A synthesis of Kerry's interviews yesterday.

[Mass]

Since the election, I have noticed that the message Kerry is sending concerning Iraq has slightly changed. While he is still saying that he thinks there needs to be a deadline in order to make things happen, this did not seem to be the core of his message anymore.

However, he has been calling for Republicans and Democrats to work together in order to get out of the mess, and it seems to have been the core of his message for Iraq in yesterday's interviews:

A few excerpts that seem to go in this direction:
In the Fox interview

http://www.johnkerry.com/news/articles/newsarticle.html?id=88

...
I think for myself, I'd like to find a bipartisan common ground that we could all get on. This is about America's interest. This is not a partisan issue. It doesn't have any party label, Alan.
...
We need to find the common ground, the consensus, Republican and Democrat alike, to protect the better interests of our country. I'm prepared to work with the administration to do that.
...

The Situation Room (my favorite because of the reference to adult leadership)

...
And I believe you have to be tougher, set a date, be clear about the transition of authority, demand more from the Iraqis, leverage a change in their behavior and get our troops out of harm's way.
...
Well, you know what I'd prefer to do? I'd really prefer to see all of us come together and work with the president in a cooperative way if we can to sort of have a good discussion about this. Let's not get locked in to positions that are just so intractable that we can't advance American interests.
...
If the president reaches out to us in the Democratic Party and really tries to work together, he has a chance to have a legacy here that could be important for our nation and, obviously, for him personally.

I've offered to be helpful to Condoleezza Rice. I've called her. I hope we can all work together.

But we've got to be tougher in our approach. I believe personally -- and I've said this publicly -- that you have to set a date for the expectation of when the Iraqis will take over their responsibility. And if you don't get tough and have those kinds of benchmarks, then they have an excuse to avoid it altogether.
...

Larry King

http://www.johnkerry.com/news/articles/newsarticle.html?id=84

...
I have said for three years now that this is the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time and particularly within the last year that we need to be clearer about a date by which they will assume the responsibility.

In the absence of a date, they have an excuse to simply continue to dawdle and procrastinate as long as they want. I don't think one young American soldier ought to be killed because Iraqi politicians are unwilling to compromise in order to assume responsibility for their own country.
...
I hope tomorrow is the beginning of that significant effort. But it's going to take a lot more one day and we all need to come together. This is not a Democrat thing. This is not a Republican. This is about our country. It's about our best interests. It's about our security. It's about a global conflict that has to find all of us coming together in a united way to try to resolve it.
....
I believe you have to set a date, whether it's a year from now or a year-and-a-half, you have to have some clarity about when that transformation is going to take place, because it's the only way to get their politicians to be serious about resolving the conflict and it's the only way to get the stakeholders in the region to also be serious, to understand we are not going to be there forever, at least not in the way that we are today.
...

There is nothing bad in this (even if the 12 to 18 months somehow bothers me, I understand what he is trying to do here). It is clear that, if you want to work with others, you have to be firm on the principle, but not necessarily on the details of a plan. In the same time, Kerry continue to insist on diplomatic efforts, not only for Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, but also for the Middle East Peace process, and this is really great.

However, while ideally, what he is proposing is what should be done, I wonder what are the chances for Condoleeza Rice to work with him (or Biden or Levin) toward a productive solution to the crisis. I would not put my hopes too high, and I have the feeling from these interviews that Kerry does not either, so I wonder how long his patience will last.

[ProSense]

1. John Kerry: U.S. should 'disengage' from Iraq

John Kerry: U.S. should 'disengage' from Iraq

[Mass]

2. Thanks, I missed this one.

[beachmom]

3. LIke we were talking on the other thread, it's all about diplomacy

As in the diplomacy of Democrats reaching out to a hostile White House. Before one declares war, all diplomatic efforts must be exhausted. Yeah -- you're right. I wonder what kind of deadline the Kerry Olive Branch has.

[ProSense]

4. I liked this statement

from the Blitzer interview:

KERRY: I think that the Baker report is going to move in a very different direction, and I think it's going to change the debate in this country.

We all want to get the job done, let's understand that. There's a difference of opinion about how you get the job done.

Our own intelligence agencies are telling us that our presence of American troops in Iraq is creating more terrorism, creating more terrorists, delaying the willingness of the Iraqis to stand up for themselves.

So I think we're going to have a very big debate in America. We ought to have a debate about how you best achieve our goals, the Iraqis' goals, the goals of the Middle East, the needs of all nations for security in that region.

And I believe you have to be tougher, set a date, be clear about the transition of authority, demand more from the Iraqis, leverage a change in their behavior and get our troops out of harm's way.