely need to get "out" more and that post is screaming for a haiku. Dysphoric. What an idiot. In a post about the media imparting impressions, the writer doesn't recognize why he's got his own impressions. :banghead:

I am unhappier with the disarray on DU today than the filibuster vote. I'm beginning to think we're bound to never make real progress in this country, too much discontent that is easily manipulated.

[wisteria]

4. Oh gosh, a little to much being made out of some pictures.

Kerry looks glum in a couple of pictures.So what. I think they convey a well fought loss. Kerry had a lot on the line, and he did what he thought was right, but still it's lonely taking an unpopular stand inside your party. In the others he looks good and is smiling. Now that had to be hard to do. I have a feeling- just a hunch now- that Kerry takes things very personally. I think this is what makes him so caring and passionate a politician.
There may be something to the picture distortions and certain portrayals of Kerry as a loner.

[beachmom]

5. Well, based on that staffer e-mail included in another thread

He really IS alone now (as far as the Democratic caucus). On a personal level, he has lots of friends, but as far as the D.C. elite crowd and the pundits and the reporters and his own colleagues, he's decidedly on the outside. I watched my tape from last night, and he was just fine on the Senate floor talking with others, very animated, putting his hand on his heart like he is known to do. But at the end of the day, it was just him, you know. I mean we all have our moods. JK was in a good mood meeting all of you folks in Boston and in a decidedly, not so good a mood when the votes didn't go his way yesterday. He's human. He shows his feelings. Maybe he can give Laura * a few tips on that!!

[kerrygoddess]

9. What staffer email?

What thread?

[emulatorloo]

14. here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x280092

[karynnj]

10. The real question is whether or not that has been true since 11/03/04

I did not read or hear a single DC pundit or reporter who ever gave him the slightest break. Consider how every Bush mistake disappears and no one seems to remember. JK is constantly described in negative terms, when they obviously don't fit, yet others they do fit are never called that. I really don't understand it.

It's interesting that no one is saying that Kennedy is all alone. He was in this as much as Kerry. The other thing is the argument makes no sense. What was lost?

If it were the other way around, that Reid had enough people to filibuster, but Kerry revolted and pulled a sufficient number away to destroy a filibuster, that would be valid - he would have eliminated a victory (hopefully for good reason). I honestly think the "victory" they describe that Reid keeps 95% of the caucus in line as they lose 58 - 42 is a REEEEEAAAAL inside the beltway victory. What I would think with that results is why didn't they filibuster. Reid's and the gang of 14's wonderful compromise looks really useless from our point of view.

I hope this is a temporary reaction - which I suspect it is because of the observations that Senators were coming up - even those who voted against it - to greet Kerry. I would suspect, that deep in their souls, some of these people triangulating and being political, respected the brilliant speeches and logical arguments Kerry made and his integrity. They might well consider his stiff necked integrity to be a political liability that he has. (Think about it would Bill Clinton ever take a high profile position on the side of an issue with almost no chance of success? ) It may well be but remember in the hatred after the election when Kerry went to the funeral, so many comments on the Kos board talked about his fundamental decency and that when you looked at his career he almost always did the right thing (rather than the popular thing).

[Mass]

12. There has been in the past many reports that there were clashes

between Kerry and some senators (included Reid). All the reports I have read were largely based on the notion that Reid was waiting for the Repugs to make an error and that Kerry (and others, but they are never blamed) wanted to be more proactive. We heard that for the Social Security, we heard that for Iraq (and it was more or less confirmed by Feingold on the Senate floor blasting the Democrats for doing nothing, then commending Kerry (and a couple others) for their leadership on the issue- apparently, Reid won on this one as Feingold stopped promoting his solution and Kerry stopped also doing that except when he was making personnal speeches).

Of course, there is no way to be sure that these reports were accurate. However, linked with the report today, it is possible that Kerry is one of those who try to bug the Senate leadership to DO SOMETHING and that this is bothering some people (particularly other people who want to run and dont like him to stay in the forefront).

I am sure he has seen a lot of these powerplays since he has been in the Senate and he is used to them, but he has also sometimes let see his disappointment about Washington and the Senate (remember his speech when Corzine left and he said he nearly envy him).

[Mass]

11. Dont take the alone too litterally

There were a small number of senators who were in agreement with the filibuster. It is certain that he has PO Reid, Schumer, and other Democrats who eventually decided to vote for the filibuster (count Biden, Clinton in the bunch).

I cant find the text of the email that somebody posted on GD, but it reflects the same thing as rollcall.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2426194&mesg_id=2426194

[karynnj]

6. It's also a case of someone using words they truely don't understand

Peter Daou is not, at least to my knowledge, a psychologist, psychiatrist or someone in the related fields. No one who knows anyone who has been depressed or suffered from an anxiety disorder would ever think of using that word to describe John Kerry. I think the word is used for the range between "normal" and clinically depressed. (Disclaimer: my mother-in-law and some of my kids have struggled with depression. I remember with chagrin, innocently suggesting in college to a depressed friend that a few hours of Beatles music would help - after all, it always helped me.)

Look at his reaction to losing. He immediately returned to the Senate, took a long ME and European trip to increase his knowledge for the SFRC, indicated he didn't rule out trying again almost defiantly saying others hadn't tried, and he sent the email he wrote trying to console us and to ask that we stay involved and keeping working for what we believe in as he would. These are actions utterly inconsistent with any depressed person I have ever known. I think the weeble analogy you and whome suggested seems more what I see through the filter media and DU reports.

I think that what might be true is that, in spite of being a very private person, he does show his feelings more than many politicians. If he would have been grinning and looking happy after the certainty that Alito was going to be confirmed, I would have been very disturbed because I would doubt that he meant a word of what he was saying in the last week. That he would take this loss to heart makes sense - especially as he (with a bit of luck or better voting machines) would have prevented. That he took on this thankless long shot may even have to do with a sense of responsibility to at least try.

The other thing is the transparency works the other way too - in Oct 2004, one thing that was common to all his appearances (even as he got huge crowds multiple times a day) was that when he first was thanking the crowd, he looked almost like he couldn't believe it (a bit of shyness or modesty) then for the rest of the event his face just glowed and his smiles were incredible.

I do agree that in part it is his face. Just as his looks and his voice made him instantly look and sound Presidential - contrast at the other extreme Kuchinich - they also seem to make him normally look serious. Until he starts smiling - which changes his whole face.

I wonder how closely he worked with Kerry on his campaign. So, you guys seemed to think he was happy.
(If all of you thought he was happy - he probably was.)

[kerrygoddess]

8. Peter Daou did not write that

Someone else did. Peter linked to it. The writer: Michael Shaw (otherwise know as "The BAG") "has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, attended an M.F.A. program in creative writing, and possesses a few assembly language programming certificates besides." - http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2004/01/_about_me_.html

I sure as hell don't aggree with dysophoric and do think that as someone with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Shaw should know full well that people who are percieved to "solitary" or loners are often misconstrued as being unhappy or depressed (dysophoric), but that is not always the case. particularly when it comes to JK. Kerry's a thinker, he's always thinking, if Shaw has studied him indepth, as he says in the piece, he should recognize that Kerry is often seen alone photos of him reflect a man in deep thought. He windsurfs because he is undisturbed and can be free to think in that environment, in touch with nature.

Aside from Shaw's tacky terminology he's correct in the way the MSM displays JK through photos. The purposely seem to tru to show in the worst possible light sometimes which is something that should be noted and should be addressed. It's just more of the MSM distorting who JK is.

[karynnj]

13. Thanks for correcting my mistake -

The photo analysis makes a large amount of sense and was pretty interesting. I do think the media also picked the less flattering shots. Oddly, I think they did this more with Teresa. Teresa has looked elegant and lovely in almost every picture of her since the election. Many pictures used repeatedly in the press during the election made her look annoyed or angry. I was very surprised at when I first found the Kerry blog, at a point where I was already firmly for Kerry was that 1) He was much better looking than I thought from the pictures in the media and 2) he was funnier and nicer than I would have thought. You bloggers did a great job humanizing the Kerrys and the Edwards.

Shaw has a very interesting set of interests.

(It will show my age - but isn't this the same thing as people thinking Ringo Starr looked sad in 1964 - to which he answered a million times that it was just his face. )

[ray of light]

7. I think it's a great analysis of how they used pictures to

create the image they wanted. And pictures are not something someone can guard themselves against. You don't walk around with a smile all day. You certainly have instances when you are introverted, thinking, lonely, happy, euphoric, etc; however, this article spoke about the choices the media makes in picking their pictures. I think it was a valuable point.