KERRY AND THE CURSE
John Kerry's sticking by his claim that he was at Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox, despite the fact that a Boston Globe article has Kerry attending a fundraiser in Boston that night. Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan has the explanation.
"Sen. Kerry attended a public event in [Massachusetts] in the early evening and hopped a shuttle flight from Boston to NYC. [Kerry] got to Shea with the game in progress," Michael Meehan, Kerry's senior campaign advisor, wrote to ESPN.com in an e-mail. "Remember the Sox were up 3-2 so all of Red Sox Nation was planning for a Series win."
In another quote on Political Wire, Meehan makes a similar statement, adding the following sentence.
What Red Sox fans would not jump through hoops to be there in person?
Mickey Kaus says he's willing to give Kerry the benefit of the doubt. My question to Mr. Kaus is "why?"
It's certainly plausible that Kerry could have attended the last part of the game. The game ended at midnight, so let's say Kerry leaves the reception at 9:30 p.m. Hops on the 10:00 p.m. shuttle to LaGuardia. Gets in at 11:00. He could be in his seat by 11:30. Plausible. Not bloody likely, but plausible.
So why not give Kerry the benefit of the doubt? Because it's a great story, and Kerry's never shared it until now. Not the "I was 30 yards away from Buckner"... he's said that for awhile. I'm talking about the "race like hell to get to the airport in time, sit on the edge of my seat while we're flying, run off the plane and hop a cab to get to Shea, pop my cork in the 10th only to see Buckner fail to grab the ball."
That's a great story. So why didn't Kerry ever tell it? As for Meehan's question "What Red Sox fans would not jump through hoops to be there in person?", I can only ask Mr. Meehan if John Kerry was also at Game 7.
Now I realize in the grand scheme of things, whether or not John Kerry is truly a Red Sox fan is not of great importance. Yet much like Kerry's hunting stories, they can only be true if you're willing to accept the dubious as fact. And that's not even taking into account the comment he made to New Yorkers last month (He praised the triple victories of the Jets, Giants and Yankees and said: 'I came here to bask in your glory, came here to grab onto that winning streak.'" -Washington Post, 9/22/04).
I've known Red Sox fans, Senator. I am a Red Sox fan. And you sir are no Red Sox fan.