While the cables do not differ dramatically from statements that Kerry, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has made publicly, they portray him as a statesman who is constantly seeking a middle ground and appearing to hold out hope that longtime foes of the United States — such as Syria and Iran — might be prodded into friendlier relations with the United States.The paragraph says "...portray him [Kerry] as a statesman...".
My dictionary on my computer says "a skilled, experienced, and respected political leader or figure." I will grant you that Wikipedia says "The words statesman or stateswoman are applied loosely to any head of state, any senior political figure, or anyone who in a given moment exhibits a certain quality of statesmanship."
My point is that Senator John Forbes Kerry is no statesman. I am assuming some editor stuck that in there and not the two reporters, who I think well of.
To make my point again, Senator Kerry is no S I Hayakawa, Professor, Senator and Statesman.
Language...is the indispensable mechanism of human life.... To be able to read and write...is to...learn to profit by and to take part in the greatest of human achievements—that which makes all other achievements possible—namely, the pooling of our experience in great cooperative stores of knowledge.... From the warning cry of primitive man to the latest scientific monograph or news bulletin, language is social. Cultural and intellectual cooperation is, or should be, the great principle of human life.♠He is not even, really, a George Lloyd Murphy, Performer, Director of Entertainment for the Inaugurations of both Eisenhower (both times) and Kennedy, Senator and Statesman.
Regards — Cliff
♠ From the month of August in my 2010 Rand Corporation Calendar.
In the case of Palin, I'm sure you stand to the side, simply commenting on the circus as it passes by.
ReplyDeleteYour "fascination" with John Kerry is much less open minded.
Governor Palin has her faults, and answering mail is one of them, just like Senator Kerry. The thing is, Mr Kerry is a Yale graduate and all that, and should know better. Heck, back in July I sent a letter to a Mr Peter Watson, author of The German Genius, via the publisher in New York, and today I got a response, par avion, that actually addressed the question.
ReplyDeleteI regret that my view of our senior senator is less than open minded. I am, I hope, open to changing my mind, but right now I rank the President of the US Senate ahead of him.
Regards — Cliff