Opinion: Denny’s not feeling the love right now

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

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