Does Anyone Actually Like Kerry?

Off Topic
141

“That’s right, an idiot. I like him because he knows what is REALLY important and has a hightened sense of right and wrong that intellectual fuckbrained democrats simply don’t possess.”

–>Very well thought out and articulated.

“The statement in itself concerns me about the intellect of our future ~ and people wonder why the fda regime has been able to strong-arm the supplement industry ~ too many uneducated sheeple in this country…”

–>Liberals are dumb, and as a result, supplements are banned? I must have misunderstood you…

142

“I don’t think the original question-“Does anyone actually like Kerry?” -
has even been addressed. ‘Anyone but Bush’- which seems to be the liberal mantra these days- is not an answer.”

–>BB keeps coming back to this too, and I think you’re correct. I also think that the response “anyone but Bush” IS an adequate answer - few actually like Kerry.

I personally like Kucinich and Dean, but knowing that Kucinich never had a prayer and Dean’s was sabatoged, people who are passionate about seeing Bush’s reign end will back whoever’s in line. I do certainly hope Kerry spends the campaign developing cohesive positions on issues, and actively engages Bush in live debate. I think Kerry has good potential, but he has work to do. I also wish he wasn’t on the fense on many issues, or hadn’t flip flopped, but at the same time - since when can’t people change their minds?

I only wish some of the cons on this board could acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of Bush…but he’s infallible.

143

I’ll give you two of Bush’s biggest cons-

Immigration policy specifically Mexican immigration. I’m from the southwest, and I can say, without hesitation, that the last thing this country needs is to allow ‘undocumented aliens’ free reign to come, go, steal and drive as they please on our side of the river. Bush wants the hispanic vote too bad to stand up and say enough is enough.

Medicare reform - there’s not a Dem alive that has created a bigger social welfare program than our ‘compasionate conservative’ president.

On a side note - has anyone noticed how much Kerry is starting to sound like Gin-nosed-Ted in his speeches? I don’t know if having Ted Kennedy standing by your side is such a good thing.

144

"On March 19, 2003, U.S. forces began military operations in Iraq. Addressing the nation about the purpose of the war on the day the bombing began, President Bush stated: ?The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.?

One year later, many doubts have been raised regarding the Administration?s assertions about the threat posed by Iraq. Prior to the war in Iraq, the President and his advisors repeatedly claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that jeopardized the security of the United States. The failure to discover these weapons after the war has led to questions about whether the President and his advisors were candid in describing Iraq?s threat.

The Iraq on the Record report, prepared at the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, is a comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

This Iraq on the Record database identifies 237 specific misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq made by these five officials in 125 public appearances in the time leading up to and after the commencement of hostilities in Iraq. The search options on the left can be used to find statements by any combination of speaker, subject, keyword, or date."

This is taken from the following URL, where the link to the PDF also appears:
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/features/iraq_on_the_record/

Perhaps this is beating a dead horse, since the pro-Bushers have a million reasons why it is okay that we were misled (intentionally or not), and anti-Busheys have a million why it’s a pretty big deal…

145

Right Side Up, the thread is about KERRY, not Bush. Your post would make a good new thread.

146

f em both… vote Nadar :stuck_out_tongue:

147

course, take my opinion with a grain of salt, cant even spell his damn name right

lmfao runs back to bed

148

Speaking of John Kerry, this is very interesting stuff:

http://volokh.com/2004_03_14_volokh_archive.html#107937528641774915

[Eugene Volokh, 3/15/2004 10:28:06 AM] (See posts that link to this one)
Is Kerry’s “none of your business” none of our business? The AP story reports that Kerry did indeed say that the identity of the foreign leaders who allegedly support him is “none of our business”:

The town meeting was contentious at times, with 52-year-old Cedric Brown repeatedly pressing the candidate to name the foreign leaders whom Kerry has said are backing his campaign.

“I’m not going to betray a private conversation with anybody,” Kerry said. As the crowd of several hundred people began to mutter and boo, Kerry said, “That’s none of your business.”

Now I’d think that when a Presidential candidate not only refuses to give details about one of his campaign claims, but alleges that these details are “none of our business,” that would be news. The New York Times story on the event, however, does not mention this, though it certainly covers the question:

A Republican business owner here in this November battleground state and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had the same questions Sunday for Senator John Kerry: Which foreign leaders told you they support your campaign, and when did you meet with them?

The questions, in a volatile exchange at a forum here and in an interview on Fox News Sunday, stemmed from a comment that Mr. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, made last Monday at a Florida fund-raiser. It was the second time in recent days that stray comments by Mr. Kerry diverted attention from his themes of creating jobs and providing health insurance.

“I just want an honest answer,” Cedric Brown, 52, who owns a small sign company, told Mr. Kerry.

“Were they people like Blair or were they people like the president of North Korea?” he asked, referring to the British prime minister, Tony Blair. “Why not tell us who it was? Senator, you’re making yourself sound like a liar.” . . .

Mr. Brown said he came to the forum to confront Mr. Kerry, in part because of lingering bitterness from the Vietnam era, when as a West Point cadet he was spat on, he said, by antiwar protesters.

As many in the crowd shouted at Mr. Brown to “shut up,” Mr. Kerry, a veteran of both the Vietnam War and the protests against it, calmly promised to answer all queries, no matter the tone. Then he turned the tables.

“Are you a Democrat or a Republican – what are you?” he asked. “You answer the question.”

After Mr. Brown said he voted for Mr. Bush in 2000, Mr. Kerry added: “See? Democracy works both ways.”

Likewise, the Washington Post article on the incident doesn’t quote the “none of your business” line. (It does, though, suggest that Brown himself might have been rude in his remarks, something that I surely wouldn’t endorse: "He was repeatedly called ‘a liar’ during the public forum by a heckler, Cedric Brown, who interrupted Kerry’s comments on health care, education and the economy to raise questions about the assertion of foreign endorsements.)

 Is there some disagreement about whether Kerry actually said the "none of your business" line (in which case the AP had better apologize to him)? Or, if Kerry did say it, do some news outlets just think that it's not newsworthy when a candidate thinks that it's none of the voters' business to press him for details about his claims?

 Thanks to reader Ted Dinkel for the Washington Post tip.

UPDATE: A reader e-mails me that “Hannity just played Kerry saying ‘That’s not your business, that’s mine.’”

149

BS - I didn’t want to overdo the OT board with political threads. I figured this is where much of the debate/conversation has taken place about the campaign and politics (esp. Bush !) in general.

150

I have previously stated that my position is that there was not too much to like about Kerry, but that he was the lesser of two evils.

I read today, however, that he has made the statement that he will raise taxes on the richest Americans and will tighten tax laws that encourage American companies to take their jobs overseas. I strongly admire this political move, though I think it is potentially politically dangerous.

151

Kerry speaks in simplistic political gibberish. I would love to hear what he would do to the tax laws to tighten the supposed loopholes, right after he explains what the loopholes are, and the effects of changing the tax laws.

Also, I am so sick of the class warfare rhetoric. “Soak the rich – they don’t pay their fair share!” It’s all so much ridiculousness. The reason Bush’s tax cuts, which reduced marginal rates for all taxpayers, ended up benefiting the evil “rich” so highly in dollar terms is that the evil “rich” pay so much of the total dollar amount of taxes paid. Just look at the breakdown of how much of the total income taxes taken by the IRS come from which income brackets.

152

“Kerry speaks in simplistic political gibberish.”

HaHaHa! I CAN’T WAIT to see Kerry debate George Bush! At least Kerry can put together a sentence without reading it off a teleprompter!

Kerry will raise the income taxes on people who make over $200,000 a year, back up to the pre-Bush levels. Kerry will also make the middle class tax cuts permanent. I think that is a great plan.

Anybody else notice how SHRILL and desperate the right wing is starting to sound, as Bush’s popularity continues to head into the toilet?

I feel sorry for the Republicans who have put all their eggs in the “Bush basket”. If you were to listen to them, George Bush is never wrong, he never lies about anything, he has the highest moral standards, he puts the average person ahead of his own interests, and if you cut him he would bleed red white and blue. Keep dreaming, and keep idealizing George Bush folks. Keep projecting all your hopes and dreams on him. It’s going to be a hell of a come-down when it all falls apart.

George Bush is a mediocre man, and he is certainly not even close to being the best that the Republican party has to offer.