Some of you folks are going to be a little embarrassed about these Kerrey remarks

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

"Gore-Obama is a very big ticket, probably unbeatable."
- Former Senator Bob Kerrey

I understand the perception that Bob Kerrey must have been trying to spread misinformation about Obama at the behest of the Clinton campaign.

It is, however, incorrect. Tweety and Tucker and CNN and a lot of folks at DU did not do due diligence before jumping to this particular conclusion. You can say Kerrey is nuts, but he was NOT acting in any way that he perceived as harmful to Obama.

Earlier this year Bob Kerrey was expected to endorse Obama because he LOVES Obama. And Kerrey has harped on this same Muslim business before... back when he was considered a big Obama Booster. His comments are his standard "Why Obama would be a great President by changing the world" bit.

Kerrey's perception of an Obama connection to the Muslim world is something he has had stuck in his head. He really buys into the Obama campaign stuff about Barack presenting a new face of America to the world. While on the 9/11 commission, Kerrey seems to have given some thought to how to heal relations with the Muslim world. He has been a big booster of Obama because he sincerely believes that a President Obama would have a unique ability to heal relations with the Muslim world.

He may be crazy or correct to think so, but that's what he actually believes. And yes, he is vain and weird enough to be proud of describing a secular public school in a Muslim country as a "secular madrass." This is not the first time he's done it.

The fact that he eventually went with Clinton does not mean his is an Obama hater. Bob Kerrey honest-to-God loves Obama. (And I doubt the Obama campaign will complain much about this, because it is certain that Obama knows Kerrey was being sincere.)

Here is Bob Kerrey from the Imus show last May, six months ago:

So I’m listening to Bob Kerrey on the former Imus show, this morning hosted today by Joe Scarborough and once again I can’t help thinking that the Democrats nominated the wrong Kerr(e)y. There’s something appealing about the genuine thoughtfulness of the guy, the lack of pretense that he has all the answers.

“All of us are struggling,” he said. He was speaking specifically about all of us struggling with Iraq. But somehow there was another more resonant dimension to it: “All of us are struggling.” Perhaps because I find myself struggling (with work, beginning a new book is always the hardest part). But I had a sense that in some spiritual way Kerrey had a feeling for human struggle that most politicians just mouth off about.

He was remarkably candid about his own party: “The Democrats,” he said are now just about “bring ‘em home and don’t care” what we leave behind.”

He was no less kind tot he Republicans: “They’re just confused.”

When he talked about getting out of politics, he said he did it because “I wanted to get married and the woman I wanted to get married wanted to have a child “and he wanted to raise a child “out of politics”.

What was interesting was how eloquent he was in support of Barak Obama. “He ought to make a speech and say ‘yes, it’s right my middle name is Hussein, I have Muslims in my family. I can talk to the Muslim world and tell them we can be your friends if you’ll let us, but if not we can be your worst enemy.”

http://pajamasmedia.com/xpress/ronrosenbaum/2007/05/31/...

Recap of Kerrey interview in THE ECONOMIST from May 5, 2007: "Bob Kerrey, Unbound"

Asked to rate the foreign-policy platforms of the various Democratic candidates, he was unflinching.

Joe Biden, he says, is the most serious thinker on Iraq, even though his plan smacks too much of micromanaging. Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd and Governor Bill Richardson are likewise in the top tier of foreign policy.

Barack Obama lacks experience, but is uniquely equipped, given his Muslim heritage, Christian faith and peripatetic childhood, to face the foreign-policy challenges of the 21st century.

John Edwards has made strides in foreign policy since he last ran for President, though he is still stronger on domestic issues.

Mr. Kerrey, who sat as the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, also has some specific criticisms of their plans for dealing with Iraq.

He thinks, for example, that Mrs. Clinton’s plan, which maintains funding for American troops but threatens to slash money for the American-trained Iraqi security forces, is misguided.

http://www.nyobserver.com/2007/kerrey-unbound-rates-dem...

And yes, I have no doubt that if Mark Penn had made exactly these comments it would have been QUITE intentional. And I don't doubt Penn's repition of "cocaine" was intentional... Penn is a professional sleaze. But this is no smear not coming from Bob Kerrey... He's a weirdo, but really thought he was doing good for Barack.