E. J. Dionne - Kerry Could Take a Lesson From CO candidate Salazar

[RussBLib]

good stuff here

As he prepares for Thursday's debate with President Bush, John Kerry might ponder the thoughts of Ken Salazar, Colorado's attorney general and one of the Democrats' best hopes for picking up a U.S. Senate seat this year.

Salazar, a moderate Democrat who faces beer magnate Pete Coors, has won twice statewide by picking up a lot of Republican votes. He unequivocally endorses Kerry but does not always appear when his party's nominee visits this state, which Democrats devoutly hope to turn into a battleground.

Salazar is still curious as to why the Bush administration didn't take the Hart-Rudman report more seriously. He's also curious about what Bush did about that famous Aug. 6, 2001, President's Daily Brief that contained warnings of a terrorist attack.

Without making wild charges — he's not that kind of guy — Salazar suggests that Americans should want to know more about "two huge intelligence failures." He's referring to our government's failure to anticipate 9/11 and "the intelligence failure that created the premise for the war in Iraq."

"Nobody," he says, "is being held accountable for these intelligence failures." Isn't this a matter that our president should be asked about in Thursday's debate — especially what actions he took concerning that Aug. 6 memo? Or would such a question be just too terribly impolite? The reluctance to explore what Bush knew before 9/11 and what he did about it stands as one of the great mysteries of American journalism.

Ask Salazar how he would have voted on the 2002 Iraq war resolution and he is unequivocal: He would have voted for it on the basis of the case Bush made. But ask him how he'd vote in light of what we have learned since and his answer is one that Kerry might have considered. "It's not a fair question," Salazar replies, "because the matter would not have even been raised to the Congress if the facts had been known."

Dionne is a columnist for the Washington Post. ([email protected])

[Cha]

1. I think Kerry is making his case if people

would just listen to what he is saying.

Salazar doesn't appear with Kerry because he's afraid of losing the republican votes?

[scarletwoman]

2. Got a link for this article? (n/t)

[Moderator]

3. Link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55503-2004Sep27.html

[scarletwoman]

5. Thanks!

It's not that I wouldn't have been able to track it down myself, but it's so much more efficient if posts about articles include the link. ;-)

sw

[RussBLib]

6. Geez! Sorry! I posted then had to scram for a few

won't happen again

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55503-20...

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2817905

[ochazuke]

4. How long after 9/11 before you heard anyone question *'s performance?

And if it had been a Dem. in the White House? You can be sure that afternoon, Tom Delay and Bill Frist would be calling for a congressional investigation.

We dems are wimps, and the pukes are thugs. Delusional freaking thugs who will stop at nothing to gain and keep power.