Another Boorish Kennedy Prattles On About Democracy

Today’s story, according to the New York Times, isn't that the Republican Party may have conspired to disenfranchise thousands of voters in the 2004 presidential election; the real story is that a Kennedy (pause for sharp intake of breath) thinks the GOP stole the presidency, and that this Kennedy has had the temerity to go public. By embracing a theory the punditocracy dismissed within days after the election as conspiracy, Robert Kennedy Jr. is labeled "another Kennedy living dangerously."

Never mind the clumsy, scattershot anecdotes author Mark Leibovich prays will magically coalesce into a cohesive portrait; what is more frustrating is watching a story about a political figure making hay about a political issue dumped in the Fashion & Style section. Like wearing white shoes after Labor Day, accusing the ruling party of manipulating the electoral process, I suppose, is simply in bad form.

Content to reject the idea of foul play in Ohio by citing a single error-ridden story on Salon.com, Leibovich characterizes Kennedy Jr.'s activism as "a penchant for risk taking," and as much as dares him to follow in his father and uncle's footsteps by asking, "At what point is he tempting fate?"

Give. Me. A break.