Tuesday, December 30, 2008

As a Candidate, Kennedy Is, You Know, but Elusive

On December 28, the New York Times front page included an article entitled "As a Candidate, Kennedy is Eloquent but Elusive". The online article linked to a 49-second audio clip in which Caroline Kennedy used the phrase "you know" 12 times. (Here's the complete transcript of the interview.) Later, the NYT quietly changed the online headline to "Forceful but Elusive". They also changed the word "eloquent" in the text of the article to "forceful" (link to altered article).

There is so much to say about this: What is the NYT doing changing the substance of articles without a correction notice? How in the world can this inexperienced society person be a serious contender for the US senate without an election? Are the authors and editors at the NYT in the pockets of the Kennedys?

The ever-delightful commenters at Gawker decided to start a game of MadLibs: Fill in the blank in "As a Candidate, Caroline Kennedy is ______ but Elusive." Some of the suggestions to date:

Inescapable
As a Candidate, Kennedy is Famous but Elusive
As a candidate, Kennedy is a frackin' actual living Kennedy and that should be enough, right? but elusive
Unavoidable
Caught-in-the-Headlights
Blonde
Intrusive
Shallow
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is, You Know, but Elusive
As a Candidate, Kennedy is Imperial and Eager to Ignore Your Questions (To Be Submitted In Writing 4 Weeks Prior) but Elusive
Toothy
Anything
Elitist but Elusive
Incoherent but Elusive
Bland but Elusive
Well-Funded but Elusive
Inexperienced but Elusive
Parochial but Elusive
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Confused and Off-putting
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Incoherent and Elusive
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Snarky and Elusive
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Verbose but Elusive
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Arrogant but Elusive
As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Obtrusive but Elusive
Her eloquence is elusive.
Strangely Palin-esque but elusive.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You, Caroline Kennedy, are no Hillary Clinton.

Jack Reylan said...

Avenge Sarah Pailin by Trashing Caroline Kennedy! Blame professulas whose posh pensions graze on stumbent loan interest from vacuous degrees in basket weaving commie nutty organizing. Turn grant grubbing blatherers into fuel, especially perverts like mayor crotch who gas for obsama zbin biden. Your islamosympathic gutterswabbing clothing and pierced privates spread diesease. If you weren't such baby killing, vermin snuggling perverts you wouldn't be driving up our health costs, then collecting disability for your commie nutty organizing dementia. Your passive aggressive labor unions grab our guns, cars (congestion pricing), balls (SONDA), wallets, and homes but we will grab your throats and dang you from trailer bone tolls. Apply Sarbanes Oxley to non-profits! Repeal the seventeenth amendment before any VAT. All the homeless are drugged out hippies. Second Amendment is the ONLY Homeland Security. Wait until we waste all your stumbent subprimes, so you need to sell your affectation glutton art and work instead of diverting tution and Y2K scams to soviet freezeniks! Deport for multiple visits to same country. If you controlled your own pension neither your boss nor the government could abuse it. Lynch soviet wealth fund abbetting aghadhimmic peakies when oil plummets! Parasites complain about salaries but pig out with benefits. Global warming is a grant grubbing extortion racket. Urban sprawl annoys terrorists. Hazards and pollution stem mostly from mandates. Aqua volte! This land wasn't build by bullocraps.

Yappa said...

Hunh?

Anonymous said...

"As a Candidate, Kennedy is Effluvial* but Elusive"

*Fancy word for farty.

PS: I wrote this comment before. It appeared here as if it had been accepted, but then it disappeared.

Northern PoV said...

any criticism of Caroline is simply sexism!

Yappa - this would be your comment if you were consistent

(and it would be as meaningless as your earlier Hillary/Palin comments were - those that it was consistent with)

;-)

Yappa said...

Hi Northern PoV -

How nice of you to remember! But I don't automatically support any female candidate and decry any criticism of female candidates; I only object to sexist critism. Although I have to admit that there has been some difference of opinion about what criticism is sexist...

This Caroline Kennedy thing has brought out all sorts of horror stories about how people get into the US congress and state governments, and there are way too many appointments of unqualified people with recognizable last names. It's shameful. I don't count Hillary because she was very qualified and also she got in by election, but I could see why some people were troubled even by her.

I now understand why Caroline Kennedy has the gall to think she should get the senate seat - that's the system. She isn't remotely qualified and she doesn't need to be. It's rotten.