Posted on 09/27/2004 3:18:21 AM PDT by kattracks
t isn’t hard to see, or hear. All one has to do is listen to John Kerry for a bit. His every word drips of it. It emanates from his every action. John Kerry is arrogant. This has never been more obvious than in his recent remarks about Iraq in the face of Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s speech to a joint session of Congress. John Kerry essentially said that the prime minister didn’t know what he was talking about and that he, John Kerry, did.
We’ve heard about Kerry’s legendary elitism. We’ve heard the stories of him bucking lines in small town Massachusetts, chastising those he usurped with a flippant, “Don’t you know who I am?” We’ve read accounts of him demeaning Secret Service agents for his lack of balance on his snowboard – “I don’t fall down. That son-of-a-bitch knocked me over.” It’s clear that he believes he is above the everyman. Better than the everyman. Superior to the everyman. He is an elitist. He is a narcissist.
All of this pales in comparison to the statements he made directly after the speech to Congress by Prime Minister Allawi.
Mr. Allawi spoke to the American people, via their elected representatives, to affirm and confirm a few things. He wanted, first and foremost, to thank the American people for helping to liberate them from the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein. He thanked us for freeing the Iraqi people from a regime that the United Nations – that bastion of principle – allowed to remain in power regardless of the mass graves it produced and the truly illegal wars it waged. His was sincere and everyone who was in the House chamber felt it, accepted it and validated it.
Mr. Allawi then spoke of the commitment that he and his fellow Iraqis have made to bring democracy and a permanent freedom to his country, showcasing the incredible journey that the Iraqi people have taken in so short a time. He described in detail some of the horrors of Hussein’s regime including his own brush with brutality and death at the hands of axe-wielding thugs sent to silence the then exiled patriot courtesy of Saddam Hussein himself. Allawi conveyed that it is precisely because of this past, this history of cruelty, that the Iraqi people hunger for democracy and liberty. Again no one in the chamber doubted the sincerity of Mr. Allawi’s words.
But perhaps the most important element of Mr. Allawi’s speech to the American people was his contention that while our media reports the dire situations in just three regions within his country, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis are thankful for what the Coalition Forces have done and continue to do. He stood before our representatives and told us, straight from Baghdad, that the situation with regard to the terrorist insurgency is not as horrifying as our media is portraying it to be, that the peaceful regions outnumber the hostile regions 15 to 3, and, albeit little by little, that the war against terrorism in his country is being won. Given the exploits of CBS News in recent days it isn’t completely out of the question that Mr. Allawi is correct when he asserts that the media is over-blowing the situation, sensationalizing the actualities and politicizing the events in a few regions to give the illusion that the unrest is nationwide.
So, the question is this, who are we going to believe?
Are we going to believe a man who lives in Baghdad, whose job it is to nurture democracy in a newly freed nation, a man who lives and breathes every element of the Iraqi society, who witnesses firsthand the successes and the setbacks on a day-to-day basis? Or are we going to believe John Kerry and his disingenuous spin-doctors, people who have taken to constant repetition of talking points and non-truths in hopes of capitalizing on propaganda tactics from WWII? I don’t know about you but I have to believe someone who is dedicated to a free and peaceful Iraq over someone who is continuously preaching doom while proposing to handover reconstruction responsibilities to the very international organization who is responsible for allowing Saddam Hussein to remain in power while hundreds of thousands – if not millions – died at his hands.
John Kerry’s assertion that he knows better what’s happening in Iraq than Iraq’s own prime minister is the pinnacle of arrogance. He is an elitist. He is a narcissist. And if this is the way he intends to “court” the international community, if this is his diplomatic style, he would be a miserable failure as President of the United States.
Copyright © 2004 Frank Salvato
Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for TheRant.us. He is a contributing writer to GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials.com, and AmericanDaily.com and his pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications. He can be contacted at oped@therant.us.
IMO This was the lowest thing Kerry has done.........to date. Krauthammer called it "disgraceful" and I concur, but there needs to be an even more pejorative term to characterize this graceless candidate's words.
How about "former presidential candidate" ?
"Im John F*ckin' and I am entitled to be President."
Kerry thinks his arrogance will help get him elected....But
someone needs to tell the bonehead and his village idiot wife that America will never accept third world status......
Its not just Kerry. Almost all the Bush haters are filled with arrogance
"I don't even think he's qualified to be a Senator, much less President of the United States."
Thanks, kattracks, for posting this opinion.
Allawi came to address the American people through their elected representatives - TWO OF WHOM WERE SENATORS KERRY AND EDWARDS - who did not deign to take their seats for the joint session.
How often does Congress hold a Joint Session? It is one of the most formal events that Congress has in our form of government.
Kerry and Edwards don't act as if they even want to be part of the"process." Do they think they are running to be dictators? Or kings?
I really believe it is the "Do you know who I am" attitude and arrogance of John F'n that will account for much of the rejection that is to come. Can you ever imagine W asking/saying "Do you know who I am?!!!" or oozing that off-putting arrogance?
Kerry's the kind of person you hated when you were a kid and certainly wouldn't have chosen to be on your team -- does he think he's going to be elected President?
" I will unite a country divided between non-aerosol hair spray and hard-to-hold styling gel."
THIS candiDATE doesn't understand that Americans like to knock a big-shot off his high horse.
As near as I can tell...the only thing he has to promote is his ambition.
Has he done ANYTHING extraordinary, aside from leading anti-vietnam war hippies against the war and making headlines for it because the CBS press etc agreed with that position?
( And, of course, he has authored some books.....and ONE OF THEM has been HIDDEN FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. His book,'The New Soldier', the book that has an UPSIDE DOWN AMERICAN FLAG on the cover, is HORRENDOUS. If this remains hidden from the AMERICAN PEOPLE, then we can rest assured that BIAS is operating....Wonder if he will be asked to EXPLAIN this book and its slamming of ALL VETERANS of all wars, at the debates. NOT!)
But rest assured, if President Bush had written such an anti-American book, he would NOT EVEN BE PRESIDENT now.
We've heard him say "Jenjis Khan"
That thing about butting into lines is urban legend. Kerrys never does his own shopping (except when he takes the media and his daughter to the jock strap store). He has his servants do the rest of the shopping.
"almost all the Bush haters are filled with arrogance."
That is so true. They are all the same.
I am so looking forward to Kerry's speech if Bush wins in a landslide. Perhaps some of the arrogance will be curbed.
To get to Kerryland, you must go through Denial, turn left at Narcissism, take a hard left at Entitlement, then go straight to Grandiosity! Mama-T can also be found in these areas.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.