The Ted Offensive
In 2002, George W. Bush stabbed Ted Kennedy in the back. Two years later, Teddy's in John Kerry's corner, and they're aiming for the White House
WILL DANA Posted May 19, 2004 12:00 AM
Every four years, around this time, both parties crank up the rhetoric. But this year, the attacks on both sides seem especially intense.
This is the most important election of my lifetime. And when I say that, I always think back to 1960 -- can I really say that? But I have been in the Senate now for forty-two years, and I think that this is a defining moment in our nation's history -- in terms of our relations with the rest of the world, and also how we're going to deal with our own issues here at home.
This national leadership, as exhibited in Iraq, has committed the greatest foreign disaster and blunder in the history of this nation. This has to be changed. And I believe that John Kerry is the person to do it. I've worked hard in other presidential elections, but I am particularly involved in this election because of the dimensions of it. And also because I know the Democratic nominee as well as I do.
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When you said the war in Iraq was cooked up in Texas for political reasons, what did you mean?
They held the vote in Congress in October 2002, just before the elections. Their decision to go out and go "mission accomplished" is a clear reflection that they were looking for an ad for another political campaign. Al Qaeda was the threat to our security, but they were obsessed with Iraq. It has resulted in the greatest foreign-policy disaster this country has ever faced.
If, as you say, this war was such a bad policy, are you surprised that they were able to pull it off, that they were able to get Congress and the American people to go along with it?
No. Not when they distorted, misrepresented and manipulated the intelligence the way they did.