Kerry delivers another detailed smack down of "erratic" McCain

[ProSense]

Kerry not only said that Lindsey Graham's claim that Palin was just as experienced as Obama was ridiculous, but he also expanded on Obama's leadership qualities by contrasting it to Bush's as president. Kerry even took a jab a McCain record of absence from the Senate:

STEPHANOPOULOS: So let me turn now to Senator Kerry. He’s joining us today from Massachusetts.

You heard Senator Graham there, Senator Kerry. Good morning, first of all. What’s your response?

KERRY: Thank you. Well, he just admitted the case. He just said, “We’ve exposed him for being the calculating politician that he is.” And Barack Obama in his own speech said he’s not going to attack John McCain ’s motives, but you just heard them attack John McCain ’s motives, calculating.

The fact is that Barack Obama has shown judgment that has been correct. I mean, everything Lindsey -- you know, Lindsey Graham is very glib, he’s very good. But let me tell you something: He just didn’t tell you the truth.

John McCain has been wrong about Iraq. He bought in to the neoconservative theory that, by military invasion of Iraq, you could transform the Middle East. That has been proven incorrect. The Middle East is in shambles. America has lost credibility.

In fact, Iran is stronger today. Hamas is stronger today. Hezbollah is stronger today. And the United States of America that the president is supposed to protect is weaker today in the region and in the world.

Al Qaida is reconstituted and is now in 60 countries, not in the four countries that it was at the time of Afghanistan, when the war began.

So the bottom line is that the Republicans are trying to hide the fact that they have failed on their watch to make America safer.

And now, now, George, you have a choice, where John McCain has proven that he’s not a maverick, he’s erratic. He’s crossed the line from maverickism to -- I mean, it’s unbelievable what’s happened, because he himself said...

STEPHANOPOULOS: But let me -- let me stop you right there. What do you mean -- let me stop you right there, Senator Kerry. You said he’s erratic. What are you talking about there? Is that referring to the choice...

KERRY: Well, I’ll tell you exactly...

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... of Governor Palin?

KERRY: I will tell you -- absolutely, because what has happened is John McCain -- you know, we’ve been warning against the third term of George Bush. With the choice of Governor Palin, it’s now the third term of Bush-Cheney, because what he’s done is he’s chosen somebody who actually doesn’t believe that climate change is manmade. He’s chosen somebody who has zero -- zero -- experience in foreign policy.

The first threshold test of a president of a nominee in choosing a vice president is to prove to the American people that the person that you’ve chosen can fill in tomorrow, that they come with the requisite experience to lead the nation in foreign policy and in national security.

You know, she may be -- I mean, I’m sure she’s a terrific person. I’m not attacking her. I think John McCain ’s judgment is once again put at issue, because he’s chosen somebody who clearly does not meet the national security threshold, who is not ready to be president tomorrow.

And there’s just no way to...

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: You heard Senator Graham, though. He said that she has more experience than Senator Obama.

KERRY: That’s just ridiculous on its face. I mean, John -- you know, Barack Obama has been in the United States Senate. He has not been absent more than he’s been there. She’s been a governor for, what, the two years now, Barack Obama and the four years?

But, moreover, Barack Obama has traveled abroad. Look at the trip Barack Obama took. I mean, it is remarkable to me that the Republicans would try to denigrate a trip that a candidate for president takes where he attracts more -- more attention, more support, if you will, than a sitting president of the United States of America.

That’s what you need in leadership for a president. You need somebody who can go to Europe and say to them, “We need more help in Afghanistan.” He actually called the Europeans to account on their -- on their need to be, frankly, more front-and-center in the effort to deal with Afghanistan than President Bush has.

I think that’s leadership, and I think the United States of America is well-served if we have a president who’s able to do that.

But coming back to this choice for a moment...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Kerry...

KERRY: ... let me just say...

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me ask you another question right now...

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... because, Senator, Howard Wolfson -- excuse me. Let me just ask you another question. Howard Wolfson, Senator Clinton’s former communications director, said that this pick might just work to draw women to the Republican ticket. Are you worried about that?

KERRY: Well, with all due respect to Howard, you know, I have much more respect for the Clinton supporters than that sort of quick- blush take with -- I mean, how stupid do they think the Clinton supporters are, for Heaven sakes?

Do they think Clinton supporters supported Hillary only because she was a woman. For Heaven sakes, they supported Hillary because of all the things she’s fought for, because she fights for health care, which John McCain doesn’t support; she fights for children and children’s health care, which John McCain voted against; she fights for a windfall profits tax on the oil company, which John McCain opposes.

I mean, for Heaven sakes, the people who supported Hillary Clinton are not going to be seduced just because John McCain has picked a woman. They’re going to look at what she supports.

The fact that she doesn’t even support the notion that climate change is manmade -- she’s back there with the Flat Earth Caucus. And I don’t see how those women are going to be fooled into believing -- I think it’s almost insulting to the Hillary supporters that they believe they would support somebody who is against almost everything that they believe in.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. KERRY: What John McCain has proven with this choice -- this is very important, George. John McCain wanted to choose Tom Ridge. He wanted to choose Joe Lieberman. He wanted to choose another candidate, but you know what? Rush Limbaugh and the right wing vetoed it.

And John McCain was forced to come back and pick a sort of Cheney-esque social conservative who’s going to satisfy the base.

What John McCain has proven with this choice is that John McCain is the prisoner of the right wing, not a maverick.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Kerry, I’m afraid that’s all we have time for today. Thank you very much for your time.

KERRY: Thank you.

link

Video

[Coexist]

1. I watched that this morning - best thing on the tv.

[Muttocracy]

2. Kerry was awesome. Video link:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5694357

[ProSense]

4. Cool, added to OP. Thanks. n/t

[cliffordu]

3. Dammit. Where was this Kerry 4 years ago?????

Better late than never, I'd say. Great stuff. Thanks!!

[sandnsea]

12. Where were the surrogates

backing Kerry up with this kind of attack. The Presidential candidate can't do this all the time. Kerry did what he could, he didn't have any back-up.

[politicasista]

18. Thank you

That's a question the we need to be asking instead of blaming only Kerry for 04.

[cliffordu]

21. I wasn't blaming him for anything - I was talking about that fire and the

ability to run right over the spinners like strepta-stophonich.

[sandnsea]

28. He did it many times

I remember when he went on the Fox Hen House, or whatever you call it, and everybody was so impressed with how he owned them. I would think people would start to get embarrassed by how many times they say "wow, I never saw that Kerry fire before". It happens about once a week, every time he speaks practically. When are people going to admit they let the media tell them how to think in 2004.

[politicasista]

34. Exactly n/t

[clydefrand]

35. I had listened to Senator Kerry for years on the Sunday shows

I was always impressed by his knowledge and his compassion for the issues we believe in. I think he's too damn smart for the f...g repugs. They don't want somebody smarter than they are...hence the village idiot in office now.

[tblue37]

38. Or any media coverage. The MSM was too busy repeating the

Swift Boat ads.

[politicasista]

40. And giving the liars more air time than the reporting the facts n/t

[blm]

43. He's been like this for 40yrs. Corpmedia never wanted YOU to know Kerry, especially the last 20 yrs.

And they had help from the establishment Dem powerstructure in DC who has worked against Kerry since he first started uncovering IranContra and really dug in against him when he started unraveling BCCI.

The big name Dems would NEVER get Kerry's back, especially in 2004, the way Kerry looks out for Obama now.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. Wow. Just. Wow.

John Kerry. :applause:

[Cush]

6. wow

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. ' let me stop you right there."

Doesn't he wish?

Thank you Sen. Kerry

[ErinBerin84]

8. He was awesome!

I wish that Wolfson would just stop spinning and giving credibility to the repuke talking points. Some former Hillary people , like Maria Cardona, truly seem embarrassed of him. I love when Kerry said that Rush picked Palin, not McCain, and that he said that Graham is "glib". And Graham should just give up politics and join the soap opera business, he is getting more and more ridiculous, if that's possible.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

9. Where was THAT John Kerry in 2004?

But regardless, I'm glad he's out there kicking butt.

I was thinking today that this is the real downside of John Edwards being in political Siberia -- he would have been an excellent surrogate on behalf of the Obama Campaign.

[Native]

10. "McCain is the prisoner of the right wing, not a maverick"

Perfect!

[sandnsea]

13. I like that line too

It's perfect, that and the flat earth caucus.

[Muttocracy]

14. me three. nt

[tblue37]

39. And "erratic." Way to subtly get the possibility of

senile dementia or perhaps PTSD in there. Kerry is incredible.

[Skink]

11. Third term for Bush and Cheney

Kerry had first dibs on that one.

[eshfemme]

15. Such a coincidence that I watched that vid before reading your post.

Please keep on kicking ass Senator Kerry!

[nc4bo]

16. Beautifully done Senator!!! nt

[Starry Messenger]

17. The Flat Earth caucus.

Awesome.

MPK

[MH1]

32. Yeah, that's a good one!

I think JK has used that before, too.

[jhain]

19. "He's Not A Maverick....He's a Sidekick

He's a Sidekick."

Best line of the convention. We need to be saying that EVERYWHERE

[tblue37]

41. Remember that movie

Superhero High? Sidekicks were the ones with minimal, often ridiculous, superpowers--comedy relief most of the time.

[Top Cat]

20. WoW

[JaneQPublic]

22. Kerry is the best! (nt)

[politicasista]

23. A bangin' K & R!

Kerry is doing for Obama what Democrats should have been doing for him (and Gore) four and eight years ago. :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Cha]

24. john mccain is an Erractic not a maverick..and it's sad that he

is indeed still a prisoner of his own making.

[emulatorloo]

25. The PERFECT SURROGATE -- he was amazing. I hope all the surrogates will be as good EOM

[BlueStateGirl]

26. WTG Senator Kerry.

[horseshoecrab]

27. Kerry was masterful today

Thanks for the link. Will enjoy watching that one again.

As we know, Kerry's a guy who learned how important it is to strike back early and often and with great precision. Go John! :patriot:


horseshoecrab

[biscotti]

29. Good Man!

That's telling it straight and concise. :woohoo:

[MindMatter]

30. Let's not forget his state senate experience

Illinois has 59 state senators for 12,800,000 people. That's about 220,000 constituents per Senate district. Alaska has only 670,000 people in the whole state.

[BeyondGeography]

31. Obama has no better surrogate...he's fighting for us as if civilization is at stake (and it is)

:patriot:

[tosh]

33. Glad you posted this.

I missed that braodcast.

"...John McCain ’s judgment is once again put at issue..."

INDEED!

[beachmom]

36. Thanks for posting the transcript. Great stuff.

[tblue37]

37. Boy George was obviously desperate to shut him up! n/t

[ProSense]

42. This word should be forever associated with McCain

"erratic"

[flpoljunkie]

44. Awesome, Senator Kerry!

[politicasista]

45. Kick

:kick: