The Corner

Kerry and Koc

I’ve now heard two days’ worth of NPR’s Morning Edition reporting on Bush’s speech in Dallas to the Knights of Columbus, and I’ve read newspaper accounts today in the NY Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. NPR never mentioned Kerry at all in its reporting, and though two of the newspapers have Kerry spokesman Phil Singer pooh-poohing the warm reception Bush got from this Catholic group, nowhere have I seen or heard any story informing us whether Kerry was also invited to speak to the K of C. Does anyone know whether they invited him? Was he invited and refused? Was he snubbed? It just strikes me that Kerry’s non-appearance before the K of C, whatever the reason, is at least as interesting as Bush’s non-appearance before the NAACP. More so, since Kerry is nominally a Catholic and claims to be a faithful one. Shouldn’t it strike reporters as, well, scandalous that he not speak to the Knights–whether the scandal stems from his refusal or from their non-invitation of him? Either way, the non-curiosity of the media about why he wasn’t there too is notable in itself. Of course, had Kerry spoken, he would no doubt not have gotten the warm reception the Knights gave the Protestant Bush. Five will get you ten that knowing this is so is the reason reporters don’t even want to ask the questions.

Matthew J. Franck is retired from Princeton University, where he was a lecturer in Politics and associate director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He is also a senior fellow of the Witherspoon Institute, a contributing editor of Public Discourse, and professor emeritus of political science at Radford University.
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