Major Newspaper Headlines Drain Drama Out of the 'Kerry Kalamity'

Photo of Tim Graham.
By Tim Graham (Bio | Archive)
November 1, 2006 - 07:36 ET

While some tabloids capture the drama of John Kerry's uneducated-people-stuck-in-Iraq joke ("KERRY KALAMITY," says the New York Daily News), the nation's biggest newspapers have headlines draining the drama out of the story, and certainly leaving the contents of the "joke" out of the headline:

New York Times: "As Vote Nears, Stances on War Set Off Sparks."

Washington Post: "Bush Calls Kerry Remarks Insulting to U.S. Troops."

(The Post wins some sort of prize for partisanship. Kerry's on A-8. On page one, the big headline is "Campaigner in Chief Has Limited Reach: An Unpopular President Avoids Many Key Races.")

USA Today: "Kerry, White House exchange words over Iraq 'bad joke'."

Chicago Tribune: "It's Kerry vs. Bush once again: Senator's remark on Iraq war sparks coast-to-coast clash."

The Boston Globe wins a point or two for actually getting a bit quote-specific: "Kerry's 'stuck in Iraq' remark ignites firefight with Bush, GOP."

Commenters, feel free to post the headline (or lack of one) in your local newspapers.