Michelle Dubert: An intern? Situation could be a troubling burden to Kerry

Along the campaign trail, John Kerry has made every effort to be recognized as "John F. Kerry" -- a distinct reference, of course, to our 35th president.

I have to believe that Kerry's inference suggests comparisons in policy or is an attempt to evoke and capture Americans' respect for John F. Kennedy during his presidency. However, he probably didn't anticipate an impending double entendre regarding their social lives. JFK's extramarital affairs were widely publicized, entertaining the likes of Marilyn Monroe and mob moll Judith Campbell Exner. Now with questions arising over Kerry's affairs, he resembles not only Kennedy, but also a more contemporary figure, Bill Clinton.

Before I continue and risk losing a portion of my readers, allow me to establish my thesis: This column is not about adultery, morality or Bill Clinton; I'll be the first to admit that Republicans are as equally vulnerable to infidelity as Democrats. The core of this issue revolves around a potential political fallout by the Democratic Party's most promising candidate at the moment.

Last Thursday, Drudgereport.com cited the claim that Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry had a two-year affair with a 24-year-old intern, who has since fled to Kenya. Interestingly, earlier last week former rival Gen. Wesley Clark told 12 reporters off the record that "Kerry will implode over an intern issue"; three reporters then confirmed Clark's comments.

Granted, no proof corroborates details of the alleged tryst, and unlike in Clinton's case, no court testimony exists as evidence to any such encounters. Because of the dearth of hard facts, few media outlets want to touch this story before it molds into something more tangible. Still, don't dismiss Drudge as a cyber-supermarket tabloid; he's often first to pick up leads from around the Beltway that frequently foment into political disaster. For the record, Drudge was first to break the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998. And if these allegations are in fact true, John Kerry is sunk.

As expected, Kerry is taking the well-trodden approach of deny, deny, deny. He's addressed few media sources since the story broke, but last Friday, he told Imus in the Morning that "there is nothing to report ... so there is nothing to talk about." Worried? "I'm not worried about it."

But he should be worried. Kerry's success throughout the past month isn't a freak coincidence. Leading up to the official primary season, most pundits and political junkies (myself included) prophesied that Howard Dean would finish the rounds standing safely in line to nab the Democratic nomination -- few, if any, then prophesied his cinematic denouement, fizzling in Iowa with the "I have a scream" speech.

John Kerry emanated a certain appeal to Democratic voters that Dean simply couldn't. Sure, Dean was passionate and fiery and well funded at the time, but he became too exuberant. People realized that if he faced Bush in November, he'd probably get crushed. Kerry, on the other hand, while not quite as charismatic as Dean, is a seasoned senator and a decorated Vietnam veteran. With three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star, it's rather difficult to attack his patriotism or integrity.

That integrity convinced voters he could win -- and victory, regardless of how cheap or how narrow, is all that matters in politics. The Feb. 3 primaries serve as a perfect example. Of the seven contests held that day, Kerry won five, but in all of them, exit polls revealed that the people believed Kerry, over any other candidate, held a better chance of defeating President Bush.

Take Kerry's win in Arizona, for instance: Among voters' reasons to opt for Kerry, "Can Beat Bush" reigned with 65 percent, followed by bubblegum issues like "Right Experience" with 51 percent, and "Cares About People" with 15 percent. In Delaware, 71 percent of voters deemed "Can Beat Bush" as their primary candidate quality, as did 78 percent in Missouri. The London Telegraph reported yesterday that some polls showed Kerry leading President Bush 52 percent to 42 percent.

So what happens if one can now legitimately question Kerry's integrity? If Kerry in fact had an affair with this 24-year-old intern, voters inevitably will question his judgment beyond government, and the lofty notion of decency could disintegrate.

Damage control is working overtime to quell the rumors, but they'll have greater problems if these speculations congeal into truth. Yet Kerry's campaign could deteriorate independently of primary voters. One concern is his wife: What might she do under these circumstances? Clearly, she hasn't addressed the concern, but Theresa Heinz Kerry seems to hold little tolerance for disloyalty. The New York Daily News revealed Friday that she once told Elle magazine that she "jokingly" forewarned her first husband, "I'll maim you. Not kill you, just maim you" if he drifted. Unless Mrs. Kerry acts Hillary-esque, her motions won't pan out too well before the camera.

It's important to remember that this purported scandal is all talk right now. If nothing materializes, Kerry's support base shouldn't diminish. Nevertheless, if truth emerges from the gossip, then Democratic leadership, as well as Democratic voters, have a colossal impediment before them.

Michelle Dubert is a College freshman from Closter, N.J. Department of Strategery appears on Mondays.

Comments (12)

Michelle, I may not always agree with what you say, but you are a very talented writer. You are the only writer for the DP that's worth reading and I've begun to eagerly anticipate your latest article. I don't know what you're studying, but you should have a great future in this field. Tom, Penn

Wow, what an insightful, penetrating conclusion: "Proof of an affair would hurt Kerry's campaign." This column is just a thinly-veiled excuse to propagate this unsubstantiated gossip. officer rod farva

Wesley Clark, under direct orders from the Clintons, leaked the Kerry Intern Affair. Why? To get Kerry, a former Bill Clinton golf buddy (reference:Dereliction of Duty) out of the way. The Clintons have Clark as their puppet in this election cycle but their grand scheme is to get Hillary elected in 2008. Americans will not let that scandalous woman anywhere near the White House. New Yorkers were ignorant and naive enough to vote for her for Congress. Joe Lieberman was the only Democrat candidate who is intellectually honest. He was the only one who did not lie or distort the Bush Administrations' record. Lieberman was the Democrats only hope for the White House in 2004 as the others are "unfit for public office" due to their flip-flopping, lies and distortions. God bless, Sean Lee

If Kerry in fact had an affair with this 24-year-old intern, voters inevitably will question his judgment beyond government, and the lofty notion of decency could disintegrate. Coming up in the next three weeks: Why Spring invariably follows Winter. Advice to sports teams: it's in your best interests to score more points. Exclusive: When a great many men are unable to find work, unemployment results. AA

Unless you're on Pete Rose's team, AA. Dillon Kuehn dmkuehn@sas.upenn.edu

Update: Intern denies rumors. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u;=/ap/20040216/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_polier_1 Looks like this one fizzled out... the neoconservative propaganda machine will have to latch on to some new rumors. officer rod farva

Too bad Michelle missed an opportunity to discuss something interesting out of all this. The number one issue for democratic voters this year is electability, which is why Kerry's lead in the polls grows with each victory. Even most democrats I have discussed usually say their favorite candidate was Dean/Clark but that they went with the establishment b/c they were willing to compromise some of the political convictions for a better chance at victory. Had these rumors turned out to be true it would have been quite ironic how the primaries have gone. Roy, grad student chicago

Exclusive: Rumors are flying around Washington circles of Karl Rove that John Kerry is (pick one): a) one of the "real killers" of Nicole Simpson b) the kidnapper of the Lindberg baby c) the Ohio area snipper It's embarrassing that you would cite the Drudge Report as a reliable source, considering the woman and her family are disconfirming the whole story. Maybe we should dig up often cited "Case Closed" article from the Weekly Standard now that zero evidence of WMD's have been found in Iraq. And you want to talk about integrity? Truly pathetic. rod

The DP�?s editors owe the Penn community an apology for publishing this shallow, poorly-written, and ethically-questionable article. Using blatantly false assertions (John Kerry making "every effort to be recognized as John F. Kerry" on the campaign trail) and misused words and expressions ("inference", "double entendre"), Ms. Dubert�?s "argument" is based on the musings of a sleazy, rumor-peddling website. Her exploration of the what-ifs of a non-existent marital affair (a story from which even Drudge has backed away) is irresponsible at best. I realize that it�?s difficult to find right-wing columnists in the Ivy League, but the DP should restrict its search to those who are deep thinkers, have a good grasp of journalistic ethics, and have a less-strained relationship with the English language than does Ms. Dubert. Jon Woodward

rod, you're absolutely right. Those Ohio area "snippers" are a serious problem. It's time we grabbed all their scissors away from them once and for all. Jenny, Student College at Penn

Jon, your liberal bias predictably totally blinds you from reality in several areas. Firstly, your reference to the Drudge website as "sleazy, rumor-peddling" is a pathetic attempt to diminish Drudge's reputation. Inasmuch as Drudge was the first person to report on the Monica Lewinsky scandal and has proved to be a reliable source for the past five years, he has achieved substantial credibility with many members of the media, albeit not too frequently with left-wing ideologues such as you, Rod, "suggestor", et al. Secondly, the mere denial by the young woman and Kerry as to the existence of an affair is not necessarily conclusive and, at a minimum, highly suspicious. In this regard, perhaps you can recall that both Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky initially denied having an affair. Moreover, you may have conveniently forgotten that last week her father classified Kerry as a sleaze ball, but suddenly and dramatically today proclaimed that his whole family would vote for him this year. Consequently, a logical inference is that there was a little pressure or other enticements being applied. In addition, my guess is that when it comes to rumor-peddling, you have absolutely no problem with the Michael Moore's and Terry McAuliffe's of this world referring to President Bush as a deserter and AWOL, or when the press asked President Bush # 41 if he was having an affair during the 1992 presidential campaign even though there was absolutely no evidence to support such a venomous assertion. Your righteous indignation is of course reserved for those who question or attack the character of your holier than thou liberal politicians. Finally, unlike you and your fellow liberal cohorts, I am confident that most conservatives find Ms. Dubert's columns informative, provocative, refreshing and well-written. I look forward to reading her columns for another 3 years. However, you need not become too despondent since 90% of the other DP opinions are written by liberals whose hatred of conservatives is similar to yours and constitutes a full-time activity. Bob, Sales Baltimore conre1017@aol.com

Some of the comments are simply genius. I seriously think this article has brought the DP to a new low. Some of you guys should send the DP your comments so they are printed in the letters to the editors section so everyone can read them, not only people who went online to read her article. suggestor

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