Thanks a lot Kerry

You are brave.  You are courageous.  You mean well.  You are correct on just about every issue facing America.  You are also politically clumsy, rhetorically impotent and are an election time bomb that picked the worst time to go off.  Please close your mouth, sit in the corner and do not say anything until this campaign season is over.  Oh, and by the way, don't run for president again either.

Going into yesterday, the Democrats were on the verge of capturing both the House and maybe the Senate.  Now both milestones are in jeopardy because of a comment that John Kerry made about wanting students to strive to become intellectuals -- a trait President Bush has rarely exercised while managing the Iraq war:

"I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."

Doesn't sound so bad, does it?  But the way Senator Kerry worded it underscored precisely why he lost us the 2004 election.  Rhetorical lapses, such as, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, after I voted against it," are not the mark of bad character or sly intent, they are the mark of a political communication disorder.  Right now, I have to ask why on earth did we nominate this guy as our party's presidential nominee in what was supposed to be the most important election in our lifetime?

Senator Kerry is a very strong man.  He fought in Vietnam, unlike most of the chicken-hawks behind our current failed policy in Iraq.  His record was distorted in 2004.  But let's face it: John Kerry made it easy for them.  He is also making it easy for them now by serving up this kind of rhetoric on a platter that can be used against his own party.

Don't get me wrong: I don't think John Kerry meant to say anything negative about our troops.  If he did then he would be attacking himself, since he once fought in a war, which would be a surprising statement for anyone to make, especially someone with an ego like Kerry's.  He meant that George W. Bush is "intellectually lazy," and that only someone intellectually lazy would dismiss foreign policy realities by sending young men and women into a poorly-planned war without a comprehensive plan for how to get them out.  That is the message John Kerry intended to imply.

But intent is nothing in politics.  I am only 23 years old, and have studied politics for just a few years -- and even I know that!  Again, just in case you've been reading other blogs that tell you otherwise, INTENT MEANS NOTHING.  Politics is a consequentialist profession.  This blog focuses mostly on political strategy, therefore I will give that to you.  It does not take a high-priced pollster to tell you that what Kerry said "sounded" condescending and elitist.  Again, John was not condescending, he SOUNDED condescending -- that is all that matters when you are one week away from a vote that will determine the future of the U.S. Senate.

Tomorrow when I check my email box, I know that I will get the same kind of hate mail I get every other time I criticize John Kerry's lazy rhetorical skills.  But something needed to be said.  Again, I know that Bush and Rove are turning this into a bigger issue than it should be -- but they are because John Kerry gave them their October surprise they had been looking for.

Comments

[George]

What an idiot. What a total idiot. If you cant beat George W Bush in an election after he's been exposed for 4 years, just shut up and go home. I dont need to hear from Kerry anymore.

2008? I dont think so.

[JKava]

I support Kerry strongly in his attack on Bush. Look at some of the other Democratic blogs. The Dem rank and file think that his
comments were fantastic! Me too! Readers on democraticunderground.com are raving in support of his statements.

Why are you attacking Kerry for calling the bums out? Are you part of the conservative media establishment that doesn't tolerate any negative comments about Republicans or the president? It would seem so. The only problem here is that the Mass media is failing to give his entire quote, as are you.

Here is more from Kerry which is being stiffled by the media in general:

"If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have."

Here's a quote from Max Cleland:

Max Cleland fired off a response to John Kerry’s press conference today, in support of Kerry, as Bill Frist was saying Kerry owed the troops an apology. Frist is wrong - oh so wrong. Max knows what it’s like to be hit by the Republican smear machine. Kudos to Max for stating the obvious:

“I think people will remember John Kerry’s press conference today as the moment we Democrats stopped once and forever accepting the disgraceful smears of Republicans. John Kerry showed our Party how to fight back with the truth.

I see the real issue on your page here, Todd, is that you are anti-Kerry, and also anti-Hillary. You have been since you started blogging.

Kerry should not apologize!!!!
He should step up his attacks and get on them on the tube!!!

Thanks,
JK

[JKava]

And here's this from firedoglake.com

Al Sharpton went on to observe that "If John Kerry is smart, he will keep the issue out there about what he said about Iraq" and "thanks be to Tony Snow. He's brought [the war] back front and center." Even the WSJ acknowledges that the war is what's killing the GOP at the polls. The only ones who seem to be proud of their roles in leading us into war are George Bush, Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman.

[Administrator: Todd]

I appreciate your comments. I've been getting a lot in my email box today, and many of them have been disrespectful. But I thank you for at least being respectful.

I never said that what John Kerry uttered was wrong. He was dead right. He was also right in 2004 about the stop-loss program, and how that is basically a draft. But in politics today, being right or being wrong doesn't always cut it. I write in this blog not as an idealist -- you have to remember that. I write as a analytical realist, a political science student. I know that as long as this story stays on the front pages, independents and moderate GOP voters will head to the polls as angry reactionaries, not as evaluators of our current policy in Iraq.

What do I want to be on the front page? I want Ken Mehlman's racism to be on the front page, judging from the way he attacked Harold Ford. I want George Allen's stupidity and arrogance to be on the front page. I want Rush Limbaugh's attacks on Michael J. Fox, a parkinson's patient, to be on the front page. I want Washington corruption to be on the front page. And FOR GOD'S SAKE, I want the reality in Iraq to be on the front page!!

What I don't want is some rhetorically inept Senator that puts his own ambitions ahead of his party to take over as the top news story. And I really mean that. He does put his own ambitions ahead of the party. This is a guy that has $12 million in the bank left over from 2004 and his own PAC, and has donated hardly any of it to Democratic candidates!! The only significant thing he has done this election cycle is go on his web site and tell his supporters to donate their own money to certain candidates. But when it comes to giving his OWN MONEY, he has been a LOST CAUSE.

You are probably wondering where all this frustration over Kerry is coming from? I'll tell you. I am sick of my party not knowing how to talk!! It should be a requirement when you go into politics. People like John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, or even Nancy Pelosi need some tutoring in that field. It's as if they carry a podium around wherever they go....they would make great professors, but that is not how political communications works. If I had it my way, I would have those people back off. So who do I want talking? I want people like Barack Obama, Jon Tester, Bill Richardson, Wesley Clark, Bill Clinton, Tom Kaine, Mark Warner -- I want those individuals as the face of my Democratic Party.

So, again, the point that John Kerry was right has nothing to do with the point I was trying to make. Politicians that don't know how to talk should shut up one week before the election. I don't want a rhetorical clutz in there. We need to be smart. That's all.

[JKava]

In fact I read more than one article that said John Kerry was donating quite a bit of money he raised with Friends of John Kerry to Democratic candidates. I cannot remember the sources, however.

Some are saying that with his statements, Senator Kerry has brought the Iraq war failure back to the front pages.

Anyway, I don't believe that Kerry put himself on the front pages. The Republican media did so. I think they made a mistake in that respect. They put him on the front pages, and now his counter attack is going to be on at least some front pages. This will help the Republicans about as much as it did to go after Clinton when he slashed back against that weasely little Faux News reporter a few weeks ago.

And if this does help his presidential candidacy, so much the better. We need candidates other than cowards running. Most of the Dems out there seem to do nothing but show their yellow streaks when challenged by the Repub smear machine. How is that going to help us?

Kerry can stand up at a microphone without
shaking at the knees when the Thugs come after him, unlike so many other big name Dems, and so can Hillary for that matter!

JK

[ted K]

Todd,
Keep that spine!
You know I am as RIGHT wing as they come, but at least you can call one of your own out, like I can, when he flubs big like that.
Most "progressive, liberal, dems" agree with everything one of their own say.
If he would have just apologized right away, this wouldn't have gotten so blown out of proportion.
I for one am glad he chose to stick to his elitist guns and didn't want to back down, thus making it bigger news.
And not because of some proposed right wing media machine as JK blathers about.
It was Kerry's own inability to suppress his elitist streak, and for some reason, try to act like he has a sense of humor and timing.. and yes he is elitist...and then the proverbial pot shot at Rush and even calling him "doughy."

Nice, get caught with foot in mouth and just start swinging at every thing!

Hey, I hope he takes some time off and goes to North Vietnam and visits the shrine they have of him in a museum, praising him for helping their cause.

But I would rather he just keep talking.
Hillary and Kerry Just keep that diareah of the mouth coming!

[Administrator: Todd]

Do you honestly believe that the media is controlled by Republicans? We know Fox News and talk radio are....but they aren't legitimate news sources. I am talking about the networks. You really think they are Republican media? I would call them corporate media, who dumb down their news to the max so we don't have to think at all.

And OBVIOUSLY the media dumbed down what Kerry said. No one is denying that. But we knew that was going to happen. The media has lost all credibility when it comes to informing the American public -- but again, we already know that. So John Kerry should have known before saying something that could have been twisted into something else.

I'm telling you, this guy has no rhetorical skills whatsoever. He talks like an aristocrat, not as someone that has any charisma.

Again, I completely agree with you that the GOP is going overboard with this. I am writing a huge piece for tomorrow that slams the right-wing for diverting attention away from what the real issue should be: the Administration allowing Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to tell U.S. forces to stop looking for their kidnapped soldier. Now THAT is a disgrace.
Also, I don't like this whole "counterattack" idea IF it involves Kerry. If it involves someone else -- like Wes Clark or Max Cleland -- fine. Again, if Kerry is behind it, it will keep Kerry on the front pages. If he is the spokesman for our party, WE LOSE among independents and moderate Republicans. They already branded him in February and March of '04 -- we can't change that. Independents and moderate Republicans are the voters we MUST get in order to take back the House and Senate. All a Kerry counterattack would do is fire up people like you and me -- but we are only the base. When you are less than one week before the election, you go after undecided voters.

Many of these undecided voters are military families whose sons or daughters are in Iraq right now. They are afraid for their lives, and want change. At the same time, the media portrayed Kerry like he insulted their intelligence (even though Kerry was talking about Bush). That resonates. It might not be what we wanted it to be....but that is the reality of how people are perceiving it.

Also, a Kerry counterattack would take time, weeks to pull off -- we only have days until the election.

So what would I do? I would have Ford, Webb, McCaskill and Tester make sure that they confront Bush on military-related issues for the rest of the campaign. Talk about Iraq, and how Bush has not acknowledged reality, and we need a Congress that will. Talk about cuts in veteran's benefits and all those hospitals being shut down. Talk about over-stretching our military to the point where it is destroying military families psychologically and economically. Put it into a generational context. Bush is making it harder for future generations of military families because of his failed strategy. And these GOP Congressman have refused to confront the President -- so we need to send Tester, Ford, McCaskill and Webb to go to Washington and fix the problem.

If Republicans want to localize the elections, let them do it, but hit them right back by talking about how this rubber-stamp Congress is hurting military local communities throughout the country, and it's time for a change.

But by all means, the more Kerry shows his face between now and election time, the more he is a diversion.

Lastly, just because we WANT John Kerry to fight back doesn't mean he CAN do it effectively. Democrats have to start being smart. This doesn't necessarily mean shying away or being nice about everything. But it means thinking about what you say before you say it. That's all.

From now until next Tuesday, when I hit back at the Republicans on this site, I will give it my all. There is so much going on in the country and abroad to have Kerry be on the front pages.

[Administrator: Todd]

Well, thanks, but the part about North Vietnam was a bit over the top. He fought in that war, contrary to the lies that have been told about him on talk-radio. Kerry has more intellect than you or myself could ever dream of having.

I'm calling out Kerry not because I disagree with his intent, but because he has no charisma whatsoever, and he is a clutz rhetorically.

At the same time, why is what Kerry said substantively more important than the fact that we let the Iraqi Prime Minister tell us to stop looking for our lost soldier in iraq? We have no control over the situation in Iraq, and it's really disgusting me because I don't want us to have to be dealing with this mess when im 50 or 60.

[ted K]

I know he fought in the War, Kudos to him for that.

But coming back and acting traitorous, testifying that he had seen things, or heard things, then having to retract that later, because he had never actually witnessed things, is unconscionable.

It still doesn't change the FACT that he does have a part of that museum dedicated to those in America that furthered the N. Viet. cause. And Kerry is prominently featured.

Oh, and then throwing his multiple medals over the White House wall in protest.
What?
Those weren't his medals after all, but those of a different soldier, what a stand up guy you had running for President.

Maybe Jane Fonda and him can elope in North Vietnam.

And speak about your own intellectual level. I don't envy Kerry one iota. What did he do with all this great "intellect" of which you speak?

Married some rich heiress and mooched off her.

Wow! WAY to go intelligencia.
I have had the pleasure of witnessing his wife, and that was not an intelligent decision!

At least he could have invented the internet, like Gore.

FWIW, Charles Manson had an extremely high IQ.. who gives a rip?

[George]

JKava, you can spread your Kerry love all you want to and i can read others tell me how this Kerry thing will benefit Democrats, but I just dont get it. It's five days before the election and the headlines are still JOHN KERRY. The headlines are not Iraq, they are JOHN FUCKING KERRY!

He may be a great guy and a quality Senator but he totally screwed up here. Let the records show that before this thing, Democrats led everywhere except in Tennessee. If that changes in the next round of polling it is Kerry's fault.

What a dope.

[Administrator: Todd]

Couldn't have said it any better George.

And Ted, you know that's not true about Kerry's war record. It's funny how whenever conservatives bash Kerry, they start out by saying, "We salute his service." Then they go on to call him a traitor and all this other stuff. You can't have it both ways. Either he is honorable or a traitor. I think he's honorable. You don't. So don't pretend to salute his service when you don't really mean it.

[ted K]

Todd,
Show me what isn't true about his service that I stated.
He servered honorably, then dishonored his uniform on return.
There is a N.Vietnam museum and Kerry is a prominent figure in it, sighting his testimony being key to their resolve.
He did throw medals that he claimed were his over the White House wall, only to be found out later. Then admitted they were somebody else's medals.

Those are FACTS.
I know that "5 letter word" is very painful for you Dems.

He fought in Vietnam.. great..thank you Kerry.

Then he undermined the war when he got back home, telling of attrocities "he heard about" and most likely this publicly aired testimony gave the N. Vietnamese the resolve to continue to fight. How many more deaths might that have caused because they felt America was losing support for the war?

Because of traitors like Kerry.

And Todd, don't tell me what I honestly think or not.
I don't pretend things.

I salute anyone that fights in the military, putting one's life on the line for other Americans , I can think of no greater sacrifice.

But to then come back to your country, publicly bash the war.. AS IT IS STILL GOING ON.. and putting fellow servicemen's lives in danger is reprehensible.

What, he gets a pass on whatever he does now, because he served?
I don't buy that for a second.
You served honorably, and then completely dishonor the uniform by doing what you do.
Sorry, I call it like I see it, I am not going to let his comments and actions pass, just because he served.

I judge a man by all his actions.

And his publicly aired comment about the men in uniform during this war:

Something to the effect of, "I don't think our servicemen should be acting like terrorist, busting into peoples houses in the dead of night, frightening innocent women and children....''

Condemning our servicemen once again.

I repeat.

Thanks for your previous service.
It's too bad you lost the resolve to be a man.