The New York Times does not give away front page space easily. But today, the Times awarded a front page article 
to a remarkable puff piece by Jodi Wilgoren, the correspondent covering the Kerry campaign. Obviously concerned about unflattering images of the Democrats' multi—millionaire standard—bearer, and his string of mansions, and his two marriages to extremely wealthy women, today's article tries to humanize Kerry.

Kerry eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the campaign trail. He buys $15 reading glasses off the rack at CVS ( I assume they all serve equally well to correct his near or far sightedness).  Kerry also leaves generous ($20) tips for the maids in his hotel rooms. What a guy!

Is this news? What is the purpose of the story, and its position on the front page of the Times? Was there no other breaking news worth covering today?

The Times knows that MANY of its stories are picked up by its poorer cousins in the media, who happily fill their local papers' 'news columns' with material from the Times news service, to which they subscribe.  Many papers are in reality nothing more than advertising publications surrounding a few articles from the news services, and some local sports coverage. 

But the Times has an agenda. They want to elect the leader of the free world's most important country (a job presumably third in importance only to UN Secretary General and Times editor in chief). Kerry has been struggling, so his image needs to be softened. If the image managers running the campaign can't do it, the Times will make the effort.

The shameless propaganda piece for Kerry suggests that the Times has not reached the point of lobbying for a replacement nominee, as some in the left wing media already are —— privately and publicly acknowledging the woodenness of their candidate.

Earlier in the week, Wilgoren tried to spin Kerry's embarrassing exchange with Charles Gibson of ABC over his medal tossing in 1971.  In another front page article and accompanying headline Wilgoren emphasized that Kerry was attacking Bush about questions concerning his National Guard duty in 1972, rather than being put on the defensive by Gibson (who actually witnessed Kerry's medal tossing), and stumbled around angrily on national TV during the exchange. 

Ask yourself this question: Is it likely that Teresa Heinz Kerry is also eating the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with her husband, as she campaigns with him around the country? Is that what her $500 million plus fortune trained her to do? We now know that Ms Heinz Kerry drives the SUV in the family. Isn't she entitled to a decent lunch?