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General discussion

Which Kerry said that?

Mar 7, 2004 8:51PM PST
Some under reported Kerry comments

"The important thing is that Saddam Hussein and the world knows that we think Saddam Hussein is essentially out of synch with the times. He is and has acted like a terrorist, and he has engaged in activities ... that are unacceptable."

And it got even better on that same O'Reilly show: "I think we ought to put the heat on Saddam Hussein. I've said that for a number of years, Bill. I criticized the Clinton administration for backing off the inspections when Ambassador Butler was giving us strong evidence that we needed to continue. I think we need to put the pressure on no matter what the evidence is about September 11. But I think we have to do it in a thoughtful and intelligent way. ... The important thing is that Saddam Hussein has used weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein fired weapons on Israel! ... In addition to that he has refused to live by the terms of the treaty that he signed at the end of the war in which he agreed to do certain things."


John Kerry on O'Reilly, December 11, 2001

Three days later, you went on with Larry King on CNN. All Larry had to do was ask you about enhancing the war on terror: "What are your thoughts about going further than Afghanistan, all terrorist places?"

..."Oh, I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, Saddam Hussein."


Now what was that murmur about Faux News and Bush trying to tie 9-11 and Iraq together in the war on terror? Who was rushing to war?

Evie Happy

Discussion is locked

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Clearly, it was Kerry's evil twin.
Mar 8, 2004 12:35AM PST

Kerry himself would never say things like that. Just ask him.

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It wasn't me your honour, it was the other half of my brain doing all the speaking :) NT
Mar 8, 2004 8:28AM PST

NT

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Some more! Kerry the French-bashing unilateralist!
Mar 8, 2004 8:38PM PST

I heard clips of this on Monica Crowley's WABC radio program last night and tried to dig up transcripts. This is as close as I got, but contains the good parts.

Back in Nov. 1997, on Crossfire

Kerry, defending the Clinton administration from charges of failed leadership said, "On the contrary. The administration is leading - I think the United States has always reserved the right and will reserve the right to act in its best interests."
Wait a second. John Kerry equating presidential leadership with going it alone? This doesn't sound like John F. Kerry circa 2004 does it? Then again, Kerry's never been one to let his position on an issue stop him from taking a completely different position on the very same issue.

Kerry continued, "And clearly it is not just our best interests, it is in the best interests of the world to make it clear to Saddam Hussein that he's not going to get away with a breach of the '91 agreement that he's got to live up to, which is: allowing us to know that he has dismantled his weapons."

More from Senator Kerry, the unilateralist hawk, "Clearly the allies may not like it, and I think that's our great concern - where's the backbone of Russia, where's the backbone of France, where are they in expressing their condemnation of such clearly illegal activity: they're now climbing into a box and they will have enormous difficulty not following up on this if there is not compliance."

I hope there's room for Mr. Kerry in that box. After all, he has made 'restoring our standing in the world' a prominent campaign pledge. He regularly lambastes the president for his 'isolating us from the rest of the world'. Funny, Kerry loved when Clinton did it.


I left in some of Reid's commentary. The whole thing on Kerry's ever changing stances of convenience, some try to convince us simpletons that these are just nuanced positions we can't see the gray areas in, is a good read.

If anyone can get a hold of the entire transcript that would be great, but I'm thinking these words will be around more prominently soon ... especially as now Kerry has been touting private endorsements of world leaders.

Evie Happy

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Dr . Seuss solution....
Mar 8, 2004 9:26PM PST

Perhaps Dr. Seuss had a solution in The Cat In the Hat. Remember Thing one and Thing two?
Perhaps we can get Kerry to wear sweaters or something with labels of Kerry one or Kerry two when he speaks so we could tell which one we are listening to.

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World leaders won't know what to believe - a complete nightmare - :( NT
Mar 9, 2004 1:08PM PST

nt

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Wouldn't it be funny if...
Mar 9, 2004 6:49PM PST

...Bush campaign ads started popping up with some of those Kerry statements in them, followed with a quip of "support the man who still believes those things....George W Bush!" Have it appear like Kerry is supporting and therefore endorsing GW Bush.