I was listening to Rush today (know thine enemies, dontcha know) and he was being his usual jackass self about Kerry holding the same position on the Iraq War, pretending to laugh his head off at such an assertion.
He cited this speech by Kerry from November 9th, 1997 and read parts of it on air. I could tell right away it was exactly what he's been saying all along. How does this show him as a flip/flopper. To me, it shows that he is rock solid in his position, and also shows how long this issue has been a concern for him.
He doesn't say rush into war in 1997. He does say that we should be concerned about Sadaam Hussein and that we need to hold him accountable. He talks about going in unilaterally if need be. That's the point -- we didn't NEED to go in there unilaterally. He talks about demanding that the inspectors be allowed to do their job. That's exactly what he's saying now.
Links to this speech are all over several cites for the Right, and even on Free Republic. I just don't understand how the Right can think that this is a plus for them. How can people not see that it's the same damn position?
Here's a link to both the 1997 speech on the Senate floor, and Kerry's speech from Temple University. Judge for yourself how much he's changed his position. I'm going to print both speeches out, I think, and use them.
http://www.seanrobins.com/kerry/kerry_senate_1997_11_09.htmhttp://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0924.html