It’s funny. I really didn’t like Al Gore and I’ve disliked Kerry for not particularly dissimilar reasons. Gore was a panderer, he was arrogant, aloof, he saw government as a solution to any problem etc etc. I think you can make a very similar case about Kerry, though I understand there are differences too, particularly on foreign policy.
Anyway, what I think is weird is that I’ve now spoken to a lot of liberal journalists a few professional DC Democrats and, of course, read a lot of negative stuff about Kerry in Slate, The New Republic and the Washington Post from the A-list of pro-Democratic scribblers. But pretty much all of these folks were adamantly pro-Gore and they are very down on Kerry. Now, some of this can be explained by Gore’s earlier incarnations as well as his closer relationship with the liberal establishment, particularly The New Republic. But from my vantage point I still find it kind of baffling that smart liberals could really like Al Gore and dislike Kerry, on ideological or personal grounds. I mean, I think I’m on solid ground when I say that most Republicans and conservatives in all honestly don’t see a lot of daylight between the two men ideologically or personally. What are these anti-Kerry liberals seeing that I’m not?