Because answering “yes” or “no” never takes five minutes

I loved this graf from a Boston Globe article: “Even in victory, Kerry’s caution is seen as risky”

Later, Kerry led a question-and-answer forum with workers at a Youngstown manufacturing plant, where the senator drew polite applause at points but also some lengthy silences. He answered seven questions over 27 minutes; three of his answers lasted more than five minutes apiece.

As John Ellis noted, every word Kerry says is a regurgitation of his stump speech:

Veteran Kerry watchers are also resigning themselves to another grim JFK fact. He never says anything even remotely new or interesting. We're not even to March yet and Ellisblog is already bored to tears. Everything is boilerplate.

I caught a bit of Kerry on the news last night, extending an eager hand to a worker at an Ohio factory. This guy’s body language was classic: he was slouched over and only gave his hand (slowly!) out of politeness. Not a fan of Senator Splunge, I gathered.