Kerry plans Union Terminal speech on Iraq (site of "Cincinnati Speech")

[VolcanoJen]

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/09/07/loc_loc1akerry.html

John Kerry will be in Cincinnati tomorrow morning, to give a major policy speech on Iraq, at the exact site where Bush made his now-famous "Cincinnati Speech" to justify the proposed war in Iraq in October, 2002. I happen to think this is a huge step that Kerry is taking, and I think tomorrow's speech will be big, big news, especially when the comparisons are drawn.

Excerpt from the article:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will criticize President Bush's "wrong choices in Iraq" as part of a major policy speech in Cincinnati Wednesday morning, Kerry campaign and party sources said.

He is expected to deliver his remarks in the rotunda at the Museum Center at Union Terminal, where President Bush outlined the case for war in Iraq in October 2002.

A statement from the Kerry campaign Monday said the Massachusetts senator "will talk about how the president's wrong choice to go it alone in Iraq has taken the country in the wrong direction and shortchanged priorities here at home."

Kerry will outline a plan to "make our country stronger at home and respected in the world," the campaign said.

[madrchsod]

1. maybe he will mention

the 1000 soldiers killed in iraq and those in afganistan

[jjmalonejr]

2. Maybe he will mention the hysterically overhyped "mushroom cloud" rhetoric

used there, not to mention the uranium in Africa intelligence that wasn't good enough for the Cincinnati speech, but was apparently good enough for the State of the Union.

Condi Rice's defense: "Oh, nobody remembered that the CIA said that the statement on uranium in Africa was inappropriate for a Presidential speech."

I call bullshit.

[Brotherjohn]

3. I am so glad Kerry is pursuing Iraq (contrary to many Dem bigwigs'...

... advice, Clinton included).

Yes, "It's the economy, stupid", and he shouldn't ignore that. He should in fact go out full force and continue to hammer home obvious points like Bush has yet to tally a SINGLE net job gained.

BUT, as Paul Krugman points out today (http://nytimes.com/2004/09/07/opinion/07krugman.html?hp), the war swamps everything... including logic and facts.

If Bush can successfully paint himself as a decisive defender of our very liberty and lives, then no facts or logic regarding the economy will matter.

Kerry HAS to tear down this false image that Bush is trying to build up for himself. And Iraq is the biggest and most obvious piece of evidence that this image is an illusion.

[VolcanoJen]

5. I agree completely.

It's also important to note that Bush's approval rating seems directly tied to events in Iraq. Although those polled may say the economy is their biggest issue, I have a strong feeling that our emotions are tied to Iraq, and when it comes down to it, the vote will hinge upon the war. I think the perception of events in Iraq is reflected in Bush's approval ratings.

Iraq is an issue which Kerry cannot concede. He really needs to work on his language and message in terms of the war, and hopefully that's what he intends to do tomorrow at Union Terminal.

http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm

http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/

[AngryOldDem]

6. "the vote will hinge upon the war."

This may explain better than anything the polls I've seen. Bush ranks ahead of Kerry on almost every issue, yet when the question is asked whether the country is headed in the "right direction," the majority says "No." More than 50% in the latest Rasmussen poll says this, and it makes no sense to me, other than that we are on a "war footing" and that people are reluctant to change leaders, no matter how bad things are going otherwise. Most people, I guess, are afraid of changing the handbasket they're in as they continue on their trip to hell. I don't get it.

>>Iraq is an issue which Kerry cannot concede.>>

No, not when the administration is making the war on terror the centerpiece of its campaign, and not when the 1,000th soldier died today in Iraq. We are in more danger today than we were before 9/11, and I place the blame squarely with Bush. In a Bush second term I can easily see the disintegration of NATO, "limited" nuclear strikes in the Mideast, a destabilized Russia (Chechnya aside), and China becoming a major enemy, especially if we decide to go after North Korea. It's guaranteed we will pick the wrong fight, and we will pay dearly. Economy aside, nothing good can come from another four years of Bush, and Kerry needs to start showing America its alternatives now, before it's too late.

[VolcanoJen]

7. It's the same reason "Fahrenheit 9/11" was so inflammatory.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" challenged the American perception of events that followed the tragedy of 9/11 and led us into Iraq. It bucked the American tradition of trusting leaders implicitly in times of war, and that's exactly what pissed so many Republicans off.

They know what this election is about, and Michael Moore chinked their guys' armor. In a big way, too.

If Michael Moore had made a film about Bush's economic policies, and his administration's effect on rising health care costs, it would have barely caused a blip in the radar. It might have sold more movie tickets than "Bowling for Columbine," but it wouldn't get him, or the cause célèbre, on the cover of Time Magazine.

This election is not "the economy, stupid." It's "we're all going to die, stupid." Or at least, that's what the Bush camp wants America to believe, because that's the emotional issue they poll highest on.

We're dealing with world-class diabolical politicians here, and I think it's time to tell the truth about this horrible war. Kerry should come out with guns blazing, make the ultimate flip-flop, and lay it out there for the rest of us to decide. The ones calling him a flip-flopper aren't voting for him anyway, and I find it hard to understand why he's even arguing that stupid, banal point.

The time has arrived. I wonder what will happen.

[Mr.Green93]

4. Bring them home

[Eurobabe]

8. Dang, can't he wait until next week??

I'll be out there on Sunday house-hunting!