TomPaine.com on JK's TBA speech

[Island Blue]

Nice! :applause:

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts ignited us at the Take Back America conference by admitting that his 2002 vote for the resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq was wrong. “It is essential to acknowledge that the war itself was a mistake,” Kerry said, adding, “I was wrong to vote for that war resolution.” He received sustained applause and some cheers.

Contrast that with the comments of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has become famous for her assiduous courtship of the center — and at times, even the right — as well as her coy courtship with a 2008 presidential bid. While she criticized the Bush administration’s prosecution of the war and its “open-ended commitment,” she added that she believed it was wrong to “set a date certain” for withdrawal. She received a scattering of applause and a number of boos.

.....

In direct contrast to Clinton’s refusal to back a firm deadline for troop withdrawal, Kerry said, “We need a hard and fast deadline” and a policy that demands that Iraqis take responsibility for their own security. He said that every movement in Iraq toward the establishment of a permament consensus government has been prompted by deadlines set by the Bush administration and coalition partners.

Kerry also offered a set of principles he said progressives should stand for:

• Tell the truth to the American people.

• “Fire the incompetents” and hold government accountable.

• Make America secure by making America energy independent.

• “Value work, not wealth.”

• Export products, not jobs.

• Provide affordable health care for all Americans.

• Address global warming and the pollution of our air and water.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/06/13/kerrys_message_to_clintonistas.php

[_dynamicdems]

1. That's terrific! Thanks for posting this.

He was in top form. People are starting to really sit up and take notice. A great find! Thanks for posting. :)

My nephew from CA was in NH visiting over the holidays last December and we talked about Kerry and 2008. He's about the smartest person I know and a flaming liberal. He was in the Peace Corps, worked for Ralph Nader, worked as a television writer and producer for a few years and has just started practicing law (your typical Renaissance liberal). He didn't believe Kerry had a shot at 2008 when we talked. However, my sister told me recently that he thinks that Kerry has a damn good chance now. That was very encouraging to me because my nephew is a hard-sell.

Yes, the tide is certainly turning!

[ProSense]

2. That is excellent! n/t

[whometense]

3. Here's another grudging admiration post:

http://susiemadrak.com/2006/06/13/10/49/compare-and-contrast-13/

Compare and Contrast
Posted by Susie in Politics As Usual (June 13, 2006 at 10:49 am)

Kerry just booted Hillary from the frontrunner slot. Who’d a thunk it?

In a rousing speech that brought the crowd to their feet several times, he attacked those who sent young men and women to die in Iraq “from the frontline of an air-conditioned conference room.”

He said he was wrong to vote for the Iraq war, and said it was time to set a deadline to bring the troops home.

I’ll give Hillary this much credit; faced with an unfriendly crowd, she stuck to her guns, insisting that a withdrawal deadline was a mistake. Don’t think it’ll help her much, though.

He urged the audience to go look at the Vietnam War Memorial, and told them to keep in mind that half of the names on that wall died after this country’s leaders already knew their policies wouldn’t work.

It was a great speech. It was a lot like the one Al Gore gave on President’s Day in Constitution Hall. You know, before being against the war was popular.

[_dynamicdems]

4. LOL! n/t

[karynnj]

5. Nice and interesting

(The ending snark is ridiculous - Gore's speech last February wasn't even on Iraq and the war was already unpopular then. If there was an earlier year when he gave an Iraq speech on President's day at Constitution Hall, I appologize.)

She also doesn't see that Kerry's October 2005 speech, per Gary Hart, helped shift the discussion on leaving Iraq and that his op-ed in April furthered this. Gore was against the war before it started, but he has said little (until he made an ambiguous comment - that it could be before or after Kerry's end of the year deadline - which is clearly true, but says nothing.)

[ProSense]

10. Nice!

Rousing speech, indeed!

[Mass]

6. Nice - Hillary's supporters are all over this thread on GD,

saying he is an opportunist.

Always funny coming from them.

[whometense]

7. Wow.

There are Hillary supporters on DU?? </snark>

[Mass]

8. The two of them.

[whometense]

9. :D n/t

[whometense]

11. Stars and Stripes approves too.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37910

Kerry criticizes Bush’s plan for troop withdrawal in Iraq
Senator says wait-and-see approach a failed strategy

By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, June 14, 2006

WASHINGTON — Former presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry on Monday renewed calls for a withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2006, calling operations there “a misdirection for the real war on terror.”

The comments came just a day after the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, hinted at the possibility of troop drawdowns over the next six months, if progress with Iraq’s new government and security forces continue.

President Bush on Monday reacted to those comments following a strategy session at Camp David with military commanders on how to proceed in Iraq, reiterating that troops decisions “will be based upon the conditions on the ground.”

“And whatever we do will be toward a strategy of victory,” he told members of the press corps. “This is a process of getting to … understand the Iraqi capabilities, particularly the command and control structure, and what we need to do to help them achieve victory.

But Kerry, D-Mass., called that wait-and-see approach a failed strategy that will only hurt the long-term odds of success for U.S. forces...

[ProSense]

12. That is a great article.

It could sure use a better headline though!