Hello, speakingcorpse here, now posting for the first time from my own computer. You will see that the tag below says "posted by speakingcorpse."

Anyway: Kerry's attempt to redefine American "values" so as to include the idea of equal opportunity is going to work. The only reason the Repugs have had a stranglehold on "values" in the eyes of media whores is that the Dems have failed to challenge the implicit deadly equation of "values" with white supremacy and displaced, repressed fantasies of mass anal rape.

While these are, of course, crucial points in the complex constellation of American "values," they are inextricably and dialectically bound up with other, better ideas--the most important of which is the recently neglected idea of equal opportunity. Kerry's redefinition of what exactly are American "values" can be accomplished without strain, or even argument, because American "values" are so nebulous and self-contradictory. But the redefinition will for this reason be all the more effective: people will not even realize that it has occurred, though they will respond to what Kerry is saying nonetheless.

The selection of Edwards signals a commitment to this strategy, and so the Repugs are very scared. Thus, according to this article, they are saying that Kerry is now "re-inventing" himself. This article also explains how the Repugs are attempting to reclaim the "value" terrain as their own: by suggesting that Kerry is on the side of Scott Peterson. Bush has a new ad explaining that Kerry is against a new law making those who commit federal crimes against women and harm fetuses in the process guilty of an additional crime (harming not just the woman but the unborn child). The law is called, poignantly, the "Laci Peterson Law," and we are told in the ad that "John Kerry oppposes the Laci Peterson Law."

This is clearly going to hurt the Repugs. However many millions of Americans are following the case, it can only be a minority that does so without any awareness of the fact that watching reports about the case on TV is a self-degrading, even self-mutilating, activity. The viewers may enjoy the coverage, but they cannot not be aware of the sickness that the whole phenomenon manifests. They will not take kindly to a Presidential candidate who suggests that being on the right side of the Peterson case is a bedrock American "value," thereby reminding them of their own ongoing corpsification.

My own opinion, of course, is that Scott Peterson, like Gary Condit, is a great American who is possessed of infinitely more dignity than the media figures who have reported on, and caused, his predicament. I would vote for him for President in a heartbeat.


This is not just about his current fight in the courtroom; it is about a whole lifetime of struggle--fighting everyday for what he believes in, trying to make this country better, always heeding the call to serve.