# Any Truth to This Story about John Kerry and Pres Bush? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 3, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516 "2010-09-03T18:42:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/41 "2010-09-04T02:12:19Z")
Do either of these guys even carry any cash in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/42 "2010-09-04T02:14:07Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > It was Columbus day, 2004, the last major holiday before the Presidential election between George Bush and John Kerry. Both were in Columbus, Ohio. > > > > George Bush was walking down the right side of the street when he approached a young man. > > Yeah, the sitting President of the United States was just walking down the sidewalk. Happens every day. I love how the writer specifies that it was the right side of the street. Surely the spy was on the left side. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/43 "2010-09-04T02:14:15Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > No, all _conservative_ posters on the Straight Dope are gullible morons! > > I didn’t want you to think that we all _completely_ overlooked your little tapdance around the rules there. He might have tapdanced around the rules, but you have jumped up and down until you broke them. Back off and do not repeat this behavior. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/44 "2010-09-04T02:20:52Z")
That actually happened. I know because I was going out with the woman that John Kerry gave the $100 to and she said it was one of the most exciting things she’d ever experienced (she’d never even met a celebrity, let alone a presidential candidate). I am thinking of opening a thread in IMHO about ‘ask the guy whose girlfriend got $100 from John Kerry’ because before now I didn’t know anyone else knew about this. She was a student in economics at Arizona state when the debates were held, and the candidates were warming up their oratory skills before the actual debate with de facto questions from a small test audience. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/45 "2010-09-04T02:24:11Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The story’s too stupid to have any value as an anecdote or an allegory. So what does that say about the person telling it, and the people nodding in agreement? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/46 "2010-09-04T02:25:36Z")
Does your girlfriend often take $100 bills from strangers? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/47 "2010-09-04T02:29:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Does your girlfriend often take $100 bills from strangers? If she does I regret breaking up with her. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/48 "2010-09-04T02:39:02Z")
“See, honey, its not what you think. Those two guys were George Bush and John Kerry, and they were making a political point!” “Wow, no shit? Which one was John Kerry?” “The short fat guy with the beard” “So, George Bush was…” “The black guy, yes…” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/49 "2010-09-04T03:36:08Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > That actually happened. I know because I was going out with the woman that John Kerry gave the $100 to and she said it was one of the most exciting things she’d ever experienced (she’d never even met a celebrity, let alone a presidential candidate). I am thinking of opening a thread in IMHO about ‘ask the guy whose girlfriend got $100 from John Kerry’ because before now I didn’t know anyone else knew about this. > > She was a student in economics at Arizona state when the debates were held, and the candidates were warming up their oratory skills before the actual debate with de facto questions from a small test audience. I"d probably start it in the Pit. It’s so ludicrous, it wouldn’t stay in IMHO for long. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/50 "2010-09-04T03:58:53Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > > [@Kobal2](#): > > > > Well, it looks like propaganda, walks like propaganda quacks like propaganda and sinks like a lead fucking balloon since John Kerry is not a caricature of a 1917 Soviet collectivist. > > Dude, I’m a collectivist & I’m really bugged by this story–_because it’s the same old trope that a Dem nominee to high office is really stupid._–& a lot of people from GOP subcultures will believe it. The stories people tell about Mondale became the stories they tell about Kerry. Obama’s lucky they think he’s the AntiChrist, because at least they grant him above-average intellect. Well, I don’t believe this story. However, I lived through said 2004 election, and while John Kerry wasn’t dumb he certainly was politically inept at times. The man made a big show of going to Pat’s in Philadelphia for a cheesesteak (with media present) and then ordered it with Swiss cheese. This is the man who gave a long answer justifying a Senate vote completely unaware of how his opponents could turn the quote to their advantage. He insisted on going windsurfing during the campaign and then saw images of him in Spandex show up in Republican ads, the winds blowing him to and fro. Even Democrats savaged Kerry for running a bad campaign. And while I’m not keen on the notion of an unfunny joke passing as fact, there were facts aplenty to laugh about. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/51 "2010-09-04T04:06:59Z")
I do think this story makes an interesting point about George Bush. > [@](#): > > George Bush was walking down the right side of the street when he approached a young man. George asked the young man to take out his billfold and give him $100.00. When the man gave George Bush the $100.00, George waved the money in the air and told the crowd that if he is re-elected, he would insure that this $100.00 would remain in this mans’ billfold and not be sent to Washington to be wasted on a worthless spending program. Notice that Bush loudly proclaimed that the money would remain in the wallet. But he had already taken the money out of the wallet so he was lying as he said it. And while the story says Kerry gave the hundred dollars to a woman in the crowd, Bush apparently kept the money he took for himself. There’s the Bush tax plan in a nutshell. A rich guy taking money from a middle class guy while distracting him with accusations against poor people. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/52 "2010-09-04T04:17:17Z")
So, I heard this story, and I’m wondering if any of it is true. See, in the 2008 campaign, the two Vice Presidential nomineees, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, were both working the same crowd (I think maybe it was someplace like Ohio–some “purple” state anyway). And somebody handed Joe a baby to kiss, but when he went to kiss it, he accidentally kind of bumped it with his nose, and it started to cry. Took the mother a few minutes to calm the poor litle tyke down. Then, when they handed the same kid to Sarah Palin, instead of kissing it, she devoured it bones and all. So, I’m just wondering if any of this is a true story? And if so, what does it say about the respective political philosophies of the two parties? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/53 "2010-09-04T04:24:10Z")
Great. And the guy with the homeopathic intelligence wins. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/54 "2010-09-04T04:26:03Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > … instead of kissing it, she devoured it bones and all… Nah, she just dressed it out and tied it onto her car. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/55 "2010-09-04T04:33:52Z")
Quoth **Mr. Moto** : > [@](#): > > This is the man who gave a long answer justifying a Senate vote completely unaware of how his opponents could turn the quote to their advantage. Yeah, how politically inept of him to explain a vote he made! Er, I think you kind of need to explain a bit more for that example to make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/56 "2010-09-04T05:31:34Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > > [@foolsguinea](#): > > > > Dude, I’m a collectivist & I’m really bugged by this story–_because it’s the same old trope that a Dem nominee to high office is really stupid._–& a lot of people from GOP subcultures will believe it. The stories people tell about Mondale became the stories they tell about Kerry. Obama’s lucky they think he’s the AntiChrist, because at least they grant him above-average intellect. > > Well, I don’t believe this story. However, I lived through said 2004 election, and while John Kerry wasn’t dumb he certainly was politically inept at times. > > The man made a big show of going to Pat’s in Philadelphia for a cheesesteak (with media present) and then ordered it with Swiss cheese. You’ll have to explain why this makes him stupid. I don’t get it. What’s wrong with eating Swiss cheese? Is that supposed to French or gay or something in teabagger la la land? Is this something that’s actually meaningful or important to you? > [@](#): > > This is the man who gave a long answer justifying a Senate vote completely unaware of how his opponents could turn the quote to their advantage. He gave a thorough answer to a question, and that also makes him stupid? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/57 "2010-09-04T08:53:51Z")
I know the story is false–even if its true. (A little jab at Kerry) I call it JW lit from my relatives. Nobody ever bothers finding out if it just might be a load of binary feces. Did you know Obama was responsible for the doubling up the national debt in 2007? I didn’t know that! Did you know that Bush was a black ops dude during Vietnam which explains why he was AWOL during the war? I didn’t know that! Did you know that Joe Biden is a reincarnation of Oscar Wilde? I didn’t know that! Did you know that Washington Post covered up Nancy Pelosi’s cannibalism during a long layover at O’Hara in 1982? I didn’t know that! Did you know that Obama is a Muslim? Oh . . . I already knew that. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/58 "2010-09-04T09:15:19Z")
**Dio,** while “Philly cheese steaks” in the rest of the country have Swiss cheese, in Philly the standard “cheesteak” uses Cheez Whiz. Ordering it the way he probably ate it at home was picked up on as a failure to connect with Philly voters. Because, you know, GOP candidates would never miss something that specific, local, & superficial, even if it meant they had to lose sight of the big picture–the problems facing our country. And that’s why you should always vote GOP. Oh, wait– ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/59 "2010-09-04T09:58:20Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > Bush was a black ops dude during Vietnam So Obama’s lying about being the first black in the Oval Office, too? Typical. ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516/60 "2010-09-04T10:59:21Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > So, I heard this story, and I’m wondering if any of it is true. > > See, in the 2008 campaign, the two Vice Presidential nomineees, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, were both working the same crowd (I think maybe it was someplace like Ohio–some “purple” state anyway). And somebody handed Joe a baby to kiss, but when he went to kiss it, he accidentally kind of bumped it with his nose, and it started to cry. Took the mother a few minutes to calm the poor litle tyke down. > > Then, when they handed the same kid to Sarah Palin, instead of kissing it, she devoured it bones and all. Please write me a cheque for a new keyboard and screen. I’ll PM you with the details. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-story-about-john-kerry-and-pres-bush/552516.md?page=4)