Transcript of IMUS

[Clinton Crusader]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6009011/
:kick:

[Sputnik]

1. This part was funny....

<<snip>>

IMUS: Wouldn't it have been funny if he'd've showed up for that speech yesterday, that National Guard speech— the president went up there and gave that dopey salute like you did and said, "Reporting for duty, finally"?

(LAUGHTER)

KERRY: Yes, actually it would have been funny.

IMUS: Or just not shown up at all, that would actually have been more amusing. But those guys don't have a sense of humor.

<<snip>>


I wished Kerry had said at that point, "Or shown up and waved then left early."

[rocktivity]

2. IMUS: ...what's the matter with your throat?

...(W)hy are you coughing and hacking...?

KERRY: Well, because I'm imitating you in the morning.

Reminds me of something I saw on Court TV--a commentator sneezed once, and after the commerical break, he thanked the hundred of viewers who'd e-mailed in cold remedies!


rocknation

[wurzel]

3. Thanks Kerry held his own. But he won't overcome one line lies.

That is the problem. Everything depends on ignoring the media and getting to the debates.

[RobertSeattle]

8. I think Kerry did well too

Can you just think of Bush doing something similar? It almost goes beyond politics - I want a President who can think on his own, talk in complete sentences, and have a good conversation with someone without going into idiot platitudes (like Bush does).

[Sparkly]

4. I liked this -- succinct and honest

KERRY: Yes, that is what they're angry -- and I understand that, Don, but I had the courage to stand up -- look, I went, I did my duty, I came back, I saw what I saw, and I told the truth. If some people have trouble with that still, I'm sorry about it.

[cthrumatrix]

5. kick...a must read

[King Coal]

6. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed that.

[cindyw]

7. I like this on UN and Iraq.

"The president has alienated so many people that they're just sitting on the sidelines, not even living up to the resolution of the U.N. that they voted for.  And the president doesn't even seem capable of holding them accountable to that. "

This is great. Bush got a UN resolution to hold Saddam accountable and he cannot even get the allies to stick to what they said. make s Bush look weak.

[skygazer]

9. He makes an excellent point here

IMUS: But it sounds -- that may or may not be a good plan, but meanwhile, we had three soldiers dead in Iraq yesterday and how many die before -- wind up over there in the rehab room at Walter Reed before a plan like this kicks into effect? Also, I was talking to...

KERRY: Well, Don, I realize that, but the fact is that the president is the president. I mean, what you ought to be doing and what everybody in America ought to be doing today is not asking me; they ought to be asking the president, What is your plan? What's your plan, Mr. President, to stop these kids from being killed? What's your plan, Mr. President, to get the other countries in there? What's your plan to have 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost being carried by America? I mean, he is the president today, and we have given him advice from day one; from day one, from the floor of the Senate when we debated it where I said don't -- you know, you've got to have other countries with you, don't make an end runaround the U.N., the difficulty is not winning the military, it's winning the peace; and he ignored it.

<It really pisses me off that they always ask for detailed plans from Kerry and never ask anything of Bush. He's the damn President! Supposedly he's in charge! Why is he never held accountable?>

[cindyw]

10. Just finished reading it. That was awesome.

This crap that Kerry is not articulating a vision clearly is starting to tick me off. He couldn't have been more clear about what he would do as president. I could take that interview and describe his 1st 100 days on the issue of national Security and rejoining the international community. They didn't talk about a lot of domestic issues.

[democrat_patriot]

11. Send this to all your right wing 'friends', he answers EVERY

question. In a clear concise way.

[michigandem2]

12. I liked it..wish I could of heard him...

he is doign a good job right now...I say the polls in early October will reflect more of truth than what is going on right now...maybe not because we are fighting with incorrect polls..but the tides are a turning...Kerry is speaking issues and bush is doing all he can to avoid talking issues...

[flpoljunkie]

13. Thanks for posting. Excellent interview.

[GOPAgainstGW]

14. Thanks - Kerry did very WELL and Imus Did a Good Job Also!

[crickets]

15. Terrific Stuff

This is not going to go over well with Rummy, boohoo.

IMUS: What should happen, Senator Kerry, to the guards and their superiors if they're found guilty of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq?

KERRY: Well, obviously, if somebody has engaged in activity like that, they're going to have to pay a price for that. But what irks me is that every study and every analysis shows that this goes all the way up the chain of command. And you still don't see the civilian leadership or people at the top of the chain of command taking responsibility. And I object to some sergeant or, you know, some enlisted person being held accountable and held up to this scrutiny when this came from both the White House and a Defense Department that changed the behavior in how prisoners were going to be treated. They did it in Guantanamo, they did it in Afghanistan, it spilled over into Iraq, and no one yet is being held accountable, and that's wrong.

IMUS: But if these guards and superiors are in violation of the Geneva Conventions...

KERRY: They have to be held accountable, and they will be.

IMUS: What does that mean? What does that mean?

KERRY: Well, It means that they're going also have to pay a price for that, but it's got to be appropriate. It can't be scapegoating. They can't be the only ones and they can't pay the higher price while other people walk free. It has to be appropriate to the level of sort of their understanding of what the rules were, and wrong as it may be, it has to be put into a context, and I don't think it has been yet.

The economy - BAM
Iraq - BAM
Health care and SS - BAM

Kerry did a great job.


ETA: Thanks for posting the link. Highly recommended reading for anyone who missed seeing this. For anyone asking, "Why isn't Kerry saying ____ or ___?" He is. Kerry is staying on message and pounding all points home with force and conviction.