"But I really AM better than everyone else!"

  John Kerry political cartoon

June 10, 2003 … What do John Kerry and a Gilligan’s Island character have in common? In his “Washington Whispers” column in this week’s U. S. News & World Report, Paul Bedard writes: “Have you even found yourself wondering if Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry is really Thurston Howell III, the Gilligan’s Island millionaire? No? Well, you will soon if Republican strategists follow through with their prankster plans for the 2004 presidential race. ‘We’ll gig ‘em whenever and wherever we can,’ says one source. The idea is simple. Send an ‘attack mascot’ to primary and caucus appearances of leading Democratic White House hopefuls to heckle and unnerve the candidates. Initial plans by GOP strategists focus on Kerry, Rep. Dick Gephardt, Sen. John Edwards, and Sen. Joe Lieberman. Just this weekend, Edwards will be met in his home state with a Welcome Wagon, a dig at how much time he has been away campaigning. The most original is the Kerry gag mascot: somebody dressed as Howell, the lock-jawed dim bulb who inherited his wealth. In his straw hat; a $150 price tag to represent his barber’s fee. Suggests Kerry spokesman David Wade, the GOP ‘should lay off the Gilligan’s Island imagery before we cast George W. Bush as Gilligan in the remake.’” (6/10/2003)