Cheney casts doubt on Kerry's ability to lead in times of uncertainty

[PfcHammer]

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/nation/8506536.htm

Cheney casts doubt on Kerry's ability to lead in times of uncertainty

BY STEVE KRASKE

Knight Ridder Newspapers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (KRT) - Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday questioned the credentials of Democrat John Kerry to lead the nation during a time of international uncertainty.

"These are not times for leaders who shift with the political winds, saying one thing one day and another the next," Cheney said at a stop in Kansas City.

The vice president, in town to raise money for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, spoke at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, 200 W. 12th St.

Cheney also accused the presumptive Democratic nominee of having voted hundreds of times for tax increases.

<whack>

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. That's rich coming from Cheney.

How many deferments did he get during Viet Nam? What an asshole.

[sjgman9]

20. Cheney simply had "other priorities"

And now he has an obsession with Iraq. Maybe if he had served in a war, he would be pushing for one really hard

[saigon68]

40. Pres. Cheney the Chimpanzee's Puppet Master

The NeoCons sure know a good thing when they see it.

This Klutz wouldn't have been elected dogcatcher on his own and now he is the President in all respects except name.

Don't be misled. This THUG is President of the United States.

[LynzM]

2. If leading in Vietnam isn't "times of uncertainty"

I'm a purple alligator. Come ON guys. Geez. And just because Kerry actually thinks about issues and may change his mind with new evidence or changing times, geez, that makes him a terrible leader, huh? ;)

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. Draft Dodger Cheney is saying this??? When John Kerry.....

was fighting in the Vietcong Delta, * was throwing Keg parties at Yale!

:argh:

[DoktorGreg]

4. Shift with the political winds???

This from the guy who starts a war for purely political reasons?

[Barkley]

5. Cheney's got a point: Kerry's leadership skills are more uncertain

We KNOW Bush can't lead in times of "international uncertainty".

[annagull]

6. Yeah, he might start a war or something

These arrogant "major league assholes" need to be brought down.

[jean]

7. Kerry is a rock and please let him get into the WH asap!

My mental health can't take much more of my imagination working overtime on what Cheney will try to get away with before he is swept into the dust bin.

[Skittles]

8. CHENEY *YOU* ARE CAUSING THE UNCERTAINTY

you and your incompetent thieving band of THUGS are ENDANGERING AMERICA. GET THE F*** OUT.

[bacchant]

16. Word!

Bush and Cheney ARE more able to lead... if the goal is to lead us to hell.

[unblock]

9. goodness, kerry might want to return to washington when we're attacked!

as opposed to reading to children and visiting remote airports and pissing his pants when we're attacked....

[Catt03]

10. Some ethical reporter should compile a list of

how many times the Bush Administration has flip flopped.

Right now, in re the Iraq debacle, they are flipping daily. Americans and others are dying because of their inability to make decisions and to formulate a workable plan.

Same on the enviornment, UN, North Korea, Syria, Iran, China, and on and on.

[lazarus]

17. Matt Yglesias

Matt Yglesias has started a pretty good list here. There are actually lists all over the 'net, just Google to find plenty.

Of course, the liberal media won't report them.

[Catt03]

51. Thanks

[Cocoa]

11. at least Kerry can show his face

Big Time Dick only shows up from time to time, and only in front of friendly audiences.

[wabeewoman]

12. Oh, PLEEEZE

like the idiot in the white house is doing such a great job? To be able to say the stuff they say with a straight face says a lot about their character. Kerry doesn't have to be much to be BETTER Than bush.

[dArKeR]

13. Doubt? What if Cheney has another heart attack during a nuclear crisis?

Or another 9/11 terrorist attack. Who will control the USA? Surely not Junior! The US Government and military will go into complete chaos because America has no leader.

I saw Cheney get questioned about this. Why did he lie (withhold the truth) about his heart condition before the Coup of 2000.

[Zhade]

28. "What if Cheney has another heart attack..."

Is it wrong of me to hope he has one? Soon?

[dArKeR]

53. I don't hope anyone has physical problems but I do think it is 100%

relevant for voters to know. I think it's 200% relevant considering Cheney brings up the issue himself. I even saw Whore Russert ask Cheney this question. As far as I'm concerned, Meet The Whore is a totally worthless show in it's current format no matter if Eric Alterman was the host. Because, no matter what the question is, the guest replies with irrelevant rants which do not even relate to the question. Whore Russet does not follow up and they move on to the next irrelevant answer. Meet The Whore is really a format for the guest to say whatever they want like a speech.

[Zhade]

57. Ah, but wouldn't Alterman (ahem) "alter" the show?

Would it be such a whorefest with EA at the helm?

One can dream of better things...

Okay, so maybe I shouldn't exactly hope for the Big Dick's ticker to break down, but if it did, one word: KARMA.

[doni_georgia]

62. For Cheney to have a heart attack

implies that he has a heart, not a cash register or oil rig in his chest.

Mac (doni_georgia's lesser half, borrowing her clothes until DU gets my login back from the cleaners)

[bluedeminredstate]

14. Former Secretary of Defense Cheney

was one of the Bush I cabal that DIDN"T want to invade Iraq after the Gulf War. Talk about a flip flop...

These boneheaded cowards that talk about discourse as undermining the morale of the troops and their respect for the C-I-C should remember that the troops may well have a new C-I-C in January and they are doing the same thing that they accuse those who disagree with Emperor of doing - only it's worse because they are basically saying Kerry is incompetent and unable to lead.

Imagine if some Democrat let loose with that observation about El Chimpo. Sweet Jesus, I wouldn't want to see what Faux, the WSJ, and the Ed Gillespes of the world would do. They would declare a national state of emergency and the networks and cable talkfest hosts would be writhing in ectasy over the time they could devote to the outrage!!

[LeinesRed]

15. keep talking Dick...

your approval rating is currently 35%....and it drops everytime you give cable TV a couple of your creepy soundbites.

[huckleberry]

18. Hey cheney - what about your buddy Chalabi?

now that's a "flip flop"!!

"U.S., U.N. Seek New Leaders For Iraq
Chalabi and Others Coalition Relied on May Be Left Out"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37921-2004Apr23.html

[cliss]

19. Wow. As if Cheney has a corner on good judgement....

Look where the current administration has taken us....practically every country in the world hates us now. We slap the UN in the face and defy their wishes and enter into a cavern of no return in Iraq. We proceed to squander $160 billion on "liberating" a country which wishes we could go to hell. Of course, only after we proceed to kill and maim untold thousands of innocent civilians, and 700+ american young lives. And for what??? Not to mention what they've done domestically: they've been Home Alone here.

The truth is, we could put a gorilla in the Oval Office, and he would do a better job than Bush. So Cheney should shut his big mouth.

[drscm]

21. Bush and Cheney prove it is easy to "lead" if you're a one trick pony.

Of course, I believe there is a difference between obsesssion and leadership.

[Rex]

22. Cheney is worse than Bush

nt

[bigendian]

23. Excusssee me?

This "international uncertainty" is the result of this administrations policies!

[pinto]

24. someone ask Cheney for the specifics. Please. n/t

[demoman123]

26. Kerry does shift with the political winds

He pretended to be Irish for 20 years to get the Boston vote.
He compromised the conclusion of his subcomittee on the Iran-Contra drug connection.
He waffles on Iraq.

I know we are all supposed to get behind the Democratic candidate. But Cheney's criticism is correct (despite the fact that Cheney is a swine). Democrats themselves should raise these criticisms of Kerry. Maybe he would take more principled positions if he got some critical support instead of mindless support.

I expect to get flamed and/or banned for saying this. But it needs to be said.

[Zhade]

30. I won't flame you (sadly, I mostly agree with you).

But I do have one question...

He compromised the conclusion of his subcommittee on the Iran-Contra drug connection.

I've wondered about this, but without evidence of course I don't accept it as fact. What proof do you offer regarding this statement?

Someone (AntiCoup2K, I think?) made an excellent point yesterday: if Kerry helped investigate (or "blew wide open" as some insist, though that's a bit generous) BCCI/Iran-Contra, he knows that the b*sh family and their associates are not trustworthy and in fact are quite the criminals...yet he says he believed b*sh in regards to Iraq, WMDs, and the "threat" Hussein posed (while people like myself listened to people like Scott Ritter and knew that was bullshit).

These are pretty mutually exclusive concepts. You don't trust people you've helped expose as criminals. So...how does this play out, again?

[pinto]

32. I'll ask you the same, what are the specifics?

You're right that we shouldn't offer mindless support.

[demoman123]

34. Here are some specifics

Here is the conclusion of Senate Committee Report on Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, chaired by Senator John F. Kerry.

"At best, these incidents represent negligence on the part of U.S. government officials responsible for providing support to the Contras. At worst it was a matter of turning a blind eye to the activities of companies who use legitimate activities as a cover for their narcotics trafficking."

http://www.wethepeople.la/kerry.htm

This is vintage Kerry--an vague and ambiguous position on the crucial issue of whether the USG was actively involved in trading guns for drugs, which it was.

[pinto]

41. sounds like Reagan's DOJ and CIA were the "vague" ones , see the text:

The failure of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to respond properly to allegations concerning criminal activity relating to the Contras was demonstrated by the handling of the Committee’s own investigation by the Justice Department and the CIA in the spring of 1986.

On May 6, 1986, a bipartisan group of Committee staff met with representatives of the Justice Department, FBI, DEA, CIA and State Department to discuss the allegations that Senator Kerry had received information of Neutrality Act violations, gun running and drug trafficking in association with Contra organizations based on the Southern Front in Costa Rica.

In the days leading up to the meeting, Justice Department spokesmen were stating publicly that “the FBI had conducted an inquiry into all of these charges and none of them have any substance.”

<snip>

On October 5, 1988, the Subcommittee received sworn testimony from the Miami prosecutor handling the Neutrality and gun running cases that he had been advised that some officials in the Justice Department had met in 1986 to discuss how “to undermine” Senator Kerry’s attempts to have hearings regarding the allegations.

thanks for the info. Kerry did a good job and got undermeined

[demoman123]

43. The vagueness of the DOJ is no excuse.

Kerry had access to plenty of other testimony.

But I don't expect to convince you that Kerry might not be a white knight.

[pinto]

44. not looking for a white knight, Kerry's job was to bring forth the facts.

DOJ was empowered and in fact had the responsibility to act. Called separation of powers. Don't blame Kerry for the lapses of the administration at the time. thanks.

[demoman123]

47. Kerry's job was to conduct an investigation...

His job was not to read press releases from the Reagan administration or the CIA.

Kerry had subpoena power, and knew of many relevant witnesses to the involvement of the government in the Iran-Contra drugs-for-guns trade that we all know went on.

It would have been useful if Kerry had used his authority as a Senator and chairman of that committee to really bring out the facts, but he didn't. Instead, he equivocated.

Prior to Iran-Contra, I had a lot of hope for Kerry. But then I lost it. His behavior since that time has not provided me with a reason to change my mind. I am especially disappointed with his stand on the Iraq War.

I think Senator Kerry needs to be encouraged to rediscover the principles and the passion he had as a young man after he came back from the war in Vietnam.

Is this possible?

[pinto]

50. a lengthy, well annotated report of the Senate Committee, worth a look.

Selections from the Senate Committee Report on
Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy
chaired by Senator John F. Kerry

<snip>
The Subcommittee found that the Contra drug links included:

--Involvement in narcotics trafficking by individuals associated with the Contra movement.

--Participation of narcotics traffickers in Contra supply operations through business relationships with Contra organizations.

--Provision of assistance to the Contras by narcotics traffickers, including cash, weapons, planes, pilots, air supply services and other materials, on a voluntary basis by the traffickers.

--Payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies.

These activities were carried out in connection with Contra activities in both Costa Rica and Honduras.

The Subcommittee found that the links that were forged between the Contras and the drug traffickers were primarily pragmatic, rather than ideological. The drug traffickers, who had significant financial and material resources, needed the cover of legitimate activity for their criminal enterprises. A trafficker like George Morales hoped to have his drug indictment dropped in return for his financial and material support of the Contras. Others, in the words of Marcos Aguado, Eden Pastora's air force chief:

... took advantage of the anti-communist sentiment which existed in Central America ... and they undoubtedly used it for drug trafficking.<1>

While for some Contras, it was a matter of survival, for the traffickers it was just another business deal to promote and protect their own operations.

<snip>

http://www.webcom.com/%7Epinknoiz/covert/contracoke.html


But my question is, what was the hope you had for Kerry?

And from where does you disillusionment stem? Vietnam? Iran-Contra? Iraq? Reports he was Irish? Something fuels your concern.

I'm interested to hear. Thanks again.

[July]

36. In that regard, is he worse than Bush?

Because he and Bush are our choices.

I'm also not sure that Kerry "pretended to be Irish." As I recall, he believed he had Irish ancestry and found late in life that he did not.

Cheney is doing what's expedient for Cheney. We know how much Bush and his party will pander and lie to achieve their goals. We also know that in this election year they will do anything they can to paint Kerry in a bad light.

Even if you have reservations, don't take Cheney's interpretation as gospel. They would love people to see Kerry as too unstable to run the country. That is so far from reality it is not even worth debating. Why support that view?

[demoman123]

39. He is not worse than Bush, but he did pretend to be Irish

Cliquez ici:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2079783

[Voltaire99]

48. Well said Demoman123! Kerry is in dire need of helpful criticism...

And does not appear to be getting enough.

A combination of his conservative positions (Iraq, corporate taxes) and his utterly dull campaign are barely managing to keep him neck and neck with the hapless Bush. That's pathetic.

Worse, he's being defined by the right more effectively than he's defining it. Note what they're tagging him on: Vietnam-era character stuff, Catholic membership, and his flip-floppitiness. This is typical strategy, particularly given the issue vacuum for which Kerry is responsible--he isn't presenting a stark enough choice.

The party was warned of this likelihood by reformers, yet predictably poured its energy into demonizing Dean and crowning the DLC candidate. And now we are stuck with the guy whom Gore Vidal has memorably compared to Lincoln--Lincoln after the assassination.

So let your voice be heard! Tell the Kerry campaign what you expect, nay, what you demand to see. That's democracy. That's support. This battle isn't going to be won by the sheep-like attitude of "anybody but Bush." Because, lo and behold, the public doesn't exactly hate Bush.

[pinto]

25. and another thing, headline implies a result of the story , not the story.

Knight Ridder CEO has supported some good reporting on our foriegn "policy", still, headline writers are still essentially in-house editorialists.

[mulethree]

27. Hah times of change need an unchanging leader?

[Spirochete]

29. As if anyone alive could do a worse job

than the organ grinder from hell and his pet chimp have done....

[opihimoimoi]

31. The PsyOps continue. The big lie said often enough will be believed

Its also a distraction from their own failings.

Where were they when they got warned? Not on our side for sure as they went private jets and let us dangle as bait?

The big picture shows gross incompetence and no real caring for the American People.

[Tellurian]

33. Who is Cheney to talk? Is he purporting himself a role model?

What has he ever done for anyone other than himself and his ilk?

Can he point to a successfull War in Iraq?

Can he point to Homeland Security?

Can he point to anything other than empty rhetorical comments such as.. Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, we must act now-

Cheney is a pathological liar who thinks he is talking to shareholders at a stockholders meeting!

Their blood is on your hands, Dickie.

[Nicholas_J]

35. I guess they are worried

About a president who will not hold secret commissions with corporate leaders to determine policy.

[Liberal Gramma]

38. This is ludicrous on two levels

Thinking men do not stay with a failing policy out of muleishness.
And...Bush has flip-flopped a number of times, only his changes are almost exclusively the result of public outrage or falling poll numbers.

[rocktivity]

37. Well, there's certainly no doubt about CHENEY'S ability to lead!

:headbang:
rocknation

[number6]

42. LOL

yea whatever

[progressivebydesign]

45. I see the M.F. can come out of his hole for money!!

Is that all it takes, Dick? Just flash some cash and suddenly you're good to go? He's running the country from his underground bunker.. built a few years agao, under his house. He is the puppet master.

[wildwww2]

46. Cheney`s spin is that we continue these uncertain times. Release

The energy meeting records. Instead of running to Scalia. Mr. Cheney. Then we can all be more certain that this whole war crime is a sham. And 9-11 was allowed to happen to help Bu$h Inc. steal the next election as they did the first.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[devinsgram]

49. Isn't that statement like

the pot calling the kettle black?

[Kadie]

52. Well that leaves bushie out too then.

"These are not times for leaders who shift with the political winds, saying one thing one day and another the next," Cheney said at a stop in Kansas City.

[truthisfreedom]

54. the times of uncertainty will end instantly the minute "fear, inc." moves

out of the WH.

[nodehopper]

55. wait, I know...maybe with Kerry we won't HAVE the uncertainty

[Failure]

56. Ok, so let me get this straight, BushCo fucks up the world and then...

they say, "nobody can do it like we can?" Good!

Too angry to type..

failure

[symbolman]

58. Hey Cheney

Have a look at my Flash Movie, "MURDER BY NUMBERS" -- you might notice ALL the latest Presidents that have attended funerals caused by their own failings..

http://www.takebackthemedia.com/murderby.html

this needs to be seen and shoved where the sun don't shine in the White House.

[stepnw1f]

59. Cheney Casts Doubt Everytime He Speaks

Doubts about his own character and mental health.

[CBHagman]

60. Well, Mr. Undisclosed Secure Location...

...lead THIS!!!!

Seriously, is it possible for someone to drop dead from excessive preachiness and sanctimony?

And Uncle Dick only emerges above ground long enough to criticize Kerry in front of carefully screened audiences. I rather imagine Cheney couldn't lead his way out of a wet paper bag.

[opihimoimoi]

61. I suggest a review of the Bush video at the school during the 9/11 attack

We will then be confirmed as to what kind of Leader we got in Bush.

He was stricken with lock jaw and brain freeze.

Leader? Bush ain't no stinking Leader. Where was he that day? Riding around looking for a safe spot to land, thats where.