Denny's not feeling the love right now

One of the perennial problems of being a perennial presidential campaigner with absolutely no chance of ever winning is that everyone -- even your own party's opponents -- perennially ignore you. Not to mention the media that could carry your message to voters for free instead of expensive paid advertising that you don't have the money for anyway.

How to get around this?

You could propose impeaching the vice president or president. That's hopeless too, but it's worth a day's free publicity. The latest answer Dennis Kucinich has come up with is, complain about being ignored. You're right, it doesn't sound very presidential. Or even congressional.

But, hey, it got him this blog item, which is more than not complaining got him yesterday.

The flap -- if that's the right word, which it isn't, spat is probably better -- began over a clever new print and video ad by Sen. Joe Biden. The ad involves more than a dozen quick film clips from debates of Biden's Democratic opponents saying such things as, "I agree with Joe," "Joe is absolutely right", "I think Joe is exactly right" and "Amen to Joe Biden." The cumulative effect of the video is hilarious. Both are also available on Biden's own website.

But ex-mayor Kucinich wasn't laughing. It seems he was left out of the collection of film clips. You see John Edwards and Barack Obama and Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton talking about Biden. But Kucinich is nowhere to be seen. He's not even talking about UFOs. And that didn't go down very well with the Clevelander.

In an actual news release, Kucinich complained about being "the only candidate deliberately excluded from the ad blitz."

Exactly why any candidate is somehow required to acknowledge all of his/her opponents was not explained. But the Ohio representative tried to turn the exclusion to his advantage. "Dennis Kucinich doesn't walk their line," the news release proclaims.

"If voters are dissatisfied with the Biden tweedle-dums and tweedle-dees," it adds, "they should vote for someone who represents their beliefs and values." Presumably, that would be Kucinich. Or maybe Ron Paul?

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo: Dennis Kucinich at a Nov. 18 rally; Credit: Rob Carr/AP

Comments

[JK]

Well, Dennis has the right to complain... it's just plain corrupt this so-called DEMOCRACY is...even candidates like Dennis are ignored when every candidate should be treated equal... Americans forgot about the US Constitution already "that all men are created equal." The mega corporations rule, they hate Dennis because his policies would abolish their rule here in America; the corporations can't buy Dennis unlike the other candidates esp. the top-tiers..too bad the poor Americans will lose if they ignore honest, intelligent, compassionate candidates like Dennis who had been there where they are now; the only candidate who can empathize what they are experiencing right now coz once in his life, Dennis was a homeless boy himself....

[wallace]

RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! PAUL RON! RON POPEIL! RON POPEIL! RON POPEIL! RON POPEIL! RON POPEIL! RON POPEIL! RON POPEIL!

Wait, I'm sorry. I got so caught up in the Ron Paul fever that I actually thought for one moment that the ideal ticket would be Ron and Dennis. That would make France look like a superpower.

BRING IT ON, RON PAULIES, BRING IT ON!

[David Merit]

If you knew a thing about Dennis Kucinich, you would know that he introduced an impeachment motion months ago which was summarily buried by his Democratic colleagues. Mr. Kucinich is the only one around with the patriotism and balls to try to uphold our Constitution, which includes impeaching the likes of our sitting Vice President who seems to treat it as nothing more than a set of guidelines.

[Lori]

Kucinich is a purist and is a valuable part of this process. He has a lot of integrity and is not afraid to take a stand. But it's not clear to me that he knows enough about compromise to be able to accomplish anything in Washington. You need both.

I find Biden has the best ideas and the best track record at getting the parties together and moving forward. It's unfortunate that the press doesn't cover him much as he's not "celebrity" enough. When he and Sam Brownback (R) held a press conference to announce that 75 US senators (including over 20 Repubs) agreed on the Biden-Gelb plan for Iraq withdrawal, all you could hear was crickets. No one cared. They should have.

Maybe we need to take polls out of the equation; make them illegal. Then people can run on their actual principles and the primaries will mean something again. Then maybe candidates like Kucinich and Biden will have a fighting chance.

[Emily]

Richardson isn't in the ad either.