WP: Kerry Takes Off Gloves With Sharp Remarks

[kskiska]

By Howard Kurtz

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 -- John F. Kerry came out swinging Thursday night, denouncing the Republican convention for its "anger and distortion" and belittling Vice President Cheney for avoiding the military draft during the Vietnam War era.

In his sharpest and most personal remarks of the presidential campaign, Kerry responded to the rhetorical assault on him at the convention by accusing the Republicans of attacking "my fitness to serve as commander in chief. Well, here's my answer: I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq."

The Democratic presidential nominee signaled a new, more confrontational style in remarks prepared for a midnight rally in Springfield, Ohio, scheduled to be delivered one hour after President Bush's convention speech. The shift followed meetings with an expanded team of advisers that includes two veterans of the Clinton White House.

Noting that Cheney had described him as "unfit for office," Kerry, whose Vietnam War service has been questioned by a group of Swift boat veterans whom he has accused of working with the Bush campaign, broke with his usual practice of not questioning the military credentials of his opponents.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57365-2004Sep2.html

[soothsayer]

1. great! love it!

[Bok_Tukalo]

2. I think it's a mistake to join the Republicans in the gutter

<eom>

[thebigidea]

3. so you're saying Kerry is in the gutter right now?

[jdj]

15. yes, that's where they think the truth belongs.

"In his sharpest and most personal remarks of the presidential campaign, Kerry responded to the rhetorical assault on him at the convention by accusing the Republicans of attacking "my fitness to serve as commander in chief. Well, here's my answer: I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq."


This is called a f-a-c-t-u-a-l s-t-a-t-e-m-e-n-t.

How dare the dems stoop so low as to result to the TRUTH! OFF WITH OUR HEADS!!!

[goforit]

28. Hmmmm.....Then why did we ever have a Revolution in 1776???

Being sweet and nice???

[wysi]

5. There is nothing about this...

... that puts Kerry in the gutter. Telling the truth about your opponents is not a negative strategy.

[polmaven]

6. He won't get into the gutter

but he will, now that the RNC is over, get tough and begin to strike where it hurts.

There won't be lies and innuendo. There won't be any cheap shots. There will be the truth. Truth and truth alone will hurt a lot.

[greblc]

10. It's a mistake to be the GOP punching bag!!!!

It's time to stand up to these bastards . They are nothing short of Bullies.
I am tired of Liberals running away and cowering from right wing attacks.
We don't have to take it to the gutter. We just have to illustrate their lies to those who don't pay attention and may not intend to vote. The Right takes it to the gutter because we've let them for 20+ years.

All the below the belt bullshit is not going to go away because it works for them. It has to be addressed head on.

[goforit]

29. And ya haven't seen nuttin yet sweet heart!

[ikojo]

14. No, it's a mistake to do Dukakis nice and not

respond to these bullies.

Kerry's campaign allowed the Swift Boat Liars three weeks to get their message out and that was a mistake.

Clinton knew how to campaign against a Bush and he won TWO elections, one was won while he was under constant Republican attack. Kerry could learn a thing or two from the last Democrat to win the presidency twice.

In America failure to respond to bullies is perceived as a weakness.

Kerry can respond and still let people know who he is and how he differs from Bush and Cheney.

[PurityOfEssence]

20. I disagree: you fight back against bullies

People also tend to love it. Sadly, far too many people are spectators in life, and they want fighters. The Republicans are ridiculously vulnerable on virtually everything, and they can't bellyache about people being mean to them.

Important things are worth fighting for. If someone is upset by the lack of decorum, are they really going to go to the upright Republicans? These guys play dirty by nature.

People, for all their group and individual failings, aren't fools. Bush has lied repeatedly as he's gone about doing his predetermined monarchy building and people can smell that. Calling them out for it will amuse and impress people.

[farmbo]

23. Answering lies with the truth is not "...going in to the gutter".

eom

[liberalmuse]

26. I think Kerry should only promise...

not to tell the truth about the Republicans if they'll promise to stop telling lies about him. I love that story. I think Truman said it.

No gutter, just truth.

On edit: Night all!

[Kal Belgarion]

4. Hmm!

"The shift followed meetings with an expanded team of advisers that includes two veterans of the Clinton White House."

It's not who I think it is, is it? :)

[young_at_heart]

7. Joe Lockhart is one

And I believe another has the name of "Rice" (don't know first name).

[polmaven]

8. I did hear the name

James Carville floated around the other day.

[PylesMalfunction]

12. Please let it be so!!!!

I would be a very happy girl if this is the case!!!:bounce:

[mzmolly]

9. Thank the GODS!!!

:toast:

[Catshrink]

11. About damn time! Go, Johnny, Go!

[The Night Owl]

13. Yeah! Unleash Hell, John!

Finally!

:bounce:

[Keirsey]

16. make those chickenhawks...

afraid, very afraid

[SKKY]

17. This is the John Kerry I want to see.

Kicking in the groin with truth and fact to back it up. Personally, I think Kerry has wanted to do this for a while, but was trying to stick to his campaign "promise" of not running on negativity. It would appear he's found a way to be hard and tough without being negative. This is just getting interesting.

[Just Me]

18. Instead of being nice,...we HAVE to be fighters for the American way,...

,...of life!!! We HAVE to be aggressive about how this administration and the right-wing are destroying the fundamental values that have not only carried but built an incredible country.

We have to FIGHT!!!

Time to take this right-wing faction down!!!

We don't even have to make shit up to do it!!!

People,...THIS IS WAR!!!! A WAR for the American people!!!

[slojim240]

19. If Bush was perceived as good at the end of his speech Kerry needs

to address that in a way that shows it up to be rhetoric that it is and remind them of the things he said before and what actually happened. The world IS NOT a safer place and you can't stuff liberty and democracy down anyone's throat. Just deal with the issues and keep pointing out the reality vs the rhetoric.

[truthisfreedom]

21. sometimes, the truth makes one feel a little squeamish. don't let it bug

you too much. Kerry's been around the block a few times. he knows how to deliver measured blows.

[Seabiscuit]

22. FINALLY!!!! THE GLOVES ARE OFF!!!

First John Edwards and then John Kerry really came out swinging tonight in the best speeches of this campaign.

And John Kerry FINALLY stated, at least three times, that Bush MISLED us into the Iraq war!!! I loved his quip about Bush making us dependent upon the Saudi Royal Family for oil.

So I will quit carping here about Kerry's IWR vote.

They covered all the bases in one swell foop. The tax code which encourages exportation of American jobs, health care, Bush's empty promises tonight to do what he promised to do four years ago, noted the Repukes' inability at their convention to address the issues and to talk about anything but smears and *ANGER*, "RNC means "Really Not Compassionate", etc., etc.

I had to watch the last half of Kerry's speech on C-SPAN because that SOB Tweety cut into it midway to flap his jaw about the Republican Convention again. Sometimes I secretly wish someone would just off that yellow bird, then I find myself coming to my senses and realizing we all have a lot of work to do to rid the airwaves of his breed of scum. They should all have eggs thrown in their faces before Nov. 2.

BRAVO, JOHN AND JOHN!!! :bounce:

[goforit]

30. A momentary yipe!!!.....Needs to be 24/7...With no stopping!!!

[Robert Oak]

24. my gut reaction was "alright, kick some ass Kerry"

I think it was the right thing to do...
I've had enough propaganda, polling and political spin to puke.

[Joefess]

25. I like what I heard...

I want to hear more!!!!!

[burrowowl]

27. About frigging time! eom

[hansolsen]

31. Here is my take on Bush misled the country and keeps doing it:

Subject: George Orwell spins in his grave over Bush lies on WMD


Many of my fellow citizens like George Bush and take his statements on religion and family values as welcome confirmation of their own values. So it is with regret that I stand in opposition to the war the President has launched in Iraq, and do not share their assessment of his character. I value good relationships with my neighbors, but I am compelled to say I see a dark and evil side to George Bush, and I cannot be silent about it. I believe this President deliberately lied about WMD to get us into the war in Iraq, and it is vitally important that the American people hold him accountable in this election, for that most un-American act.

We know from nationwide polls that close to 40% of Bush supporters still think we have found WMD in Iraq. The rest of us can agree, can't we, that this is an uninformed or misinformed opinion. We have found no major WMD stashes in Iraq, no minor stashes of WMD in Iraq, and in fact, no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq of any kind. None. And we have found that any weapons programs he had, were pounded to dust years ago. The hard evidence is clear that the only time Saddam Hussein had WMD is when we helped him get those weapons ten to fifteen years ago when he was our ally against Iran.

The rest of the Bush supporters know that he was wrong about WMD but are willing to give him a pass, because they think it was an honest mistake. The rest of the world isn't so persuaded, and neither am I. Here is the deliberate lie I heard him tell:

George Bush stood up a hundred times, in a hundred different ways, and said, "trust me, if you could only see the secret files on my desk you wouldn't hesitate to attack. The evidence is overwhelming, he said; it is certain; there is no doubt that Saddam has WMD, he is a grave threat to America, and must be taken out now." The facts are, the evidence on his desk showed no such thing. There was no WMD in Iraq, and that is what the evidence on his desk undoubtedly showed. All they had were theories, and hunches, and whispers, but no evidence. And contradictory opinions abounded within the intelligence community. George Bush cherry picked the intelligence to backup what he wanted to do. He buried any conflicting information, and the compliant media allowed him to do it. And it was clear, even at the time, to anyone really paying attention. In the pages of this paper, in the fall of 2002, I called that evidence, "thin gruel, about two peas to the gallon". That assessment stands the test of time, does it not?

George Bush told the worst kind of lie there is, he told an Orwellian lie. He told a "big" lie, and told it over and over again. That is propaganda of the worst kind, and I think informed Bush supporters know it. So I appeal to you. George Bush cannot admit his mistakes, but you can. You can stand up and say that what he did was not right, and cannot stand. That's what needs to be done for the sake of our democracy. Others can finish what Bush started in Iraq, and perhaps easier and better than he can. Meanwhile, Democrats cannot send George Bush home on our own. We need help. Please help us.

Your neighbor, Hans Olsen

P.S. As I write this Thursday night, the President is looking the American people in the eye and telling us another lie: He essentially said everything is fine in Iraq. That is not true. George Bush did what he always does when discussing Iraq with us -- he soft pedaled the bad news. He likes to refer often to Winston Churchill. Well, I am a student of Churchill, and Bush is no Churchill. England faced the Germany military alone from 1939 to 1942 and suffered one defeat after another. Churchill never once soft pedaled the bad news to the people of England, and they loved him for it. It is too bad George Bush is a poor student of Churchillian history.