Transcripts from Hardball and The Situation Room

[kerrygoddess]

The transcripts of both shows are posted on The Democratic Daily. We'll have video's later.

Here's quips from both and links:

The Situation Room:

KERRY: That is exactly the kind of disgraceful fear tactic, scare tactic, exploitation that this administration continually delved into in pursuit of this war. They did it all through the election last year. They tried to scare America and did, in many cases. And they’re still doing it.

And I’m not going to listen to this vice president of the United States tell me that, when they send troops without armor, when they send troops in inadequate numbers, when they send troops without the support structure that they need to be able to conduct a mission, … when they make the misjudgment that those troops are going to be welcomed as liberators with flowers strewn at their feet in parade, when they make the misjudgment not even to block and secure ammo dumps — the ammo which is now being used against our troops — when they make the misjudgment about disbanding the military and the civilian structure of Iraq.

And they turn around and say to us — who all the time were saying, “Don’t do those things” — that we’re somehow putting the troops in jeopardy, I’m going to stand up and fight.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1191

Hardball

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST, HARDBALL: Thank you, Senator Kerry, for having us to your Capitol office. You made a very strong statement in a press release last night. You said, “It’s hard to name a government official with less credibility on Iraq than Vice President Cheney.” Why’d you say that?

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: I said that because I meant it. He is the person who stood up and talked about how Iraqis met with the people who hijacked the airplanes. The intelligence community never shared that information. He personally, and his small group of people, according to Colin Powell, former secretary of State’s own chief of staff, sort of took over and became a cabal that ran American foreign policy.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1190

[LeftyLizzie]

1. Thanks a bunch!

He was great tonight, wasn't he?

[TayTay]

2. Senator Kerry was wonderful on both shows.

Boy, all that time on the road the last few years and having to sit and answer questions night after night and interview after interview really shows. He was very polished and stable in both interviews. (I actually think the best interview was on Tavis Smiley's show last night, but that was more relaxed.)

I was a bit surprised to see Matthews be so restrained with Sen. Kerry. Then I remembered that Chris Matthews does at least recall that John Kerry was the distinguished Nominee of the Democratic Party for the office of President of the United States last year and should be accorded some respect for that achievement. I also remembered that Mr. Kerry is thought of as one of the brightest people on Capital Hill and one of the most brilliant minds in all of government when it comes to foreign policy. I am very grateful that Chris Matthews recalled this. He didn't play games with Sen. Kerry. He asked him good questions and actually waited to hear the answers. Mr. Kerry is due that. He has earned it.

Matthews was much better at the whole 'there are other withdrawal ideas on the table from Democrats' thing than Wolf Blitzer was. Sen. Kerry obviously doesn't think that Cong. Murtha's plan is in abject opposition to his. He deftly credited Murtha with being smart and a credible person with outstanding military credentials. Kerry seemed almost sad to me when he recounted that Cong. Murtha seemed to come to his conclusion that we have to do something drastic based on the incredible stonewalling and lack of response that the Bush Admin has put forth. These two are not at loggerheads, they are at the beginning of a process that could well result in agreement and a Democratic Plan to get out of Iraq and leave the country with at least some semblance of stability. (There is so much they agree on. Why can't GD see this?)

I find Wolf Blitze annoying and the split screens and odd camera angles his show employs to be distracting. I thought his was the lesser interview. He did try and get Kerry to trip over past quotes and admit that Kerry had been for the war and was now playing politics. I also thought Kerry pretty easily parried this. And what was with the second half 'you won't believe what he said about running for Prez in '08' remark. Sen. Kerry didn't say anything he hasn't said before. What was the 'not believe it' part?

[blm]

3. Tay Tay, I wish you would rework this post for GD consumption.

You give great insight and do so in a pleasant, intelligent way.

You could add the transcript references that some need to digest to get what you're seeing.

[TayTay]

4. I posted 4 variations of it on GD and GD -P before I got

to this group tonight. It's on the various nasty threads. Sigh!

[blm]

5. That's the problem - really good stuff gets lost in threads.

It would shine powerfully on its own with the appropriate excerpts from the transcripts.

[TayTay]

6. Plus, every so often I want to remind myself why I'm here

Cuz I get so non-serious so much. I have always had nothing but the deepest respect for Sen. Kerry and I truly do believe that he has one of the finest minds in government today. That's a fact, jack.

It's funny, I remember all the snark in Mass over the years and all the complaints and such about Sen. Kerry. But what was always a given was that John Kerry was a serious person who has very serious solutions to the real problems that this country faces. When I'm not being serious it comes out as 'he's wicked smaht.' When I am serious I find that I agree with all the times the snarky Boston Globe has stipulated, as if this is common to all pols, that our Senator is an 'intellectual powerhouse.' Well, I don't think it's that common and I sometimes think I don't write this down enough. Interviews like the ones tonight showcase this. That man is not a lightweight, he is not a fly-by-night pol who accidentally got a Senate seat because his Daddy had one or he was able to sneak in because he had a slimy ad campaign. He earned the spot and he's earned some respect for what he has accomplished.

That was the Distinguished Senator from Massachusetts being interviewed there tonight. I did have some pride when I was watching the interviews because he's my home state Senator. (And we don't elect lightweights in Massachusetts. You have to earn it and show that you are up to it on all fronts.) I was, once again, impressed by this bright man and his optimism and his obvious ease with discussing extremely difficult topics. I was pleased that he didn't pander or take an easy way out. He confronted the problems posed to him and showed that he had carefully considered all the angles and had come up with a solution that would be painful to implement, but would actually do some good.

I don't care if GD saw this or if they wanted some other flavor of the moment. Most of the negative posts were without substance. And they forget that we need more than one Democrat on board if we are going to get some change. A good start would be to listen to a smart and savvy man like Sen. Kerry. He knows what he's talking about.

[ray of light]

7. there is an attempt at a nice thread...

It's got a one word title.

It rhymes with a little fruit we eat. (hint) Blue______

It has someone you love who is not your hubby!

[europegirl4jfk]

8. Thanks! I'm looking forward to the videos!

And will you have a video of Kerry's appearance on Tavis Smiley's show yesterday as well? I'm so glad you get all these videos up! As most of the other sites aren't interested in Kerry it's very difficult to get something about him. That's very sad. Thanks so much!

[ray of light]

9. hmmmm...Afterdowningstreet.org

Picked it up again.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=

[babylonsister]

10. kerrygoddess, I have a question:

Your transcript from Hardball doesn't mention the dialogue concerning Murtha that I thought I heard. Is there a reason or is this an oversight?
Thanks for all your posting and informing, BTW. I always read and usually recommend whatever you put up here!