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Convention as Farce - Kerry’s delay tactic

NRO-Jim Geraghty: During a long campaign, a lot of good and bad ideas get tossed around, and some of them are destined to regrettable. Putting Mike Dukakis in a tank. Walter Mondale promising to raise taxes.

The plan for John Kerry's non-nomination nomination may someday be remembered on that list of infamy.

Democrats are publicly saying it's a great idea — to delay the acceptance of his nomination as the Democratic party's man for the White House.

Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman: Only John Kerry could be for a nominating convention, but be against the nomination. This is just the latest example of John Kerry's belief that the rules are for other people, not for him.

BOSTON (AP): Boston business owners and residents reacted angrily when police announced plans to close nearly 40 miles of major roads around Boston's FleetCenter, site of the convention.

"It's going to make a mockery out of the nomination process for the Democratic Party," Boston City Councilor James M. Kelly told the Globe.

He predicted "frustration and anger" among city residents and convention delegates who find, on top of traffic jams, that their part in history has been taken from them.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino advised Kerry to "Do what everybody else has done in the past. Just do it. Just get it done."

The Washington Post's David Broder: "What's going on is money, money, money, I have to say that we used to blame Republicans as being the party where money really drove everything.

It's the Democrats that are allowing money to drive everything. They moved up the primary campaign dates so that they could have more time in the spring to raise money.

It is ridiculous. They are destroying institution after institution of political significance by this preoccupation with chasing money."

William Safire, called the plan "the stupidest move that John Kerry could possibly make."...Can you imagine John Kerry getting up and saying, 'Thank you for that nomination. I'll accept it in a month'? It's going to ring hollow.

The Washington Post, "Convention As Farce," mocked the concept with dry humor: "We do look forward to his non-acceptance speech."

The television networks are now asking serious questions about just why the networks should even bother to cover the convention, if it's just a four-day party.

Wall Street Journal write that the Kerry plan exposes two truths: that the party conventions are now little more than free advertising vehicles, and campaign-finance limits are a monumental farce.

The press has spoken. What will it be, Senator, the media or the money?

Meet The Press Transcript for May 23

Ken Melman: If the networks go along with this scheme and cover the four nights of the Democratic Convention as a political rally, which does not produce a nomination, we will demand four nights of coverage of our rallies there."