John Kerry on CSPAN now

[jumptheshadow]

eom

On edit: Screw work right now.

[jumptheshadow]

1. We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency

with each day that passes, with each bit of news...

[jumptheshadow]

2. Bush...

is leading nation in a radically wrong direction.

Note: Kerry is certainly emphasizing the word "Democratic" today.

This is not a commitment I've made in the last few weeks...

Lifetime commitment...

(Hello, Wesley!)

[jumptheshadow]

3. Proud I stood against Richard Nixon...

not with him.

Don't need an AG that spies on Americans.

Proud that I stood against Ronald Reagan not with him...

Proud blew the whistle on Oliver North, not with him...

Will not danger life of intelligence agent of U.S. for purpose of political revenge...

[jumptheshadow]

4. To Bush...

Slime is not the way to restore honor and integrity of U.S.

Proud I stood with Democratic wing of Democratic party against Newt Gingrich...

[jumptheshadow]

5. No young American...

should ever be held hostage to fossil fuel dependency...

(Note: Kerry's been reprising his Democratic activism throughout the speech.)

For years organized labor prepared to fight and stand in those picket lines and we need somebody who understands that...

[SayitAintSo]

6. The crowd seems more "animated" with Kerry...

Been watching this for a while - All candiates have done well - Kerry seems to be getting the most applause. Is this telling ???

[LittleApple81]

8. Clark got a lot too. n/t

[jumptheshadow]

13. Yes, Clark got a great reaction

eom

[JI7]

9. he has his firefighters there

kerry has his firefighters out there for him.

[StopTheMorans]

11. "his firefighters"?

n/t

[JI7]

14. yeah, they endorsed him

he got firefighters endorsement.

[StopTheMorans]

15. i know:)

but, it is very condescending to refer to them as "his" firefighters:)

[JI7]

17. as in his supporters

i don't mean they belong to him, but he has their support.

[StopTheMorans]

19. clear enough

it just didn't appear that way too me at first:)

[jumptheshadow]

7. NY heros

Every one of them believed in the right to organize, the right to strike, they were members of labor unions.

We deserve a president who honors them not just when the bagpipes are wailing but when the flags are at full staff...

Mentions Demo wing of Dem party fighting against Gingrich again.

Stood with Clinton who never signed Gingrich's Medicare bill.

We know that Medicare is not one of the worst programs ever invented it is one of the best. We must protect it.

[StephNW4Clark]

12. The prostate joke...

...a little uncomfortable.

[SayitAintSo]

28. Surprised me too ....

Looks like he grew a new one though before that speech !

[JI7]

29. hahha

good one. i thought this was one of his best also. and he had attended an event right before this also which makes it more impressive.

[jumptheshadow]

10. Health care is a right

should be made available to all Americans...

Some people ask if man can be President of the U.S. without a prostrate. I just answer that we've had a lot of Republicans without a heart.

[jumptheshadow]

16. Iraq

Wrong to open firehouses in Baghdad and shut them down in cities in America.

Wrong to ask reservists to spend another year in Iraq and not repeal the tax cuts on the rich.

Advocates for middle class tax cuts.

[elfin]

18. He is ON FIRE!

Gotta confess - I started out with Dean, then went to Kerry, then over to Clark - mainly on the "electability" issue.

Last couple of days Kerry has really become strong - am veering back to him.

This speech - and the one yesterday on Senate floor - is great.

I think Clark's entrance has galvanized Kerry and is bringing out the best in him.

What a great field we have! How to choose, how to choose.

[jumptheshadow]

20. Don't want to be candidate of NRA

Don't abandon the basic principles of the Democratic party.

Don't need military action in the wake of 9/11, need unprecedented cooperation...

don't ignore the Middle East for months, don't ignore global warming, don't ignore AIDS in Africa for so long...

Hahahahaha:

they can't find Osama, they can't find Saddam Hussein, they can't find leaker in White House and probably don't want to be able to.

[tjdee]

21. Kerry has been the best so far.

He's doing excellently.

[JI7]

24. i think clark

i think clark getting into the race is making him do better. i always thought clark getting in would be a good thing.

[JI7]

22. nice song

his favorite i believe

[jumptheshadow]

23. Must get back to work again...

:(

[JaneQPublic]

25. Weren't those shots at Clark and Dean?

Weren't the remarks about standing against Nixon and Reagan aimed at Clark, since he admitted to voting for them?

Likewise, the remarks about standing with the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party against Gingrich were obviously aimed at Dean.

Did any of the other candidates use their speech to attack other candidates? I got the impression this function was intended for party unity, not as another debate forum.

[jumptheshadow]

27. He was definitely taking shots...

and it's clear that he views Clark and Dean as the main competition.

He took two or three shots against Clark and three or four against Dean.

[JI7]

34. yes, shots at clark and dean

it was about the democratic party, and about the candidates running for president.

[blm]

41. Dean attacked the others at the last DNC meeting

earlier in the year. That's when he said that HE was there to represent "the Democratic wing of the Democratic party." Kerry's speech is his followup shot at Dean. See...last big meeting, Kerry was recovering from prostate surgery and off the campaign trail when Dean stepped up his attacks on him. Even called Kerry, "Bushlite"....odd to those of us who knew Dean was a centrist and Kerry's lifetime liberal rating was closest to Wellstone's.

Thanks for the report, jump. I was away and missed what sounds like a great speech.

[Skwmom]

26. Great speech.

Kerry did one heck of a good job.

[jumptheshadow]

30. Damn!!!

We now get Junior with Bernie Kerick who headed security in Iraq.

"In a very short period of time we're making a great deal of progress."

Bah!

[welshTerrier2]

31. Did I Hear Kerry Say ... ?????

that we should not spend $87 billion to open firehouses in Bagdad when we're closing them in this country ??

what does this mean? is he going to vote, or has he voted, against the continuation of funding for Iraq? and if so, what exactly does he think our Iraq policy should be ??

his speech was very good but, other than the above statement, which was unclear to me, he really ducked the whole issue of Iraq ... he can't hide from such an important issue if he expects to get anywhere ...

[JI7]

33. depends on the plan

he wants answers of where the money will go before. and it was just a line he always uses to point to how bush isn't funding firehouses and other things in america.

[welshTerrier2]

35. so Kerry continues to support the war

if your "depends on the plan" is accurate, it means kerry would be willing to consider spending more american money and american blood on this insane policy ...

i appreciate his call for a more detailed plan ... but the detail must include a real exit strategy ... and pumping in another $87 billion, and we all know that this will be nothing but a down payment, is not the way to disentangle the U.S. ... and we all know that the money is not going to the troops and it's not going to the iraqis either ... "follow the money" and you'll see very clearly who will profit by it ...

we need to acknowledge the insanity of our policy ... we need to understand that we cannot succeed in vietnam ... er, um, i mean Iraq ... we need to know that we are incurring massive debt in terms of both money and worldwide prestige by remaining there ...

Kucinich is right ... Kerry is not right ... we need to leave Iraq ... if some time is needed for an "orderly transition", say six months or less, fine ... we tell the U.N. we're out of there in six months ... they are welcome to do what they think is right ... we will continue to provide some level of economic support ... but our military is being withdrawn ...

the bottom line is: Kucinich is right ... Kerry is wrong ...

[JI7]

36. yeah, kerry wants other troops in

i'm sure it's not exactly like kucinich. and i will tell you to vote kucinich if that's how strongly you support kucinich's plan and that's what you are voting on. but kerry would bring in other nations to help and begin replacing the american troops with foreign troops. one reason bush doesn't do that is because it would mean giving up some control (oil) to other nations and he doesn't want to lose his own personal profits by doing that. kerry would change that.

[welshTerrier2]

37. the problem i have with this

is that, if we continue to fund operations in Iraq, we're stuck there until at least January, 2005 ... and it could take considerable time after that to begin a transition to a real multi-national peace-keeping force ...

i am not willing to commit more money and troops to the Iraq invasion for at least another year and one-half ... are you?? kerry needs to stand up now !!!

it's all well and good that he understands the U.S. needs to transition to a multi-lateral force, but the situation requires urgency ... we've been in Iraq for six months already and it never should have happened in the first place ... if Mr. Kerry wants to support our presence there for an additional year and one-half, there's no way I'll ever vote for him again ...

the time to stand up to bush and say "NO MORE" is NOW !!!

[jumptheshadow]

38. The reason I disagree with the Kucinich plan for withdrawal

I mentioned this in another thread: I don't think the U.N. is ready at this point to take on the entire responsibility for the withdrawal. It has infrastructure issues that must be addressed. Being handed the huge Iraq responsibilities at this moment might damage the organization -- perhaps beyond repair.

Annan knows the weaknesses of the U.N. and is working on them. We must give him time and not just deposit American trash on his doorstep.

[welshTerrier2]

39. there needs to be a sense of urgency

we need to make it absolutely clear that we are withdrawing our troops, one way or the other ...

either the U.N. sends a multi-lateral peace-keeping force or they don't ... either way, we're outta there ...

i share your concerns about whether the U.N. is, or could be, ready to do the job ... if a little more time is needed to prepare, no problem ... i would immediately put the U.N. on notice that the timeline to get ready is very short ... a maximum of 6 months ...

protecting the U.N. from assuming a mission they can't handle is certainly a worthy goal ... but that should not mean we remain in Iraq until we get a democrat in the white house ... we cannot afford an additional year and one-half of this madness ...

[KittyWampus]

40. More Than With Drawing Troops-Withdrawing Halliburton's Contracts

I think the awarding of contracts should be done by an independant council of European/Middle Eastern countries...

It would make the US look better.

[gottaB]

32. The best performance by Kerry yet?

It was awfully good.

:thumbsup: