John Kerry flubs Good Morning America

Polipundit ^ | 9/29/04 | Polipundit

[finnman69]

GMA

John Kerry was apparently on Good Morning America and The Note snippets this baffling exchange:

DIANE SAWYER: Was the war in Iraq worth it?

JOHN KERRY: We should not have gone to war knowing the information that we know today.

DS: So it was not worth it.

JK: We should not — it depends on the outcome ultimately — and that depends on the leadership. And we need better leadership to get the job done successfully, but I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat — there were no weapons of mass destruction — there was no connection of Al Qaeda — to Saddam Hussein! The president misled the American people — plain and simple. Bottom line.

DS: So if it turns out okay, it was worth it?

JK: No.

DS: But right now it wasn't?p>

JK: It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done what he's — I mean look — we have to succeed. But was it worth — as you asked the question — $200 billion and taking the focus off of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda? That's the question. The test of the presidency was whether or not you should have gone to war to get rid of him. I think, had the inspectors continued, had we done other things — there were plenty of ways to keep the pressure on Saddam Hussein.

DS: But no way to get rid of him.

JK: Oh, sure there were. Oh, yes there were. Absolutely.

DS: So you're saying that today, even if Saddam Hussein were in power today it would be a better thing — you would prefer that . . .

JK: No, I would not prefer that. And Diane — don't twist here. Notice how Kerry loses his cool and accuses the questioner of twisting; Is this guy thin-skinned or what?

In tomorrow's debate, Kerry will benefit from lowered expectations because his image among voters is something of a caricature right now. But he still has to do better than he did on GMA. You can bet President Bush has a list of zingers that he will deploy if Kerry gives him an opening. Posted by PoliPundit at 10:09 am Link to this post | Comments (21)

[babaloo]

I have visions of the next Kerry photo-op. I see him behind a push lawn mower in jeans,t-shirt and baseball cap.

[freeperfromnj]

If NJ goes for W, Kerry doesn't have a prayer.

An indication of just how bleak things are for him: Edwards was spending time campaigning in NJ yesterday.

[tuckrdout]

His arrogance always shows through. I am glad of that. He isn't good at hiding it.

Hey, for Montana Freepers, KBLL AM 1240 is having a group of Montana "Vets for Kerry" on right now. They usually open the phones for questions. They are slamming the Swifties right now! Said General's name is "Holland"....Join me?

406.442.6620
406.457.2148

[elcapetain]

LOL, well Clinton is yellow. Two tropical fruits I would say...

[biblewonk]

It sounds like questions any highschool teenage female taking a class in government or journalism would have asked and he was totally baffled by them.

[Verginius Rufus]

Kerry and his surrogates keep using that $200 billion figure. There was a discussion of this recently, probably on FNC, that concluded that $120 billion is about what the war in Iraq has cost us so far.

[dead]

DS: So the president was wrong to go to war with Iraq?

JK: I didn’t say that, you said that. But yes, the president was wrong in his decision to not refrain from leading us into a war which I supported in theory threatening to wage, but not actually waging at that time. Sometime? Maybe, but the real issue here is health care and the fact that this president - was it wrong? I guess history will decide, as it did regarding our country's involvement in Vietnam in which I served two tours of duty, but yes it was wrong knowing what we know today which we didn’t know then but I think when the American people look to a leader, and there’s not one today, when they look I think they’ll agree with me that it was more likely wrong than right and right is what we need to be before we make the wrong decision which I supported but not at that time which wasn’t the right time to do it though it may have been given what we knew then. I’ve been consistent in many ways in this position.

(celebrity-voice impersonated)

[Spok]

Bad Diane! No biscuit! Ms. Sawyer apparently lost track the fact that her candidate is a moron. No more softballs-just tennis balls from now on.

[raivyn]

anyone have a link to the complete text for this "interview"?

[bray]

Thank you for your 22 years sir! You are a real American Hero! Spot On!!!

Pray for W and Our Troops

[Eric in the Ozarks]

KERRYTHINK:
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again; and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself. That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word "Kerrythink" involved the use of Kerrythink.

[sinkspur]

Are you stalking? That's a no-no around here.

[Junior_G]

Is this going to be a debate where the candidates are allowed to directly debate each other, or will it be another one of those setups where they just take turns answering the moderator's questions?

[nmh]

This guy is terminally confused!

He doesn't realize it. It's HILLARIOUS!

[marty60]

I have only had maybe two or three vivid dreams that have come true to various degrees in my life. this was one of those vivid dreams. May be that Bush is going to figuratively knock him on his A** during the debates. We shall see.

[faithincowboys]

Are you female? Do you find him attractive. I am a woman and I think he is way too feminine to be appealing. He is pretty-- I don't think we need pretty right now.

[r9etb]

Diane's mistake was in asking him a direct question to which Kerry cannot answer either way. If it's "worth it," then Kerry's whole line of attack against Bush is kaput. If it's "not worth it," then Kerry sets himself for an incredible thrashing on a variety of fronts.

If he were a man of principle (he's neither), then Kerry could simply say "no, it's not worth it." He'd be wrong, but at least he would be honest, and he'd probably be 10 points up on Bush right now.

Bush, meanwhile, unbothered by the need to answer with "what will sound most popular," gets to be consistent.

[gridlock]

You know if Diane Sawyer can open up John F'n like a can of beans, he's TOAST!

[freeperfromnj]

Yes I am - and he's quite the girly man IMO.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Re: Post 47---

Is this the actual quote from the interview???