Sound bytes

John Kerry had a really good sound byte yesterday. I don't think he intended for the world to hear what he said. According to NPR, Kerry didn't realize that his microphone was still on when he called his critics in the Republican Party "the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen," and when I heard him say that, it sounded like it was a private conversation, not part of a speech. His campaign stood by the statement when questioned later, and I applaud them for that. Unfortunately, he did back away when asked if it applied to Bush as well.

Of course, Marc Racicot, Dubya's campaign chair, immediately denounced the statement, saying, "Senator Kerry's statement today in Illinois was unbecoming of a candidate for the presidnecy of the United States of America..." The Bush campaign would know about "statement[s]...unbecoming of a candidate for the presidency..." Presidential candidate Bush made one himself four years ago, calling New York Times reporter Adam Clymer a "major league asshole," while he was unknowingly wearing a hot mic. Maybe it's just me, but I figure that calling someone an asshole is much more unbecoming than calling a group of liars for what they are.

UPDATE: According to this story on cnn.com, Kerry knew his microphone was still on. This reminds me of an episode on The West Wing when President Bartlet said something about his opponent in the upcomng race not having the brains to run the country to a reporter while the camera was running. It was brilliant, because it brought Bartlet's politically incorrect views out into the forefront, but in an unofficial way. This shows me that Kerry is ready to fight. Up until now, I knew that he wouldn't be a softy, but this proves to me that he has taken the best from Howard Dean's campaign in fighting back, but without the perceived bluster. I think that this was a perfect move. Time, of course, will tell.

Robert