Kerry coming up on MSNBC.

[blm]

They just previewed it. About WMDs, I think.

[blm]

1. That's odd...they never showed it.

KKKarl called?

[newsguyatl]

2. it was good, i saw the presser in its entirety

here's a good summation:

Kerry: Time for Bush 'to tell the truth' on Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry Thursday urged President Bush "to tell the truth to the American people" about the war in Iraq, saying the administration has bungled the resulting U.S. occupation.
Kerry, D-Mass., said Bush's May 1 declaration that major combat had ended in Iraq, delivered from the deck of an aircraft carrier, was premature "no matter how well staged."
"It's time for the president to step forward and tell the truth -- that the war is continuing, and so are the casualties," Kerry said. He said the administration "assured us they had a plan" to rebuild Iraq after the war, but "it is now evident they didn't have a plan."
"It's time for the president to tell the truth -- that we lack sufficient forces to do the job of reconstruction in Iraq and withdraw in a reasonable period," he added.
Kerry offered a four-point plan of his own Thursday: Bolstering the 145,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq with peacekeepers from NATO allies and Muslim nations; getting U.N. agencies involved in humanitarian relief work and establishing a democratic government; outline "immediately and publicly" how and when the United States will transfer power to an Iraqi government; and move more quickly to restore basic services such as power and transportation.
"Just because a mistake was made does not mean we should compound it by making further mistakes," he said. Continuing instability in Iraq could undermine U.S. efforts to battle al Qaeda as well, he added.
"Not winning the peace in Iraq will have more impact on the war on terror than any single thing we're doing," he said.
Most of the leading Democratic presidential contenders, including Kerry, supported giving Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. Kerry said Thursday that decision was "100 percent right" because it gave the United States additional leverage in the United Nations.
But, "in order to re-establish the credibility of our own government," he said, an investigation is needed into allegations the Bush administration overstated the threat posed by Iraq's weapons programs during the debate over war.
"This is not a matter of politics. This is a matter of national security," he said. "When we go to other countries and say we have evidence of X or Y or Z, it is important that they believe us. And when we go to the American people and ask them to support some effort in the future, it is more than important that they believe us."
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who became an anti-war leader, said Bush appears to be going down "a prideful road" by failing to get international help for peacekeeping in Iraq.
"I learned a long time ago in Vietnam what happens when pride gets in the way of making honest decisions," he said.

[Cocoa]

3. excellent!

and note, when Kerry talks about learning something in Vietnam, he was actually there, unlike Bush, who also claimed to have learned things there.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

8. haven't you heard of "distance learning"?

:)

[blm]

9. heheh...

a correspondence course?

[hedda_foil]

4. Unfortunately, he's still trying to have it both ways

<snip>
Most of the leading Democratic presidential contenders, including Kerry, supported giving Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. Kerry said Thursday that decision was "100 percent right" because it gave the United States additional leverage in the United Nations.
</snip>

okay, blm, I think that's your cue to mention Biden-Lugar again.

[blm]

6. B-L doesn't figure in that remark.

Bush wanted the UN dissolved. We could see it in how they repeatedly used the word "irrelevant" at the time. Kerry, Clinton and others who negotiated for their support of the Iraq resolution preserved the UN as part of the process.

See the forest.

[ProfessorPlum]

10. if I understand the argument correctly

the resolution didn't give or take away any powers from Bush. It only laid out what the congress would like Bush to do (please with sugar on top) in order to get congressional "approval" for his actions. It had no punishments for not following the course of action laid down by the congress. And the course of action was written by Republicans in the congress, not by Kerry, though Democrats did force them to add the part about going to the UN.

So by voting for the resolution, Kerry was trying to get Bush to act for multilateral inspections/disarmament, which is perfectly rational.

It doesn't explain why Kerry seems to be giving tacit approval to Bush's subsequent course of unilateral regime change.

[blm]

5. Funny...they didn't show it in SC....

they cut away to something else. Thanks for the report.

[CWebster]

7. Kerry,

"... supported giving Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. Kerry said Thursday that decision was '100 percent right' because it gave the United States additional leverage in the United Nations."

?????????

To give credibility to the lies? We wouldn't have to "re-establish the credibility of our own government" if more in government had not given Bush credibility.

[sendero]

11. glad to see....

... I'm not the only one who "doesn't understand" WTF Kerry is saying here...

[blm]

12. You would prefer Bush

had his way and the UN be closing its doors today? SOMEBODY had to negotiate with the dictatortot, and that duty fell to key legislators.

[killbotfactory]

24. Bush did have his way...

Bush went through the UN and made it look like the UN was just a meaningless "debate society" who wouldn't enforce their own resolutions. The only reason he bothered for as long as he did was because they were planning to invade in the early spring regardless of what the UN did. It didn't change anything.

I can't believe certain people running for president went along with it all along.

[blm]

25. The UN still exists.

The UN is becoming more important to the story today, isn't it? The US will now have to acknowledge how the UN and NATO are NEEDED in Iraq to bring stability.

[jpgray]

13. Excellent statement

And those who poo poo it wouldn't be Kerry fans if he singlehandedly impeached Bush himself. :)

[Eloriel]

14. How ironic

"I learned a long time ago in Vietnam what happens when pride gets in the way of making honest decisions,"

But it took time in the Senate for him to learn about decisions based on personal political motivation.

Eloriel

[jpgray]

15. Why don't you give it a rest?

People that don't like Kerry will be harping on his war vote from here to eternity I suppose, while ironically at the same time I'm sure they respect Senator Byrd. But does it have to be done in every thread? Here's an idea: just post "I hate Kerry; I love Dean". Bringing your negativity to somebody who is going after Bush makes no sense to me whatsoever, unless its petty candidate bashing.

[ProfessorPlum]

16. I think a lot of people

really want to like Kerry wholeheartedly, as he is an excellent candidate and potential nominee. It's just his support (or non-denounciation) of this war (not his resolution vote) leaves us feeling a bit strange about his sense of right and wrong.

[jpgray]

19. I understand

and can sympathize, but we need all the criticism we can get, and Kerry is one of the better critics. I hate to see him get bashed for it.

[ProfessorPlum]

20. I for one

won't bash Kerry for criticizing W. - my only complaint is that he does it too infrequently and too mildly!

Kerry (and the country) got screwed in this deal - he should be roaring with anger!

[alfredo]

22. The resolution was going to pass, the Repugs

are in control. There was also the campaign to smear all who questioned the Junta. Not wanting to be branded a traitor, for standing up for a losing cause, they did the best to shape the resolution, then voted for it. It is called politics. Remember who was the only senator who voted against the resolution?

[killbotfactory]

23. 23 senators voted against the resolution.

Who do you mean by "the only senator"?

[blm]

26. They were fortunate not to be charged with the responsibilty

of negotiating with the White House. Some key legislators like Kerry, Clinton and Gephardt WERE actively negotiating to preserve the process that included the UN.

[blm]

18. Haven't you learned by now?

Kerry - "Pure political motivation."

Dean - "pragmatic"

[jpgray]

21. Setting these candidates against each other

is the worst thing that goes on at DU. I don't care if the candidates themselves started it, but they are both important voices. Neither should be carelessly maligned for some agenda.

[killbotfactory]

17. Bush assured Kerry he had a plan.

Bush assured Kerry he would work through the UN.

Kerry believed Bush.

Whoops!

Boy is Kerry's face red!