Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes: Kerry's idea of middle class

[Carolab]

"is if you don't belong to the country club".

I just gave him a piece of my mind. Told him he was FIRED.

Won't you join me? Here's a link: [email protected]

[Sean Reynolds]

1. And Bush's idea of lower class.....the people that wash his clothes...

Cook his food...wipe his ass....drive his cars...

[RevCheesehead]

15. and pay his salary (let's make that a pension ASAP!)

[fugue]

2. It's so sad . . .

I used to like Andy Rooney.

Everyone point out the Bush clip with the "haves and have mores." (I still don't get why the Kerry campaign doesn't run an ad with that. . . .)

[Booster]

3. Just sent him an email asking if he knew whether or not

Bush was playing golf at country clubs and to compare how many times we've seen Bush swinging a golf club versus Kerry. Thanks for the link, it was fun.

[flygal]

31. Exactly!!! I'll take a surfer any day over a golfer.

[goju]

4. Rooney is supporting Kerry

Dont forget that Rooney is a supporter. He might not always fawn all over Kerry but at least he is voting for him.

[JohnKleeb]

24. Is he? good on him, I do like and respect a lot of what he has to say

[madrchsod]

5. i don`t get it...what`s the problem

am i right that rooney said middle class people don`t belong to a country club?

[CAcyclist]

26. No that's not what he said

I didn't get a negative vibe from what he said - I thought he was being positive for Kerry.

How I interpreted it is that he was saying Bush was for the very rich and Kerry was for the middle class, which Kerry thinks is everyone except the very rich.

People are free to disagree with me - maybe I missed something, but please do not write a bunch of angry emails to Rooney if you haven't heard the thing. It's easy to misunderstand things. If you heard Rooney and still think you should write a protest email, be my guest.

[SoCalDem]

6. My e-mail to him

Dear Mr. Rooney,

I know you thought you were being funny, but I hope you realize how important the upcoming election is, and how off-the-cuff remarks like you made tonight are NOT funny. The facts are these:

Bush and Kerry are BOTH rich men. Bush is probably richer, because though Kerry is married to a billionaire, there is a prenuptial agreement in force , so HER wealth will be her children's NOT his, should something happen to her.

Bush is a very secretive guy, and through family connections, he has a tidy sum awaiting him.

I will lose NO sleep worrying about the futures of either man.

The thing that bothers me is the snide way you refer to the "middle class" , as if a rich person could NEVER understand our lives.

Here is another fact..

Sen. Kerry is wealthy, but I know that he is acutely aware of our troubles, and cares very much about trying to make our lives better, if he can..

George Bush knows about us too, but he ONLY cares about tax cuts and goodies to his rich pals..

Will either one really "solve our problems"?.. Probably not, but I feel that a democrat, ANY democrat will be 100% better at TRYING to help.

You say you are an independent...well then ACT like one.. If you feel compelled to trash Kerry, please...at least acknowledge the fact that Bush is even less likely to "understand" middle class.

And.. I do know that the Bush "kids" were raised "middle class" in Texas...but.. when there is a huge financial safety net "available" to the family, that is NOT middle class.. Ever see "The Truman Show"?.. George Bush, the father raised his family in such a manner so that he would appeal to the "locals" when he ran for office.

George Bush, the lesser, followed suit with the reconstituted pig farm in Crawford..

It's all for show..

[Carolab]

7. I also reminded him

that Kerry was raised MIDDLE CLASS and was essentially broke in 1995 when he married Teresa (was sleeping at friends' homes).

I also mentioned that his comment reminded me of Ann Coulter's snide remark that Kerry ran his campaign on his wife's money. WRONG!!! He got money from US, Ann.

[CAcyclist]

27. Did you watch the show?

Did you watch the show because how you read all that into what Rooney said is just beyond me. Please tell me what I am missing.

[SoCalDem]

28. I did watch it.. and basically the message he sent was.."Why even vote"

I know he's the "comic relief", but this election is not one bit funny.

I am getting rather annoyed with ALL the comedians, and the lame jokes they make.. It must baffle foreigners to see how "funny" this election is shaping up to be.

[high density]

8. ????

I thought Rooney's piece was pretty funny. Chill out people.

[HarrietBrown]

12. Rooney also said something about Bush's lack of brains--he balanced

comments back and forth about each candidate and Kerry came out WAY ahead of Bush. Check out the transcript when it's out-- I think we can give Andy a break on this one!

[Robbie67]

9. This was the guy who slammed Bush last week

I don't have the links handy but no one was saying he should curb his words then.

It really troubles me that some people don't understand why this election is so close.

[Carolab]

14. The difference is

Bush is really stupid. Kerry does not view the middle class in this manner--or does he?

I'm a bit disturbed, to be completely honest, about a remark Kerry made last spring--"make no mistake, I am not a redistribution Democrat"--at a $25,000 a plate dinner in D.C. Is this a little like Bush's "haves and have mores"? Or am I just reading it wrong? I also read that Kerry's idea of helping the middle class is to focus on training programs to help people get jobs, and that providing tax incentives to companies to stay in the U.S., or to stop outsourcing, is ineffective.

But still, these comments about Kerry's wealth really bother me, probably because Bush's wealth is such ill-gotten gain, whereas Kerry merely married well.

So is Andy more right than wrong? Do I owe him an apology?

[Arkana]

10. Andy Gooney can bite my shiny metal ass.

[RinaJ]

11. What am I missing?

It reads kind of funny (ha ha) to me, but not offensive. :shrug:

[Gin]

13. it wasn't offensive to Kerry......it was more of a bush bash....

g

[phish420]

17. I kinda have to agree with him

Most middle class people do NOT belong to a country club. I am no where NEAR even CONTEMPLATING joining a country club. Shit, if I had to go to the hospital or my car breaks down and needs major repair, I am financially RUINED. Country Club? HA!

[sandnsea]

21. Me too

Definitely NOT part of the country club crowd, wouldn't want to be anyway. I wanted to watch it, west coast time, but the little rug rats wanted that danged candy!! I think he was trying to put income into language every person would understand. Because Republicans imply country club people are middle class, which leaves working people feeling totally left out.

[Psephos]

16. Relax...and keep your powder dry for when you need it

If you're keeping score, Rooney disses Bush about five times for every time he critiques Kerry.

Rooney may claim he's an independent, but he's sure ACTED like a donk throughout this election. Although I know that at this late moment in the campaign, we all are a bit twitchy, I kindly suggest not alienating the man.

Above everything else, Rooney is a self-styled crotchety old curmudegeon - that's his schtick, and he cultivates it very consciously. So relax, have a laugh or two. Good for the soul, and even better for the cause. Save your ammo for the genuine vipers.

[Kimber Scott]

18. Doesn't Andy Rooney make sarcastic remarks a lot? I mean, isn't he

supposed to be kind of funny?

[phish420]

19. PEAD is making people lose their sense of humor

I have been guilty of it several times today....
...lack of sleep, high anxiety...I feel much more calm now, because I have come to the realization and acceptance that Kerry WILL win by a landslide. Until that realization sets in with the rest here, there will be jokes and sarcasm that flies right past people and will be taken too seriously...its all good.

Relax people...
Kerry will get 300+ EVs.
Trust me.

[Kimber Scott]

23. What's PEAD? Pre-Election Attitude Disorder? LOL! nt

[Johnny 99]

20. Ever since Rooney trashed female sideline reporters

I haven't given two shits what he's had to say.

[TrustingDog]

22. his idiotic anti-france bandwagon thing did it for me.

[CAcyclist]

25. Why?

I am not sure that's a bad thing for him to say. Am I missing something here? I took it to mean that Kerry puts everyone in the middle class except the wealthy elite.

[NAO]

29. Kerry says 'middle class' b/c it's political suicide to say help the poor

Thanks to Reagan and his heirs, even the poor are riled up and angry at "freeloaders" and "moochers".

You can't say you are going to help the poor or address poverty, so you have to talk in terms of the middle class.

Don't say lift people out of poverty, talk about helping people 'make it into the middle class'.

Don't say prevent downward slides into poverty, talk about 'helping people stay in the middle class'.

Once you use the "p" word, either p word, you are DOOMED.

[LittleClarkie]

30. Kerry's been getting this crap since the first Senate race

Dagnabit, his roots are more middle class than Bush's. He had rich relatives who helped him get into good schools. He was NOT a rich kid. They should be aiming this crap at Bush, not Kerry.

[incapsulated]

32. Oh, leave Andy alone...

He bashes Bush all the time, he hates his guts. He's voting Kerry.

He's got a show to do, that's all. It's a bad joke, so what.

Priorities, people...