Kerry's National Defense Problem (warning: Hannity reference)

[TheStateChief]

Please don't flame me for writing this - I'll support whoever the nominee is but I do think that Kerry is walking into a trap with his emphasis on national security and Bush's war record. Max Cleland, a true patriot who has given much for his country, was on Hannity and Colmes earlier and he was emphatic that national security should be a major issue in this campaign. He skillfully deflected Hannity's attempt to raise Kerry's quotes re: Clinton and the Vietnam War, noting that after 9/11 the need for someone with war experience was more relevant than it was 12 years ago. Then he slipped. Cleland had no coherent response when Hannity rolled off a list of all the weapons systems that Kerry voted against in the Senate. He finally said something about the Intelligence Committees have a problem and that Kerry would restore sanity to the Intelligence community by involving our allies. The fact that Cleland couldn't rebut this very direct question left me with a sinking feeling in my stomach because you know the Rethugs are going to hit this line of attack incessently during the GE and Kerry's voluminous paper trail can't be easily explained away. What's even more disturbing is how easy Hannity set Cleland up to say that national security should be as important as the economy and then he had no rebuttle when asked how Kerry voting against things like stealth bombers and cruise missiles and patriot missiles made us safer.

Maybe I'm making more out of this then I should, and I don't intend this thread as a swipe at Kerry (who I will support if nominated), but in all the hoopla over Kerry's electability I'm concerned that we're being led into the GE with a false sense that his Vietnam record is enough to overcome his other positions (the ones that Rover will be running with $200 millions worth of television ads).

[420montana]

1. Perhaps

his stance could be/was/is, those weapons systems were pure pork/overkill/overcost....

[newdealer]

2. Worried about Kerry/Record too

I have been trying to figure out hoe Kerry will handle the anti-war wing of the democratic party with his vote to go to Iraq. I think that he can defend his Iraq vote by saying that he, among others, were duped by the administration's misuse of the 'intelligence.' However, I don't think his past record --"Hannity rolled off a list of all the weapons systems that Kerry voted against in the Senate," makes him vulnerable to attacks from the Right about security. He has to make the case that weapons systems are not effective weapons in the war on terror. Kerry can effectively make the national security issue a positive for him as long as he re frames the debate. It's not about voting for weapon systems, but it's about smart foreign policy, the UN, NATO and the international community who Bush has alienated. There's also the case to be made about why we are in the middle east-- oil-- and Kerry would do well to promote alternative fuel sources, as well as s higher efficiency standards for automobiles. Oil, the Mid East, and our dependence on it is what drives the National Security issues, and I hope Kerry can link the pieces and articulate a policy to the American public.

[XanaDUer]

3. Not all that worried about Faux...

O'Reilly just apologized tonight for supporting the war because of the lack of WMD's.