Don’t you love the way they gaze adoringly into each others eyes?
The Adoring Gaze is what the press dubbed the gaze of Nancy Reagan and other Republican wives traditionally direct at their mates. Now, the Adoring Gaze surely must come to refer to the way John gazes at John. And don’t you love the way the mates are always reaching out to touch each other?
There is a lot of non-macho male-bonding going on. I’ve been trying to picture LBJ and J.F. Kennedy doing this. Or the first George W. and his veep John Adams? Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr? Not a chance. Abe Lincoln and Hannibal Hamblin? Don’t think so. Martin van Buren and Richard M. Johnson?
So far, I’m coming up blank. What gives?
Maybe John Kerry thinks that, if he touches the irresistable John Edwards enough, some charisma will rub off on him. Quoting Republican Lindsay Graham, William Safire addressed the issue of a “charisma transplant” yesterday: “This is Kerry saying, ’I know I’ve got this problem,” Graham told Safire, “and I hope this will fix it.’ But there’s no such thing as a charisma transplant.”
Or maybe Ann Coulter has hit on the answer as to why Kerry sometimes seems almost to be petting Edwards: Read Coulter’s “In Desperate Move, Kerry Adopts Puppy.”
Spotting a potential problem, Jonah Goldberg offered some advice: “Going by the picture on Drudge right now [it’s down now but Jonah’s mom, the redoubtable Lucianne Goldberg, has a John-John picture now with the caption, “You don’t have to say you love me.”], John and John (or is that the other way around?) shouldn’t face each other too much. Edwards has a way of puckering his lips that makes him look like he’s looking to plant one on Kerry.”