Reza Aslan
360 Contributor John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama today. Actually Kerry pretty much took credit for Obama's candidacy.
"I'm proud to have helped introduce Barack to our nation when I
asked him to speak to our national convention," he said, "and there Barack's words and vision burst out."
The media will no doubt frame Kerry's endorsement as evidence that the Democratic establishment is beginning to line up behind Obama. After all, Kerry doesn't just represent the beltway, the beltway practically wraps around his waist.
But the real story here is Kerry's reason for supporting Obama:
"Like [Obama], I also lived abroad as a young man, and I share with him a healthy respect for the advantage of knowing other cultures and countries, not from a book or a briefing, but by personal experience, by gut, by instinct."
First of all, by all means, let's elect another president based on his gut instincts. It worked so well last time.
Secondly, when did "intuition" become all the rage in Washington? After
all, it is difficult to imagine a less instinctual politician than John Kerry, a man who needed to do little more than show up and look alive to beat George W. Bush in 2004, but who could only manage one of those requirements (you can guess which one).
Kerry's claim of gut instincts makes me think that the "intuition fad" in Washington may be coming to an end. You always know a fad is over when the class nerd takes it up.
