Darth Ranter and Con Kerry

Mark Steyn:

Instead, Dan keeps demanding Bush respond to the ''serious questions'' raised by his fake memos. "With respect, Mr. President," he droned the other day, "answer the questions." The president would love to, but he's doubled up with laughter.

This is an attempt to repeat the famous press conference when Richard Nixon asked him if he were running for something and Dan replied, "No, Mr. President. Are you?" In fact he was running for something, Walter Cronkite's spot, and he got that job when Cronkite retired.

Sorry, Dan. George Bush is not Richard Nixon and the country is not behind you on this one. This dramatic tough guy language might have worked back in the '70s because Nixon was definitely guilty, but people are more media savvy today, and your posing is looks pretty silly coming from a guy who makes more than the president. You've become a joke. You were a lot more believable when you shed tears on David Letterman after 9/11. Now you just look like a pathetic partisan who doesn't deserve his job.

Rather and John Kerry share a tin ear for what impresses people today. Kerry's attempts to look like a man of the people fall flat, not just because he gets details wrong, but because he just isn't one. Four months on a swift boat doesn't make you one of the boys. And throwing around a few sports terms doesn't make you a fan. Nobody would hold it agains him if he didn't know sports, but when they spot you as a phoney, the game is up.