corrente

Kerry's willingness to have real "front porch" conversations contrasts favorably with Bush's unwillingness to show his face in any context other than carefully screened supporters. Of course, like any act requiring courage, this carries its own risks:

The partisan yard signs in front of the ranch homes and two-story colonials of this city's Ward 62 were about evenly divided as Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry brought his campaign through yesterday.

So it wasn't a shock that much of the Kerry visit was devoted to a screaming match between his supporters and backers of President Bush chanting "Four more years!"

To that chant, Kerry responded by asking, "Four more years of what? Four more years of jobs being lost, four more years of the deficit growing bigger and bigger? Four more years of losing our allies around the world?"

At times, the Massachusetts senator, who had come to speak at a forum in a neighborhood cul-de-sac, had trouble making himself heard.

Gee. At a Bush campaign event, you can get hauled away by the cops for wearing the wrong T-Shirt. At a Kerry event, you can drown out a voice you don't want to hear. Interesting contrast.

"What we need to do in America, frankly, is to stop shouting at each other and start listening to each other," he said. "We need leadership that inspires."

In 2000, Bush carried Ward 62, a racially mixed neighborhood on the northeast side of Columbus, by 12 votes out of 4,806 cast. That makes it one of the most closely watched parts of Ohio, one of the most competitive of the battleground states.

Kerry's 90-minute town hall meeting here was rich political theater, with the candidate walking through the crowd in his shirtsleeves answering questions amid the loud protests. At one point, he cradled Hasim Rashid, who is six months old, as he answered a question from the boy's father about prejudice against Muslims.

"Does a 6-month-old hate anyone?" Kerry asked.
(via Inky)

Good question.

Funny thing. Jodi Will-Whore-Em's "coverage" (heh) doesn't mention these details, or draw the obvious contrasts. I wonder why?