Thursday, August 21, 2003
NYTimes editorial
Mr. Herbert echoes John Kerry's words in 1971: "How can we ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
August 21, 2003
A Price Too High
By BOB HERBERT
How long is it going to take for us to recognize that the war we so foolishly started in Iraq is a fiasco — tragic, deeply dehumanizing and ultimately unwinnable? How much time and how much money and how many wasted lives is it going to take?
At the United Nations yesterday, grieving diplomats spoke bitterly, but not for attribution, about the U.S.-led invasion and occupation. They said it has not only resulted in the violent deaths of close and highly respected colleagues, but has also galvanized the most radical elements of Islam.
"This is a dream for the jihad," said one high-ranking U.N. official. "The resistance will only grow. The American occupation is now the focal point, drawing people from all over Islam into an eye-to-eye confrontation with the hated Americans.
"It is very propitious for the terrorists," he said. "The U.S. is now on the soil of an Arab country, a Muslim country, where the terrorists have all the advantages. They are fighting in a terrain which they know and the U.S. does not know, with cultural images the U.S. does not understand, and with a language the American soldiers do not speak. The troops can't even read the street signs."
The American people still do not have a clear understanding of why we are in Iraq. And the troops don't have a clear understanding of their mission. We're fighting a guerrilla war, which the bright lights at the Pentagon never saw coming, with conventional forces.
Under these circumstances, in which the enemy might be anybody, anywhere, tragedies like the killing of Mazen Dana are all but inevitable. Mr. Dana was the veteran Reuters cameraman who was blown away by jittery U.S. troops on Sunday. The troops apparently thought his video camera was a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
The mind plays tricks on you when you're in great danger. A couple of weeks ago, in an apparent case of mistaken identity, U.S. soldiers killed two members of the Iraqi police. And a number of innocent Iraqi civilians, including children, have been killed by American troops.
The carnage from riots, ambushes, firefights, suicide bombings, acts of sabotage, friendly fire incidents and other deadly encounters is growing. And so is the hostility toward U.S. troops and Americans in general.
We are paying a terribly high price — for what?
One of the many reasons Vietnam spiraled out of control was the fact that America's top political leaders never clearly defined the mission there, and were never straight with the public about what they were doing. Domestic political considerations led Kennedy, then Johnson, then Nixon to conceal the truth about a policy that was bankrupt from the beginning. They even concealed how much the war was costing.
Sound familiar?
Now we're lodged in Iraq, in the midst of the most volatile region of the world, and the illusion of a quick victory followed by grateful Iraqis' welcoming us with open arms has vanished. Instead of democracy blossoming in the desert, we have the reality of continuing bloodshed and heightened terror — the payoff of a policy spun from fantasies and lies.
Senator John McCain and others are saying the answer is more troops, an escalation. If you want more American blood shed, that's the way to go. We sent troops to Vietnam by the hundreds of thousands. There were never enough.
Beefing up the American occupation is not the answer to the problem. The American occupation is the problem. The occupation is perceived by ordinary Iraqis as a confrontation and a humiliation, and by terrorists and other bad actors as an opportunity to be gleefully exploited.
The U.S. cannot bully its way to victory in Iraq. It needs allies, and it needs a plan. As quickly as possible, we should turn the country over to a genuine international coalition, headed by the U.N. and supported in good faith by the U.S.
The idea would be to mount a massive international effort to secure Iraq, develop a legitimate sovereign government and work cooperatively with the Iraqi people to rebuild the nation.
If this does not happen, disaster will loom because the United States cannot secure and rebuild Iraq on its own.
A U.N. aide told me: "The United States is the No. 1 enemy of the Muslim world, and right now it's sitting on the terrorists' doorstep. It needs help. It needs friends."
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
August 21, 2003
A Price Too High
By BOB HERBERT
How long is it going to take for us to recognize that the war we so foolishly started in Iraq is a fiasco — tragic, deeply dehumanizing and ultimately unwinnable? How much time and how much money and how many wasted lives is it going to take?
At the United Nations yesterday, grieving diplomats spoke bitterly, but not for attribution, about the U.S.-led invasion and occupation. They said it has not only resulted in the violent deaths of close and highly respected colleagues, but has also galvanized the most radical elements of Islam.
"This is a dream for the jihad," said one high-ranking U.N. official. "The resistance will only grow. The American occupation is now the focal point, drawing people from all over Islam into an eye-to-eye confrontation with the hated Americans.
"It is very propitious for the terrorists," he said. "The U.S. is now on the soil of an Arab country, a Muslim country, where the terrorists have all the advantages. They are fighting in a terrain which they know and the U.S. does not know, with cultural images the U.S. does not understand, and with a language the American soldiers do not speak. The troops can't even read the street signs."
The American people still do not have a clear understanding of why we are in Iraq. And the troops don't have a clear understanding of their mission. We're fighting a guerrilla war, which the bright lights at the Pentagon never saw coming, with conventional forces.
Under these circumstances, in which the enemy might be anybody, anywhere, tragedies like the killing of Mazen Dana are all but inevitable. Mr. Dana was the veteran Reuters cameraman who was blown away by jittery U.S. troops on Sunday. The troops apparently thought his video camera was a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
The mind plays tricks on you when you're in great danger. A couple of weeks ago, in an apparent case of mistaken identity, U.S. soldiers killed two members of the Iraqi police. And a number of innocent Iraqi civilians, including children, have been killed by American troops.
The carnage from riots, ambushes, firefights, suicide bombings, acts of sabotage, friendly fire incidents and other deadly encounters is growing. And so is the hostility toward U.S. troops and Americans in general.
We are paying a terribly high price — for what?
One of the many reasons Vietnam spiraled out of control was the fact that America's top political leaders never clearly defined the mission there, and were never straight with the public about what they were doing. Domestic political considerations led Kennedy, then Johnson, then Nixon to conceal the truth about a policy that was bankrupt from the beginning. They even concealed how much the war was costing.
Sound familiar?
Now we're lodged in Iraq, in the midst of the most volatile region of the world, and the illusion of a quick victory followed by grateful Iraqis' welcoming us with open arms has vanished. Instead of democracy blossoming in the desert, we have the reality of continuing bloodshed and heightened terror — the payoff of a policy spun from fantasies and lies.
Senator John McCain and others are saying the answer is more troops, an escalation. If you want more American blood shed, that's the way to go. We sent troops to Vietnam by the hundreds of thousands. There were never enough.
Beefing up the American occupation is not the answer to the problem. The American occupation is the problem. The occupation is perceived by ordinary Iraqis as a confrontation and a humiliation, and by terrorists and other bad actors as an opportunity to be gleefully exploited.
The U.S. cannot bully its way to victory in Iraq. It needs allies, and it needs a plan. As quickly as possible, we should turn the country over to a genuine international coalition, headed by the U.N. and supported in good faith by the U.S.
The idea would be to mount a massive international effort to secure Iraq, develop a legitimate sovereign government and work cooperatively with the Iraqi people to rebuild the nation.
If this does not happen, disaster will loom because the United States cannot secure and rebuild Iraq on its own.
A U.N. aide told me: "The United States is the No. 1 enemy of the Muslim world, and right now it's sitting on the terrorists' doorstep. It needs help. It needs friends."
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
Duh-duh-Dubbya in Oregon...
You know our man Kerry shouldn't have a problem beating Dubbya:
Dubbya at a $500/plate fundraiser:
"You know you're in pretty good country when you see a lot of cowboy hats out in the crowd," he said.
So, Dubbya, the rest of the country is pretty bad?
With Oregon's unemployment rate at 8.1% as of July, Dubbya shows us what compassionate conservatism is:
"I fully understand Oregon's unemployment issue. ... I'm sorry it's the way it is," Bush said.
Yeah, he IS sorry - too bad he's not taking the blame for all of this.
My question is: how are people in this country falling for this Bush shite?
I feel that if the Kerry campaign sent out his "Courage" video on CD to everyone in the US, he'll have no problem getting the D nomination and spanking Dubbya in November 2004.
I have Kerry signs in my apartment windows, and I'm trying to get his message out to everyone I know, and even those I don't know.
We can do it!
Here's a great Dubbya joke:
Bush's Propaganda Tour
During a propaganda tour, President Bush visits a school to explain his politics to kids. He invites the kids to ask him questions. Bobby stands up and tells him "Mr. President, I got 3 questions":
1. How come, that although the count of votes was not in your favor, you still won the election?
2. Why do you want to attack Iraq without an imminent reason?
3. Don't you also consider the bombing of Hiroshima the biggest terrorist attack of all times?
Before the president can answer, the recess bell rings, and the kids leave the room. After they came back, Bush invited them again to ask questions. Joey stands up and tells him "Mr. President, I got 5 questions":
1. How come, that although the count of votes was not in your favor, you still won the election?
2. Why do you want to attack Iraq without an imminent reason?
3. Don't you also consider the bombing of Hiroshima the biggest terrorist
attack of all times?
4. Why did the recess bell ring 20 minutes early?
5. Where's Bobby?
Dubbya at a $500/plate fundraiser:
"You know you're in pretty good country when you see a lot of cowboy hats out in the crowd," he said.
So, Dubbya, the rest of the country is pretty bad?
With Oregon's unemployment rate at 8.1% as of July, Dubbya shows us what compassionate conservatism is:
"I fully understand Oregon's unemployment issue. ... I'm sorry it's the way it is," Bush said.
Yeah, he IS sorry - too bad he's not taking the blame for all of this.
My question is: how are people in this country falling for this Bush shite?
I feel that if the Kerry campaign sent out his "Courage" video on CD to everyone in the US, he'll have no problem getting the D nomination and spanking Dubbya in November 2004.
I have Kerry signs in my apartment windows, and I'm trying to get his message out to everyone I know, and even those I don't know.
We can do it!
Here's a great Dubbya joke:
Bush's Propaganda Tour
During a propaganda tour, President Bush visits a school to explain his politics to kids. He invites the kids to ask him questions. Bobby stands up and tells him "Mr. President, I got 3 questions":
1. How come, that although the count of votes was not in your favor, you still won the election?
2. Why do you want to attack Iraq without an imminent reason?
3. Don't you also consider the bombing of Hiroshima the biggest terrorist attack of all times?
Before the president can answer, the recess bell rings, and the kids leave the room. After they came back, Bush invited them again to ask questions. Joey stands up and tells him "Mr. President, I got 5 questions":
1. How come, that although the count of votes was not in your favor, you still won the election?
2. Why do you want to attack Iraq without an imminent reason?
3. Don't you also consider the bombing of Hiroshima the biggest terrorist
attack of all times?
4. Why did the recess bell ring 20 minutes early?
5. Where's Bobby?
IF YOU WANT TO MARCH!
Check out this site for marches to the Memorial:
http://www.connectdc.com/40thanniversarymarchdc/dcevents.html
I am unable to march, due to a bum ankle, so I'll hang out and save our seats.
See you all on Saturday!
Ruth
http://www.connectdc.com/40thanniversarymarchdc/dcevents.html
I am unable to march, due to a bum ankle, so I'll hang out and save our seats.
See you all on Saturday!
Ruth
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
LATEST NOTICE FOR SATURDAY
I've heard from a lot of people, and here's the latest.
I will be at the Lincoln Memorial sometime between 8:30 and 9 am. I hope to set up along the north side of the Reflecting Pool (to the right of the Lincoln Memorial), as close to the LM as possible. I will be wearing a straw hat with a flag bandana tied around it, and my Converse flag high-tops (they're awesome!).
I am bringing a couple of sheets and plastic things to sit on; bring your own non-alcoholic beverages, food, and sitting devices. We will have signs, stickers, and sign-up sheets for Kerry.
The best Metro exit is Smithsonian - the Lincoln Memorial is at the exact opposite end of the Mall from the Capitol - so, start walking towards the Washington Monument and keep going along the Reflecting Pool (to the right/north) - you should run into me!
Plenaries will be happening on the other side of the Pool; people will be marching in from all points of the city; the Rally starts at 3 m. If you have a digital camera, BRING IT!
I can't wait to see you there!
I will be at the Lincoln Memorial sometime between 8:30 and 9 am. I hope to set up along the north side of the Reflecting Pool (to the right of the Lincoln Memorial), as close to the LM as possible. I will be wearing a straw hat with a flag bandana tied around it, and my Converse flag high-tops (they're awesome!).
I am bringing a couple of sheets and plastic things to sit on; bring your own non-alcoholic beverages, food, and sitting devices. We will have signs, stickers, and sign-up sheets for Kerry.
The best Metro exit is Smithsonian - the Lincoln Memorial is at the exact opposite end of the Mall from the Capitol - so, start walking towards the Washington Monument and keep going along the Reflecting Pool (to the right/north) - you should run into me!
Plenaries will be happening on the other side of the Pool; people will be marching in from all points of the city; the Rally starts at 3 m. If you have a digital camera, BRING IT!
I can't wait to see you there!
BE AT THE MALL ON SATURDAY!
Hey everyone!
Look for the Kerry blankets near the Lincoln Memorial (towards the Wall). We'll have signs, and stickers, and sign-up sheets!
Bring plenty of water and sunscreen, and your spirit of community as we reflect on the past 40 years of the civil rights movement, and work towards a better future for this country.
Hope to see you there!
Look for the Kerry blankets near the Lincoln Memorial (towards the Wall). We'll have signs, and stickers, and sign-up sheets!
Bring plenty of water and sunscreen, and your spirit of community as we reflect on the past 40 years of the civil rights movement, and work towards a better future for this country.
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
40TH ANNIVERSARY MARCH ON WASHINGTON RALLY NEWS!
JOIN YOUR FELLOW KERRY SUPPORTERS ON THE MALL THIS SATURDAY!
We will be part of the 40th Anniversary of the March on Washington - BE THERE!
DC area Kerry supporters:
Meet near the Wall THIS SATURDAY, August 23, at 10 am.
I plan to get there early to pick a good spot and lay out some blankets. I have about 10 signs, and will rig one up so I can be found.
Here is the link to the March (which has an agenda): www.marchonwashington.org
We need to "be loud and proud!"
Hope to see you Saturday!
We will be part of the 40th Anniversary of the March on Washington - BE THERE!
DC area Kerry supporters:
Meet near the Wall THIS SATURDAY, August 23, at 10 am.
I plan to get there early to pick a good spot and lay out some blankets. I have about 10 signs, and will rig one up so I can be found.
Here is the link to the March (which has an agenda): www.marchonwashington.org
We need to "be loud and proud!"
Hope to see you Saturday!
Monday, August 18, 2003
Healthy Blog Debate
This was a post found in the Kerry blog:
"Kerry has no back bone. He might get military honors for the vietnam war, but once he gets into a bind, his skin is the only thing he cares about.
His supporters will be left hanging in the cold, once he gets elected. He does not care about people. Period.
Just look at the actions. He unabashedly made fun of his own democratic comrades. He shamelessly copies other people's pioneering efforts. He panders to every group that he talks to. He votes on the wars and follows bush's lead. Then he flim-flam back into a "regime change here" soundbite.
Kerry is the typical effete decadent ultra-rich liberal politician. It is because of the likes of him that our Democratic party has gone down in the polls. Kerry DEFINITELY does not represent democrats"
Posted by: john on August 17, 2003 10:22 PM
HERE IS MY RESPONSE:
"This is for John, who posted on August 17.
Do you know what military honors John Kerry earned? The Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and three, count them, THREE Purple Hearts.
Let me quote from www.perscom.army.mil:
"The Silver Star is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Army, is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States..."
"The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the military of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States..."
Let me quote from www.purpleheart.org:
"The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the US who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy... It is specifically a COMBAT DECORATION."
You do not earn these medals without a backbone; you do not earn these medals by saving your own skin; you earn these medals by putting your comrades before yourself.
I met John Kerry last weekend, and he is anything but effete; he did not show up in a Rolls Royce or a Navigator; he is not using his or his wife's personal money for this campaign.
He did not let his fellow soldiers hang out in the cold; he has not let the people of Massachusetts hang out in the cold; he will not let Americans hang out in the cold.
If you haven't noticed, every candidate has a web site; some even have Meetup groups. That is not shameless copying; it is using the technology that is available. Dean hasn't copyrighted online campaigning yet, has he?
Have you heard John Kerry speak? He speaks on all the issues relevant to the American people; that is not pandering - it is outlining his plan, a typical strategy of all campaigns. Don't ALL the candidates speak on issues relevant to the crowd they're facing?
I was born poor, I was a squid in the Navy, and I feel that John Kerry is the right person, the ONLY person, who can beat George Bush.
Get over yourself, and please, do not deride someone's military service, unless you yourself have been there.
VETERANS SUPPORT KERRY!"
Posted by: Ruth on August 18, 2003 11:43 PM
I thought I did pretty well. It really gets me riled when someone badmouths a veteran! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!
Must channel bad energy into getting Kerry elected! Whew! That's better....
I am currently trying to organize Kerry supporters to participate in the March on Washington on August 23. I will post to the Kerry blog! Hey, that might work!
"Kerry has no back bone. He might get military honors for the vietnam war, but once he gets into a bind, his skin is the only thing he cares about.
His supporters will be left hanging in the cold, once he gets elected. He does not care about people. Period.
Just look at the actions. He unabashedly made fun of his own democratic comrades. He shamelessly copies other people's pioneering efforts. He panders to every group that he talks to. He votes on the wars and follows bush's lead. Then he flim-flam back into a "regime change here" soundbite.
Kerry is the typical effete decadent ultra-rich liberal politician. It is because of the likes of him that our Democratic party has gone down in the polls. Kerry DEFINITELY does not represent democrats"
Posted by: john on August 17, 2003 10:22 PM
HERE IS MY RESPONSE:
"This is for John, who posted on August 17.
Do you know what military honors John Kerry earned? The Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and three, count them, THREE Purple Hearts.
Let me quote from www.perscom.army.mil:
"The Silver Star is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Army, is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States..."
"The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the military of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States..."
Let me quote from www.purpleheart.org:
"The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the US who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy... It is specifically a COMBAT DECORATION."
You do not earn these medals without a backbone; you do not earn these medals by saving your own skin; you earn these medals by putting your comrades before yourself.
I met John Kerry last weekend, and he is anything but effete; he did not show up in a Rolls Royce or a Navigator; he is not using his or his wife's personal money for this campaign.
He did not let his fellow soldiers hang out in the cold; he has not let the people of Massachusetts hang out in the cold; he will not let Americans hang out in the cold.
If you haven't noticed, every candidate has a web site; some even have Meetup groups. That is not shameless copying; it is using the technology that is available. Dean hasn't copyrighted online campaigning yet, has he?
Have you heard John Kerry speak? He speaks on all the issues relevant to the American people; that is not pandering - it is outlining his plan, a typical strategy of all campaigns. Don't ALL the candidates speak on issues relevant to the crowd they're facing?
I was born poor, I was a squid in the Navy, and I feel that John Kerry is the right person, the ONLY person, who can beat George Bush.
Get over yourself, and please, do not deride someone's military service, unless you yourself have been there.
VETERANS SUPPORT KERRY!"
Posted by: Ruth on August 18, 2003 11:43 PM
I thought I did pretty well. It really gets me riled when someone badmouths a veteran! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!
Must channel bad energy into getting Kerry elected! Whew! That's better....
I am currently trying to organize Kerry supporters to participate in the March on Washington on August 23. I will post to the Kerry blog! Hey, that might work!
Transcript of NPR Interview with John Kerry - August 18, 2003
You can listen to the interview at: http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/democrats2004/kerry.html
RENEE MONTAGNE: Sen. Kerry, welcome.
Sen. JOHN KERRY: Thank you, I'm delighted to be here.
MONTAGNE: What are the one or two issues that distinguish you from the rest of the Democratic pack?
KERRY: I think my record of leadership throughout my public life where I have been willing to take on tough issues, whether it was fighting against Ronald Reagan's illegal war in central America or exposing Oliver North's private aid network or struggling with John McCain to get accountability on POW/MIA and move our relationship with Vietnam forward, or fight against the drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and lead the fight against Newt Gingrich's assault on the environment and on the Clean Air and Clean Water Act. I've been willing to fight for the things that make a difference in the quality of life in America. And I think more than anything right now, Americans want real leadership that moves us in the right direction.
MONTAGNE: You voted for the resolution authorizing the war in Iraq. Would you vote 'yes' again on that resolution if you knew then what you know now and, most particularly, the failure so far to find weapons of mass destruction.
KERRY: That's a question that just doesn't even fit in the context of where we are today. We have to vote where we vote. My vote was the correct vote: for the president of the United States to have a threat of force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable to the very agreement he signed. But we all had a right as Americans to expect that the president of the United States would use that authority properly. He did not, in my judgment. He did not do the hard work of diplomacy. He did not make real the meaning of the words 'last resort.' He didn't build the kind of international coalition they had talked about and promised. They didn't do the work of putting America in the strongest position possible in building the consent and legitimacy of their effort. And they certainly didn't do what I and others warned them to do, which was make certain that you have a plan for winning the peace if indeed you do this because that's the difficulty, not winning the war. So it was the correct thing to do to protect the security of the United States to go to the U.N., but we should have had a smarter, more effective carrying out of diplomacy in order to put America in a stronger position.
MONTAGNE: If you were to inherit the situation in Iraq right now -- and in a sense you rather hope to with this campaign -- what precisely would you do to make things right?
KERRY: I would have done what I would have done originally. Long before I chose to go to war absent a very imminent threat, I would have built the kind of international support... I would do that now. I think we should be going to the United Nations. I think we should be involving NATO. I think we need to put other troops on the ground. We need Arab-speaking troops, we need Muslims. We need to have the shared responsibility for the winning of the peace, which is what these people should have known to begin with and what many of us warned them about. I wasn't alone. We told them the difficulty of this is not winning the ground operation. The difficulty is winning the peace. And they have now probably out of false pride, they are unwilling to go to the United Nations. And as a Vietnam veteran, I feel particularly strongly about that because I watched false pride get in the way of the decisions we should have made during that war. I believe it is critical for the United States to defuse the sense of American occupation, to take the target off of American troops, to reduce the cost to Americans and to share the burden of winning the peace with the world. That will require a very different foreign policy from this administration. We have to end the unilateral blustering arrogance of this administration that is not making America safer in the world.
MONTAGNE: You have been running as a candidate whose experience with foreign policy and intelligence issues runs deep, and it does. You're also among the Democrats the only... veteran of a foreign war, that was Vietnam, plus you were an anti-war activist during Vietnam. Are you surprised that your background hasn't given your candidacy more traction, especially most particularly among liberal Democrats and those who are concerned about this war, the war in Iraq?
KERRY: I think I'm getting plenty of traction. I've been doing very, very well. I think that the war itself confused a lot of people and it angered a lot of people. I understand that. There were some people who just plain didn't like the vote. I recognize that and I respect that, but I did what I thought was correct as if I were president. If I had been president, I would have gone to the United Nations and I would have wanted a legitimate threat of force in order to make Saddam Hussein accountable to that international institution. But I would have respected the international institution. I would have respected the process. I would have taken the time and shown the patience and shown the maturity that allow you to bring other nations to you in your endeavors... There was nothing compelling that said you have to do this in May or March or whenever. It could have waited until September or October. There was much more diplomacy to be accomplished and I said so at the time. But I supported certainly the notion that after we discovered more chemical weapons, more biological weapons than we ever thought he had over seven and a half years, after we discovered that he was further down the road to the creation of a nuclear weapon than we thought he was. In other words, our intelligence was wrong but underneath, not on top. And suddenly the wall comes down on Bill Clinton in 1998 and the intelligence community is saying to everybody this is what they're doing. The responsible thing to do is to hold him accountable. The responsible thing for the president to have done was to do that properly. And I think my position is 100 percent correct in terms of how you protect the interests of our nation at the same time as you respect the values of the international community and our country.
MONTAGNE: Let's talk for a minute about economics. You've said you would repeal the Bush tax cuts... particularly the tax cuts that benefit the wealthy. What else do you propose doing to revive the economy?
KERRY: Well, let me make it very clear. First of all, there are some other candidates who say repeal all of the Bush tax cuts. I think that is an enormous mistake. We Democrats are the ones who fought to put in place the lower-income portion of the tax cut and the child care credit and I think it would be an enormous mistake to turn around and raise their income tax burden. I think that's a mistake. I think the wealthiest, the upside, is where you have the most egregious imbalance in the tax cut. And we can fund my health care plan for all Americans by taking that away. Secondly, I would provide assistance to the states for construction infrastructure programs in order to reduce the need for governors to be raising taxes and cutting services at a time when that really runs against the needs of our economy. In addition, I would create a jobs-creation incentive so that we begin to move those parts of the economy that are just being stuck where we'd like to get the next wave of technology purchasing going on. And we need a president who believes in science, who will advance basic science and start pushing America towards those discoveries. It's not that there isn't work to be done in our country. There's an extraordinary amount of work to be done: high-speed rail, schools, hospitals, health care. We need to value the things that we ought to be valuing in America. And that's what I intend to do by the economic choices I make in my budget. I'm also going to start us back down the road of fiscal responsibility. We did that with Bill Clinton and if you liked what you had with Bill Clinton, you're going to like what you get with John Kerry.
MONTAGNE: Bill Clinton was president during a unique decade. There was a revolution in technology during that decade. What are you going to cut to make all this happen?
KERRY: I'm going to cut the loopholes that make it attractive for companies to move to Bermuda to avoid their tax burden in America. I'm going to shut those loopholes down. I've called attention to those for a number of years. I wrote a book six years ago called The New War in which I laid out the international criminal conspiracy that helps launder money and provides a lack of accountability for the tax structures of companies of countries all over the world. We need accountability in those systems. Secondly, I'm going to cut excess within the budget. John McCain and I have put forward a commission idea that begins to look at the true pork that exists within the federal government and see if we can't begin to whittle down some of those subsidies. There are about $150 billion worth of subsidies to 100 different kinds of corporate entities where we pay, for instance, Dole and Pillsbury Foods $70 million in order to advertise their products overseas. These are the kinds of sweetheart deals that I think are undermining people's confidence in Washington and government itself and they make the workplace a very unfair place. I'm also going to crack down on the kinds of unfairness we have in the corporate relationship with workers. We've got corporate executives still feathering their nests for retirement and pay even as they're cutting workers, laying people off, squeezing down retirement benefits and health care. I don't think we've seen a workplace as unfair as this one in a long time in America and the divide between haves and have-nots is growing. If we were to make that more fair, we would have considerably more revenue to be able to deal with some of the problems of America.
MONTAGNE: President Bush and President Clinton proved that Americans find candidates who are a bit down-home, warm quite appealing. You're known to have a patrician demeanor, something of a reputation for being -- would you recognize this in yourself -- of being a bit stiff, perhaps or unapproachable?
KERRY: Nope, I don't. I think you're reading old clips. I think if you were out campaigning with me anywhere you'd see people having a lot of fun. I've been elected four times to the United States Senate and it's not because I can't communicate to people or because we don't have a good time on the campaign trail.
MONTAGNE: I'm wondering, though, what you think about the fact that just as Democratic candidates like yourself are trying to get better known around the country and raise money, the big political news suddenly and through probably this fall is the recall in California.
KERRY: I think the recall is a miscarriage of American democracy, frankly.
MONTAGNE: But I'm actually more interested in how that might affect your campaign.
KERRY: It doesn't affect my campaign at all, not at all. I'm drawing big crowds out here in Iowa right now. [In] New Hampshire, we're gaining a great head of steam. I'll be announcing in September. I'm exactly on the schedule that I want to be on. I think Americans are really interested in the country. People are out of work. We've lost 3.1 million jobs. People are hurting. People don't have health care. People know their kids aren't getting the best education. People are worried about terror. They know that homeland security is not what it ought to be. And everywhere I'm going, people are coming out to listen and hear about the future. And they're not looking for just a frivolous, happy-go-lucky pass-off on this. They're looking for serious solutions to real problems facing our nation. This is a serious time. And I think while happy-go-lucky or whatever may have passed before, people are going to look for real leadership this time. And I'm just going to run as the person I am, a person who for 35 years has fought hard to make our country stronger and better, who stood up for principles, fought for my nation and is fighting now to make our country stronger and safer. And I think there are better choices on almost every issue facing the country, on health care, on children, on education, on the environment, on transportation, on long-term care, on Medicare, on prescription drugs, on our relationship in the world... You name the issue, there is a better choice than the Bush administration is offering us today.
MONTAGNE: Let's talk about terrorism, which is fact is on people's minds. Where does the need, in your mind, to protect Americans from terrorism end and the need to protect civil liberties begin?
KERRY: You always protect civil liberties. We do not have to give up the civil liberties of this country in order to fight terror. If you are sensitive to and care about civil liberties, you can make provisions to guarantee that lawyers have access to prisoners, that you have review systems for certain kinds of security needs, that you make sure that there is a panel of judiciary or something that reviews a situation so that there is not this blind spot in the American justice system that there is today under the Patriot Act. But it's the absence of that sensitivity that exacerbates the problem. And I can guarantee you one of the things I look forward to most as president is the opportunity to be able to appoint somebody attorney general who's not John Ashcroft.
MONTAGNE: Sen. Kerry, if you are nominated what is going to keep the Republicans from painting you as another liberal from Massachusetts?
KERRY: My record. If providing health care to all Americans instead of giving the wealthiest Americans another tax break, if making sure kids have after-school programs, if being protective of the environment and not going backwards on air quality and water quality like President Bush, if being responsible about the budget is all called liberal, let them call me what they want, because labels don't work. What American want is the truth. They want someone who's fighting to take this country in the right direction. And they want somebody above all who has the experience and the leadership skill to make America safer and stronger and more secure in the world.
MONTAGNE: You just got yourself a blog, a Web diary last week.
KERRY: Absolutely.
MONTAGNE: Now, Howard Dean, a rival of yours, led in this, collected a lot of money, got the word out on his Web site, on his Web diary. But you're getting some flak for have a ghostwritten blog.
KERRY: So is his... so are all of them. I mean, the fact is we contribute when we can, but that's just the nature of the beast. I've gone online live. I will go online again in the future live. But you can't do it every day all day and everybody knows that. I think he did a good job. I give him credit. I don't take a thing away from him. We have I think done a terrific job with respect to our Internet operation. We've raised a lot of money, incidentally not as much, but we did raise money and we're going to raise more. And we're going to be stronger on it. So I'm very pleased where we are today. Clearly, we were a little bit behind and I give him credit. More power to him; he did a good job. He's activated some people and we should feel good about that. That's part of the Democratic process, but I'm not worried about where my campaign is and I'm very confident about where we're heading.
MONTAGNE: Sen. Kerry, thank you very much for joining us.
KERRY: I'm delighted. Thank you for having me.
Copyright ©2003 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.
RENEE MONTAGNE: Sen. Kerry, welcome.
Sen. JOHN KERRY: Thank you, I'm delighted to be here.
MONTAGNE: What are the one or two issues that distinguish you from the rest of the Democratic pack?
KERRY: I think my record of leadership throughout my public life where I have been willing to take on tough issues, whether it was fighting against Ronald Reagan's illegal war in central America or exposing Oliver North's private aid network or struggling with John McCain to get accountability on POW/MIA and move our relationship with Vietnam forward, or fight against the drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and lead the fight against Newt Gingrich's assault on the environment and on the Clean Air and Clean Water Act. I've been willing to fight for the things that make a difference in the quality of life in America. And I think more than anything right now, Americans want real leadership that moves us in the right direction.
MONTAGNE: You voted for the resolution authorizing the war in Iraq. Would you vote 'yes' again on that resolution if you knew then what you know now and, most particularly, the failure so far to find weapons of mass destruction.
KERRY: That's a question that just doesn't even fit in the context of where we are today. We have to vote where we vote. My vote was the correct vote: for the president of the United States to have a threat of force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable to the very agreement he signed. But we all had a right as Americans to expect that the president of the United States would use that authority properly. He did not, in my judgment. He did not do the hard work of diplomacy. He did not make real the meaning of the words 'last resort.' He didn't build the kind of international coalition they had talked about and promised. They didn't do the work of putting America in the strongest position possible in building the consent and legitimacy of their effort. And they certainly didn't do what I and others warned them to do, which was make certain that you have a plan for winning the peace if indeed you do this because that's the difficulty, not winning the war. So it was the correct thing to do to protect the security of the United States to go to the U.N., but we should have had a smarter, more effective carrying out of diplomacy in order to put America in a stronger position.
MONTAGNE: If you were to inherit the situation in Iraq right now -- and in a sense you rather hope to with this campaign -- what precisely would you do to make things right?
KERRY: I would have done what I would have done originally. Long before I chose to go to war absent a very imminent threat, I would have built the kind of international support... I would do that now. I think we should be going to the United Nations. I think we should be involving NATO. I think we need to put other troops on the ground. We need Arab-speaking troops, we need Muslims. We need to have the shared responsibility for the winning of the peace, which is what these people should have known to begin with and what many of us warned them about. I wasn't alone. We told them the difficulty of this is not winning the ground operation. The difficulty is winning the peace. And they have now probably out of false pride, they are unwilling to go to the United Nations. And as a Vietnam veteran, I feel particularly strongly about that because I watched false pride get in the way of the decisions we should have made during that war. I believe it is critical for the United States to defuse the sense of American occupation, to take the target off of American troops, to reduce the cost to Americans and to share the burden of winning the peace with the world. That will require a very different foreign policy from this administration. We have to end the unilateral blustering arrogance of this administration that is not making America safer in the world.
MONTAGNE: You have been running as a candidate whose experience with foreign policy and intelligence issues runs deep, and it does. You're also among the Democrats the only... veteran of a foreign war, that was Vietnam, plus you were an anti-war activist during Vietnam. Are you surprised that your background hasn't given your candidacy more traction, especially most particularly among liberal Democrats and those who are concerned about this war, the war in Iraq?
KERRY: I think I'm getting plenty of traction. I've been doing very, very well. I think that the war itself confused a lot of people and it angered a lot of people. I understand that. There were some people who just plain didn't like the vote. I recognize that and I respect that, but I did what I thought was correct as if I were president. If I had been president, I would have gone to the United Nations and I would have wanted a legitimate threat of force in order to make Saddam Hussein accountable to that international institution. But I would have respected the international institution. I would have respected the process. I would have taken the time and shown the patience and shown the maturity that allow you to bring other nations to you in your endeavors... There was nothing compelling that said you have to do this in May or March or whenever. It could have waited until September or October. There was much more diplomacy to be accomplished and I said so at the time. But I supported certainly the notion that after we discovered more chemical weapons, more biological weapons than we ever thought he had over seven and a half years, after we discovered that he was further down the road to the creation of a nuclear weapon than we thought he was. In other words, our intelligence was wrong but underneath, not on top. And suddenly the wall comes down on Bill Clinton in 1998 and the intelligence community is saying to everybody this is what they're doing. The responsible thing to do is to hold him accountable. The responsible thing for the president to have done was to do that properly. And I think my position is 100 percent correct in terms of how you protect the interests of our nation at the same time as you respect the values of the international community and our country.
MONTAGNE: Let's talk for a minute about economics. You've said you would repeal the Bush tax cuts... particularly the tax cuts that benefit the wealthy. What else do you propose doing to revive the economy?
KERRY: Well, let me make it very clear. First of all, there are some other candidates who say repeal all of the Bush tax cuts. I think that is an enormous mistake. We Democrats are the ones who fought to put in place the lower-income portion of the tax cut and the child care credit and I think it would be an enormous mistake to turn around and raise their income tax burden. I think that's a mistake. I think the wealthiest, the upside, is where you have the most egregious imbalance in the tax cut. And we can fund my health care plan for all Americans by taking that away. Secondly, I would provide assistance to the states for construction infrastructure programs in order to reduce the need for governors to be raising taxes and cutting services at a time when that really runs against the needs of our economy. In addition, I would create a jobs-creation incentive so that we begin to move those parts of the economy that are just being stuck where we'd like to get the next wave of technology purchasing going on. And we need a president who believes in science, who will advance basic science and start pushing America towards those discoveries. It's not that there isn't work to be done in our country. There's an extraordinary amount of work to be done: high-speed rail, schools, hospitals, health care. We need to value the things that we ought to be valuing in America. And that's what I intend to do by the economic choices I make in my budget. I'm also going to start us back down the road of fiscal responsibility. We did that with Bill Clinton and if you liked what you had with Bill Clinton, you're going to like what you get with John Kerry.
MONTAGNE: Bill Clinton was president during a unique decade. There was a revolution in technology during that decade. What are you going to cut to make all this happen?
KERRY: I'm going to cut the loopholes that make it attractive for companies to move to Bermuda to avoid their tax burden in America. I'm going to shut those loopholes down. I've called attention to those for a number of years. I wrote a book six years ago called The New War in which I laid out the international criminal conspiracy that helps launder money and provides a lack of accountability for the tax structures of companies of countries all over the world. We need accountability in those systems. Secondly, I'm going to cut excess within the budget. John McCain and I have put forward a commission idea that begins to look at the true pork that exists within the federal government and see if we can't begin to whittle down some of those subsidies. There are about $150 billion worth of subsidies to 100 different kinds of corporate entities where we pay, for instance, Dole and Pillsbury Foods $70 million in order to advertise their products overseas. These are the kinds of sweetheart deals that I think are undermining people's confidence in Washington and government itself and they make the workplace a very unfair place. I'm also going to crack down on the kinds of unfairness we have in the corporate relationship with workers. We've got corporate executives still feathering their nests for retirement and pay even as they're cutting workers, laying people off, squeezing down retirement benefits and health care. I don't think we've seen a workplace as unfair as this one in a long time in America and the divide between haves and have-nots is growing. If we were to make that more fair, we would have considerably more revenue to be able to deal with some of the problems of America.
MONTAGNE: President Bush and President Clinton proved that Americans find candidates who are a bit down-home, warm quite appealing. You're known to have a patrician demeanor, something of a reputation for being -- would you recognize this in yourself -- of being a bit stiff, perhaps or unapproachable?
KERRY: Nope, I don't. I think you're reading old clips. I think if you were out campaigning with me anywhere you'd see people having a lot of fun. I've been elected four times to the United States Senate and it's not because I can't communicate to people or because we don't have a good time on the campaign trail.
MONTAGNE: I'm wondering, though, what you think about the fact that just as Democratic candidates like yourself are trying to get better known around the country and raise money, the big political news suddenly and through probably this fall is the recall in California.
KERRY: I think the recall is a miscarriage of American democracy, frankly.
MONTAGNE: But I'm actually more interested in how that might affect your campaign.
KERRY: It doesn't affect my campaign at all, not at all. I'm drawing big crowds out here in Iowa right now. [In] New Hampshire, we're gaining a great head of steam. I'll be announcing in September. I'm exactly on the schedule that I want to be on. I think Americans are really interested in the country. People are out of work. We've lost 3.1 million jobs. People are hurting. People don't have health care. People know their kids aren't getting the best education. People are worried about terror. They know that homeland security is not what it ought to be. And everywhere I'm going, people are coming out to listen and hear about the future. And they're not looking for just a frivolous, happy-go-lucky pass-off on this. They're looking for serious solutions to real problems facing our nation. This is a serious time. And I think while happy-go-lucky or whatever may have passed before, people are going to look for real leadership this time. And I'm just going to run as the person I am, a person who for 35 years has fought hard to make our country stronger and better, who stood up for principles, fought for my nation and is fighting now to make our country stronger and safer. And I think there are better choices on almost every issue facing the country, on health care, on children, on education, on the environment, on transportation, on long-term care, on Medicare, on prescription drugs, on our relationship in the world... You name the issue, there is a better choice than the Bush administration is offering us today.
MONTAGNE: Let's talk about terrorism, which is fact is on people's minds. Where does the need, in your mind, to protect Americans from terrorism end and the need to protect civil liberties begin?
KERRY: You always protect civil liberties. We do not have to give up the civil liberties of this country in order to fight terror. If you are sensitive to and care about civil liberties, you can make provisions to guarantee that lawyers have access to prisoners, that you have review systems for certain kinds of security needs, that you make sure that there is a panel of judiciary or something that reviews a situation so that there is not this blind spot in the American justice system that there is today under the Patriot Act. But it's the absence of that sensitivity that exacerbates the problem. And I can guarantee you one of the things I look forward to most as president is the opportunity to be able to appoint somebody attorney general who's not John Ashcroft.
MONTAGNE: Sen. Kerry, if you are nominated what is going to keep the Republicans from painting you as another liberal from Massachusetts?
KERRY: My record. If providing health care to all Americans instead of giving the wealthiest Americans another tax break, if making sure kids have after-school programs, if being protective of the environment and not going backwards on air quality and water quality like President Bush, if being responsible about the budget is all called liberal, let them call me what they want, because labels don't work. What American want is the truth. They want someone who's fighting to take this country in the right direction. And they want somebody above all who has the experience and the leadership skill to make America safer and stronger and more secure in the world.
MONTAGNE: You just got yourself a blog, a Web diary last week.
KERRY: Absolutely.
MONTAGNE: Now, Howard Dean, a rival of yours, led in this, collected a lot of money, got the word out on his Web site, on his Web diary. But you're getting some flak for have a ghostwritten blog.
KERRY: So is his... so are all of them. I mean, the fact is we contribute when we can, but that's just the nature of the beast. I've gone online live. I will go online again in the future live. But you can't do it every day all day and everybody knows that. I think he did a good job. I give him credit. I don't take a thing away from him. We have I think done a terrific job with respect to our Internet operation. We've raised a lot of money, incidentally not as much, but we did raise money and we're going to raise more. And we're going to be stronger on it. So I'm very pleased where we are today. Clearly, we were a little bit behind and I give him credit. More power to him; he did a good job. He's activated some people and we should feel good about that. That's part of the Democratic process, but I'm not worried about where my campaign is and I'm very confident about where we're heading.
MONTAGNE: Sen. Kerry, thank you very much for joining us.
KERRY: I'm delighted. Thank you for having me.
Copyright ©2003 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.
Dubbya's Resume
GEORGE W. BUSH
The White House, USA
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
I attacked and took over two countries.
I spent the U.S. surplus and then bankrupted the Treasury.
I shattered the record for biggest annual deficit in history.
I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any
12-month period.
I set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock
market.
I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
I am the first president in US history to enter office with a
criminal record.
In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days
on vacation by any president in US history.
After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I
presided over the worst security failure in US history.
I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any
president in US history.
In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their
jobs.
I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any
other president in US history.
I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions
than any president in US history.
I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president
since the advent of TV.
I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution
than any other president in US history.
I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused
to intervene when corruption was revealed.
I presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and
refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have.
I cut health care benefits for war veterans.
I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people),
shattering the record for protest against any person in
the history of mankind.
I dissolved more international treaties than any
president in US history.
I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any
in US history.
Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US
history. (The 'poorest' multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a
Chevron oil tanker named after her).
I am the first president in US history to have all 50
states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt.
I presided over the biggest corporate stock market
fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.
I am the first president in US history to order a US
attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so
against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
I have created the largest government department
bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget
spending increases, more than any other president in US history.
I am the first president in US history to have the
United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.
I am the first president in US history to have the
United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.
I removed more checks and balances, and have the
least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential
administration in US history.
I withdrew from the World Court of Law.
I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners
of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
I am the first president in US history to refuse
United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US
elections.
I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for
most corporate campaign donations.
The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who
is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest
corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former
CEO of Enron Corporation).
I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any
president in US history.
I am the first president to run and hide when the US
came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code
to Air Force 1).
I took the world's sympathy for the US after 911, and
in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world
(possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
I am the first US president in history to have a
majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the
biggest threat to world peace and stability.
I am the first US president in history to have the
people of South Korea more threatened by the US than by their immediate
neighbor, North Korea.
I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to
be awarded government contracts.
I set the all-time record for number of administration appointees
who violated US law by not selling their huge investments
in corporations bidding for gov't contracts.
I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for
Americans than any other president in US history. In a little over two
years I have created the most divided country in decades, possibly
the most divided that the US has been since the Civil War.
I entered office with the strongest economy in US
history and in less than two years turned every single economic
category heading straight down.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in
Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
I went AWOL from the National Guard.
I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any
questions about drug use.
All records of any SEC investigations into my insider
trading are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
Records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP)
attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and
unavailable for public review.
The White House, USA
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
I attacked and took over two countries.
I spent the U.S. surplus and then bankrupted the Treasury.
I shattered the record for biggest annual deficit in history.
I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any
12-month period.
I set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock
market.
I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
I am the first president in US history to enter office with a
criminal record.
In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days
on vacation by any president in US history.
After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I
presided over the worst security failure in US history.
I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any
president in US history.
In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their
jobs.
I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any
other president in US history.
I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions
than any president in US history.
I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president
since the advent of TV.
I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution
than any other president in US history.
I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused
to intervene when corruption was revealed.
I presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and
refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have.
I cut health care benefits for war veterans.
I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people),
shattering the record for protest against any person in
the history of mankind.
I dissolved more international treaties than any
president in US history.
I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any
in US history.
Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US
history. (The 'poorest' multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a
Chevron oil tanker named after her).
I am the first president in US history to have all 50
states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt.
I presided over the biggest corporate stock market
fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.
I am the first president in US history to order a US
attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so
against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
I have created the largest government department
bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget
spending increases, more than any other president in US history.
I am the first president in US history to have the
United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.
I am the first president in US history to have the
United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.
I removed more checks and balances, and have the
least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential
administration in US history.
I withdrew from the World Court of Law.
I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners
of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
I am the first president in US history to refuse
United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US
elections.
I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for
most corporate campaign donations.
The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who
is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest
corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former
CEO of Enron Corporation).
I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any
president in US history.
I am the first president to run and hide when the US
came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code
to Air Force 1).
I took the world's sympathy for the US after 911, and
in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world
(possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
I am the first US president in history to have a
majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the
biggest threat to world peace and stability.
I am the first US president in history to have the
people of South Korea more threatened by the US than by their immediate
neighbor, North Korea.
I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to
be awarded government contracts.
I set the all-time record for number of administration appointees
who violated US law by not selling their huge investments
in corporations bidding for gov't contracts.
I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for
Americans than any other president in US history. In a little over two
years I have created the most divided country in decades, possibly
the most divided that the US has been since the Civil War.
I entered office with the strongest economy in US
history and in less than two years turned every single economic
category heading straight down.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in
Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
I went AWOL from the National Guard.
I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any
questions about drug use.
All records of any SEC investigations into my insider
trading are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
Records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP)
attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and
unavailable for public review.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
SUPPORT KERRY FOR PRESIDENT!
Hey - met and heard John Kerry (JK, to save any typing errors) last Saturday when he spoke at the Virginia AFL-CIO convention in Tyson's Corner. It was my first time hearing him speak live. For those of you who are of the opinion that JK is not a passionate speaker, then you should come see him speak. He got the crowd on their feet clapping 4 or 5 times; that is not the sign of a dull speaker.
I got to shake his hand, and he smiled and said "Great!" when I told him I was a Navy vet. Really down to earth; a REAL person, who doesn't pretend to be something he isn't - intelligent, no, he's brainy! He's rich, but doesn't flaunt it - he can really speak to the "common man," and he certainly knows what it's like being in combat. He's the best man to get this country back on track.
Go to johnkerry.com and check him out! He's the only qualified person who can beat Dubbya in 2004. Don't waste your primary vote on a weak candidate!
Feel free to reply!
I got to shake his hand, and he smiled and said "Great!" when I told him I was a Navy vet. Really down to earth; a REAL person, who doesn't pretend to be something he isn't - intelligent, no, he's brainy! He's rich, but doesn't flaunt it - he can really speak to the "common man," and he certainly knows what it's like being in combat. He's the best man to get this country back on track.
Go to johnkerry.com and check him out! He's the only qualified person who can beat Dubbya in 2004. Don't waste your primary vote on a weak candidate!
Feel free to reply!
