Kerry Says Bush Address Ignores America’s Priorities

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry Says Bush Address Ignores America’s Priorities
January 23rd, 2007 @ 7:23 pm

Our embattled leader, George W. Bush challenged members of Congress tonight to ““show our enemies abroad that we are united in the goal of victory” and warned that the consequences of failure in Iraq “would be grievous and far-reaching.”"

“I respect you and the arguments you have made,” Bush told skeptical lawmakers from both parties in his sixth State of the Union address and the fourth since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. “We went into this largely united — in our assumptions and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq and I ask you to give it a chance to work.”

With new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) sitting behind him in a sign of the power shift on Capitol Hill, Bush congratulated Democrats on their victory in the November midterm elections and reached out to them with ideas to expand health-care coverage, overhaul immigration laws and improve education performance. In his most ambitious new proposal, he laid out a plan to reduce projected gasoline consumption in the United States by 20 percent over the next 10 years.

John Kerry tonight issued the following statement on President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address this evening:

“The President missed a golden opportunity tonight to admit that he made a mistake in Iraq and to share with the American people a plan for gradually removing our troops and allowing the Iraqis to solve the political crisis in Iraq. Instead, he glossed over the disastrous war and its multi-billion-dollar price tag and implied again that our presence in Iraq is somehow improving the situation in that chaotic and turbulent country. The Congress must stand up against Bush’s plan to escalate the war with a new surge of troops and I will be introducing legislation shortly to demand that the Administration set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq. The President’s address came up short in other areas as well – like his idea to tax worker health benefits and his failure to seriously address the challenge of global climate change. Our economy is headed in the wrong way; wages are barely keeping up with inflation and family income is on the way down,” Kerry said.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=5176

[Morereason]

1. Saw Kerry sprinting out immediately at the end

What is the worship of Kerry. Admittedly he is a good senator and I am glad he is there. But I feel like there are people on this board who simply exist as PR. Kerry had his time. I voted for him. He was not strong when he needed to be. I want our next candidate to have more backbone. I am glad he has an opinion, but I am more excited about the Democratic response.

[LittleClarkie]

2. Shrug -- why would reporting his words be construde as worship?

It's no more than the supporters of other people like Clark or Edwards do.

[wildflowergardener]

3. don't other

Don't other people post quotes from their favorite candidates? I don't always read them, so I'm not sure.

Meg

[babylonsister]

4. Because he's smart and worth listening to, and he's a Dem? Works for me. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

6. Right on, Sister! n/t

[MH1]

5. Tell me - do you have ANY idea why he might have left so quickly?

Ya know, there may have been a very good reason.

I don't like to think about those possible reasons. OTOH, it could have been something positive (any of his kids expecting?)

It seems like quite a reach, and petty at that, to pick on such a point, when you have no way of knowing what the circumstances were. I noticed that you have posted this in at least a couple places. Hmmm.

[wildflowergardener]

7. Um

Bathroom break?

BTW that was a joke - didn't mean to get anyone's hackles up!

Maybe he had an interview or something - I'm sure there are tons of stations discussing the speech.

Meg

[LittleClarkie]

10. My first thought too

Gang way!!

[babylonsister]

8. A couple of places? My hackles are rising. nt

[kerrygoddess]

11. Maybe

He's working on that resolution he mentioned in his response and wanted to get back to it.

[wisteria]

13. Your opinion is noted, however, others may be interested even if you aren't.

Others, may feel differently about what happened in 2004 and would welcome another run by the Senator. And, some may even believe we could us a President like Senator Kerry.

[politicasista]

9. K&R

:kick:

[ohtransplant]

12. His response might not get all the press tonight

but he hits it out of the park again. He nailed * again and again.

I'll bet * et al are really glad the corporate media ignors Kerry as the swoon over others the've annointed. Good thing election night 2008 is 21 months away.

[saltpoint]

14. Kerry's right. Bush missed his last chance. Bush could summon

writers from anywhere in the world to the Oval Office to craft an address worth listening to.

He failed.

It was not an incompetent speech this time, but it did not hit the target. People want to know why we're still in Iraq, why we're no safer than before we went there, why the violence does not abate, and how more U.S. soldiers will reverse our fortunes.

Bush's failure becomes comprehensive when 2/3rds of the nation no longer believe he knows what he's talking about.

John Kerry is right to hit the president broadside with these criticisms.