Kerry smacks down McCain for criticism of Clinton's North Korea policy

[ProSense]

McCain: Clinton's North Korea policy 'a failure'

POSTED: 3:46 p.m. EDT, October 10, 2006

SOUTHFIELD, Michigan (AP) -- Republican Sen. John McCain on Tuesday accused former President Clinton, the husband of his potential 2008 White House rival, of failing to act in the 1990s to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

"I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure," McCain said at a news conference after a campaign appearance for Republican Senate candidate Mike Bouchard.

"The Koreans received millions and millions in energy assistance. They've diverted millions of dollars of food assistance to their military," he said.

Snip...

McCain's criticism elicited a strong response from Democratic Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 presidential nominee and a potential 2008 candidate.

"He must be trying to burnish his credentials for the nomination process," said Kerry, who labeled McCain's comments "flat politics and incorrect."

"The truth is the Clinton administration knew full well they didn't have a perfect agreement. But at least they were talking. At least we had inspectors going in and we knew where the rods were. This way, we don't know where the rods are. The rods are gone. There are no inspectors. Ask any American which way is better," Kerry said.

The Massachusetts senator made the remarks in Nevada during a campaign appearance with Elizabeth Carter, wife of Democratic Senate candidate Jack Carter.

more...

[blm]

1. Good - keep pointing out the lies of that hypocrite - McCain deserves it

for his cravenness these past 6 years.

Defend Clinton for the good. Urge truth when Clinton goes wrong.

[beachmom]

6. It's nice to see Kerry have Clinton's back and respond so quickly

I wish other Democrats had been that fast and furious in '04 to defend Kerry.

[blm]

8. I wish Clinton had - - even if Clinton had just defended himself in 2004

it could have helped the entire Dem party.

Clinton should have done that within months of 9-11 and before the 2002 election instead of leaving the "Clinton did nothing - Dems are weak on terror" memes out there to solidify.

[Tellurian]

23. Bravo for Kerry...This is just the way it SHOULD BE ALL the time..

The rebuttals to Republican LIES have to come out fast and furiously.
In the past, this is where the Dems failed to unify..I hope they've changed that
mentality and "It's ONE FOR ALL...and ALL FOR ONE!" (The Three Musketeers motto)Forever!

[_dynamicdems]

28. Exactly! Kerry knows something about being a LOYAL Dem for REAL.

They weren't there for him in '04. Dean was and a few others were, but I remember seeing quite a few Dems on television discussing Kerry with what could hardly be called enthusiastic support. To say they damned him with faint praise while sticking the knife in his back would be an understatement.

[ray of light]

41. Ed Shultz was slamming dems for not attacking on this--leave it to kerry

to be the first to step up tot he plate.

[SunDrop23]

50. Give em hell Big Eddie!

[BOSSHOG]

2. bush didn't want inspectors in NK or Iraq

and they were doing a great job. I guess you'd have to be a religiously insane dumbfuck bush supporter to think otherwise. Just send someone else's kid over there to die for us so we can stay here, barbecue hot dogs, watch football games and continue to be dumbfuck bush supporters.

[Double T]

3. Clinton SOMETHIN' is better than bushco NOTHIN'...........

negotiations and diplomacy are done by smart political leaders; idiots saber rattle and start preemptive wars.

[babylonsister]

4. Rec'd! Not a day goes by that Kerry doesn't have something to

say about the sorry state of current affairs. Where is everyone else? What are they saying?

[_dynamicdems]

30. I'm surprised that Dems are so silent lately. Kerry has been fierce

fighting for other Democrats. He's not thinking of them as competition: he's thinking of what is best for the party and therefore the country.

Who speaks out for Kerry? Who speaks out to remind the world that Kerry was right?

[AtomicKitten]

5. It was inevitable they would blame the Clenis

Nuclear proliferation has increased exponentially on Junior's watch, and snaps to JK for pointing that out. He must get tired of correcting their BS because there is much of it to be had, but I am glad he is diligent in doing so. It's almost like dealing with short attention span 2-year-olds.

[reichstag911]

7. Whatever integrity McCain might have claimed...

...as a result of his military service was long ago devoured by his money-grubbing involvement as one of the Keating Five and by his egomaniacal ambition for the White House. Fuck the old whore!

[_dynamicdems]

31. Agreed on McCain. He's a miserable old whore allright.

Did you see Friday's Bill Maher show? He really dissed McCain good for that photo hugging *.

[wisteria]

9. Yes! Go after their lies.

They started the Clinton bullsh*t yesterday, trying to deflect blame away from Bush. Clinton attempted to work with NK and keep his eye on him. Clinton isn't perfect, but he always keep an eye on issues and he tried. Bush just ignored it all. Good for Kerry.

[blm]

21. Always first to defend Clinton when they lie about him.

Too bad Clinton fails so often to reciprocate and that is HIS character flaw. And I will bet it even saddens him when he actually thinks about it.

[Graybeard]

10. Keep chipping away at the McCain pedestal...

..and he will collapse. Opportunism and hypocrisy.

[babylonsister]

12. Hi, Graybeard. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[_dynamicdems]

33. You just put an image in my head of McCain as that statue of Saddam

falling in Iraq. McCain's face forever etched on that falling statue: I love it!

Welcome! :hi:

[BootinUp]

11. Good job Senator

McCain doesn't need facts apparently. He has learned from BushCo well.

[Supersedeas]

19. when a Senator confronts a puny lil RW Cronie--what became of Senator

McCain

[sandnsea]

13. Well all right!

Glad to see Kerry isn't going to let McCain get away with this maverick tough guy nonsense. He's nothing but a rubberstamp and all this bully talk today absolutely was 'burnishing his credentials". No more playing politics with security.

[Hav]

14. .

Has it always been that way? The Repubs are in charge, they have solid majorities in the Senate and the House, that fool Monkeyboy has been President for 6 years.
But whenever something bad happens, they never ever fail to look for excuses by blaming the Democratic Party. Just once I'd like to see them acting instead of shifting the blame. You are in charge, take responsibility, do something right and act like adults for a change!

Who cares what Clinton did? They had 6 years and the best they could do was making them a part of the axis of evil? Great job and thanks for nothing! It's not hard for Clinton to do better than that.

Uh so Clinton's plan was bad? Stfu. If that's what you think, there was enough time to do it better.

[Kashka-Kat]

15. OH FER GOD SAKES - CLINTON HASNT BEEN PREZ IN SIX -COUNT EM -6 YEARS

GET OVER IT ALREADY

EVEN ASSUMING FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT CLINTON SCREWED UP.. THE QUESTION IS WHAT ARE yOU! YOU! YOU! YOU! GOING TO DO ABOUT IT IN THE HERE & NOW -

IN THIS TIME-SPACE CONTINUUM WE ARE NOT ABLE TO GO BACKWARDS WE CAN ONLY GO FORWARD

SORRY FOR SCREAMING IVE JUST BEEN DRIVEN STARK RAVING MAD!!! ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH!

Can you imagine John Kennedy during the cuban missle crisis whining about how Eisenhower screwed up relations with cuba & Russia instead of doing something about fixing the problem in the here and now. What the fricken heck has happened to us as a nation that we have to have these imbeciles running the show???????????

[BootinUp]

16. The Republicans have learned something

how people view the past has a big effect on how they vote in the present.

[Kashka-Kat]

17. well obviously to some people-- but for others of us it just sounds for

all the world like a bunch of whining six year olds ...

actually I read something recently about how the tide really is turning, &surveys are showing that people are starting to view the Clinton years w/ rose colored nostalgia... as a fun-loving time of peace and prosperity. Enough time has passed and enough death & corruption has transpired to put the past in a different perspective.

Humans - gotta love em. We are a fickle species.

Hmmm maybe that changing view of the past bodes well for the next elections.

[BootinUp]

18. indeed. n/t

[blm]

38. All that mediawhoring for Bush may have done some good - it was TOO MUCH

and TOO much coverage of Bush let the public see how one dimensional he really is. And all the propping up by the corpmedia cannot bring back ANY trust like that once it is broken.

It sickened me how media covered every little thing Bush did, smoothing over the lies and masking the evil with praise and distraction. They ignored the most serious times for the Democrats - any Democrat.

But all that familiarity with Bush and his style and his mannerisms has now turned to something else for many Americans - revulsion.

[nam78_two]

36. heh heh

Understand your frustration :toast:

[nam78_two]

37. heh heh

Understand your frustration :toast:

[yellowcanine]

20. "Ask any American which way is better," My only quarrel with how Kerry

framed it is I would have stuck "thinking" in front of American.

[karynnj]

46. Insulting many of the voters would help how?

I see your frustration, but Kerry's comment here hits because there is no hyperbole or overt nastiness here. This is a case where Kerry's career long reputation as a gentleman helps. This is a strong attack on McCain's supperficial statesmanship.

[LibraLiz1973]

22. He must be trying to burnish his credentials for the nomination process

Ha ha, great quote

[blm]

24. I'm just glad someone is finally going after McCain's flaunted INTEGRITY

that we all know hasn't existed in over twenty years.

[ProSense]

25. Videos: McCain blame Clinton; Bush says, "We will not tolerate nukular..."

VIDEO: McCain Blames Clinton For North Korean Nuke Test

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/10/bush-tolerate-korea/">Bush In 2003: ‘We Will Not Tolerate Nuclear Weapons in North Korea’

[reichstag911]

39. Speaking of "nucular,"...

...a couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to ask one of the neo-con warmongers why it is that none of them can pronounce the fucking word correctly. Granted, Patrick Clawson is not one of the rabid cons, and he's smart enough to realize that Iraq is now a disaster because of the Bush mis-Administration, but it was still gratifying to let him know that anyone who cannot properly say "new clear" has no intellectual credibility whatsoever.

[ProSense]

49. Good syllabic representation! LOL! n/t

[Catchawave]

26. Did any Kerry supporters watch CBS news ?

Katie Couric flashing JK's "reporting for duty" from the '04 Convention.

When can we get past this !?! It's just so freakin' heartbreaking :cry:

[karynnj]

27. Catchawave what was the context for that?

I think ours answer to your rhetorical question differs. For you, I would presume to catch, with an election victory in 2008 for the Democrat. For, me an election victory for John Kerry, who is so ready to be President.

Nice that he was out there with a great response before either of the Clintons.

[Catchawave]

51. "Reporting for Duty" will haunt him in '08 too :(

And I don't think anyone on the Dem team wants to revisit that moment. Ever. Again.

[AZBlue]

29. I think the GOP's attempt to tie HRC to Bill will backfire. Big time.

The wording of the statement is odd: "I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure." (bold mine)

This has nothing whatsoever to do with North Korea and everything to do with the GOP posturing for '08. What losers.

[SiouxJ]

43. Agreed. All we have to do is remind them that if Shrub had spent more time

on the Korea situation and less time on vacation, this might have been avoided. Where was Shrub during Katrina? On vacation. He's always on vacation while storms are brewing. He's the "asleep at the wheel" president.

[IndianaGreen]

32. Blaming Clinton for Bush's failures with North Korea is another low

reached by McCain. Is there anyone left with any illusions about McCain's journey into the Dark Side.

Kerry has taken the lead in attacking the rightwing!

[nam78_two]

35. Don't you know?

Clinton is repsonsible for EVERYTHING bad that has ever happened to this country in the last 40 years....yes even during the Reagan era....


:eyes: idiots....

[karynnj]

45. It is interesting that Kerry had one of the first and best responses

to this garbage. The RW has been spewing the blame Clinton on NK for over a week as they threathened to do this.

[nam78_two]

34. Go senator go!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Supersedeas]

40. I REALLY don't see the Corp Media giving EQUAL time to Kerry's statement

It's all about McCain and a drop to Hillary

[City Lights]

42. That's what I was going to say.

mccain is given air time on lots (if not all) of the networks to spew his crap, but I haven't seen any Democrat given equal time.

It's that frickin' librul media again! :argh:

[blm]

47. Imagine what the world would look like if we actually HAD a liberal media.

.

[karynnj]

44. Looking at the NYT and a few others, that seems to be the case

Aol and AP did a good job in including Kerry's comments.

Most of the others want the Hillary/McCain fight meme here - even though the statement was from a Hillary spokesperson. Her husband's statement is the more relevant to use. (Though Kerry's is better probably as it is easier to defend others)

In the NYT they took McCain, Hillary, McCaskill and Cantwells's opponent. The frame was partisan sniping. Kerry's didn't fit the reporter'e theme as it was a pretty straight forward, non-defensive defense and calling McCain's comment what they were. (In fact, mentioning Kerry questions his theme - their is sniping because the press rewards that versus statemanshiplike behavior.

[stepnw1f]

48. Dems Barely Ever Get Equal Time in the Media

the corpo pricks control the message.