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Kerry: Taking Federal Money a Mistake
Associated Press ^ | 9 April 06 | DOUGLASS K. DANIEL

Posted on 04/09/2006 11:37:16 AM PDT by SkyPilot

Was it his campaign's slow response to the swift boat advertisements or the remark that he voted for Iraq war money before he voted against it that John Kerry regrets most from his failed bid for the White House?

Neither, according to Kerry's reflection Sunday on what he considered his biggest mistake when trying to wrest the presidency from George W. Bush in 2004.

"I think the biggest mistake was probably not going outside the federal financing so we could have controlled our own message," the Massachusetts senator said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The Kerry campaign opted to accept federal money _ and federal spending limits and other rules _ after he won the Democratic nomination. The nominating convention in Boston occurred more than a month before the GOP renominated Bush, forcing Kerry to begin spending under federal rules much earlier than Bush.

"We had a 13-week general election, they had an eight-week general election. We had the same pot of money. We had to harbor our resources in a different way and we didn't have the same freedom," Kerry said.

"I think the most important thing would have been to spend more money, if we could have, on the advertising and responding to some of the attacks," he said.

As for other missteps, Kerry said: "I made some mistakes. I know what they are, and I take responsibility for them."

Some political observers believe the Kerry campaign should have acted more quickly in countering an anti-Kerry group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, that attacked his Vietnam War record.

The Bush campaign criticized Kerry relentlessly for his remark about voting for and then against an $87 billion bill for the military and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. The GOP used Kerry's own words to support the contention that he flip-flopped on issues.

As for a run in 2008, Kerry said Sunday he would make a decision by the end of the year.

___


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: election2004; flipper; kerry; kerry2008; kerrydefeat; money; soreloser; swiftboatveterans; swiftvets
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To: SkyPilot

Gotta give them credit on naming the plane the Flying Squirrel. Can't say I have ever seen a name more reflective of the owner.


21 posted on 04/09/2006 12:16:31 PM PDT by IamConservative (Who does not trust a man of principle? A man who has none.)
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To: All

Anybody have a pre- and post-Botox picture of Horseface?


22 posted on 04/09/2006 12:18:59 PM PDT by definitelynotaliberal
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To: SkyPilot

ping


23 posted on 04/09/2006 12:27:07 PM PDT by pjsbro
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To: stylin19a

Whatever happened to Larry O'D? After that rant he laid on the Swift Boat Vet, he's kinda gone away. Is that my imagination or is it so?


24 posted on 04/09/2006 12:30:46 PM PDT by Thebaddog (Dogs are from Mars.)
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To: jmaroneps37

25 posted on 04/09/2006 12:37:33 PM PDT by Hoodat ( Silly Dems, AYBABTU.)
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To: Maceman
Hey, just because he was completely blindsided by John O'Neil...

Yet Kerry claims that he could have foreseen and avoided all sorts of events that Bush did not.

26 posted on 04/09/2006 12:40:31 PM PDT by Erik Latranyi (Liberalism and Fundamental Islam have a lot in common....is it a coincidence?)
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To: dagnabbit
He looks like Odo

without Odo's warm personality.

27 posted on 04/09/2006 12:45:33 PM PDT by Samwise (All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.)
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To: dagnabbit
He looks almost lifelike in that photo.

You might say that he looks undead.

28 posted on 04/09/2006 12:46:39 PM PDT by Stentor
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To: SkyPilot
The GOP used Kerry's own words to support the contention that he flip-flopped on issues.

And more money would have helped change his own words how?

29 posted on 04/09/2006 12:48:44 PM PDT by operation clinton cleanup
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To: SkyPilot

Kerry was going to release all of his military records before he didn't.


30 posted on 04/09/2006 12:51:38 PM PDT by hgro
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To: dagnabbit

Looking "lifelike" is a quality shared by all Frenchmen.


31 posted on 04/09/2006 12:53:11 PM PDT by hgro
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To: SkyPilot

He is still the same old spin doctor liar he always was. Remember how PO'd the Democrats were when they found out Kerry had 17 million unspent dollars from his campaign funds?
Everyone was asking then why Kerry didn't spend the money on voter drives, advertising, recounts, etc. for a final push at stealing the election.
They should be asking the same again as the frog tries to make us forget what an idiot he is.

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/050405/kerry.html

“He really angered a lot of people by keeping all the money that he did,” Cari said, referring to close to $17 million left unspent in Kerry’s campaign account after the election.

“I wrote and asked for my money back,” said Cari, who gave $2,000 to John Kerry for President Inc. and $2,000 to Kerry-Edwards 2004 Inc., the general-election legal fund. “When you hold back $17 million, there’s no way that you can say that ‘I gave it my best shot.’”


32 posted on 04/09/2006 1:00:21 PM PDT by JerseyDvl ("Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"-Samuel Johnson to the Dems of today.)
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To: SkyPilot

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't the VP-BKZ registration of the pictured aircraft allocated to Bermuda?

No body running for President of the US would be that stupid !


33 posted on 04/09/2006 1:00:47 PM PDT by managusta ("Where would we be without rules? That's right France!")
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To: managusta

It is - that is a picture of a G-V from the outside. No one I know has a picture of Tereeeza's actual G-V - but it is exactly the same.


34 posted on 04/09/2006 1:08:53 PM PDT by SkyPilot
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To: Kenny Bunk

"It was the money"

As I've said before Kerry lost because he did not sacrifice enough gamebirds to satisfy the gods.


35 posted on 04/09/2006 1:45:32 PM PDT by Shermy
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To: Shermy
Kerry...did not sacrifice enough gamebirds to satisfy the gods.

O, idunno, Sherm. Allya gotta do is sacrifice one, but you gotta know how to read the entrails right. BTW, any word on MY Purple Heart, yet?

36 posted on 04/09/2006 2:18:12 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Any legal immigrant who wants to join me as an American, is welcome.)
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To: SkyPilot
As for a run in 2008, Kerry said Sunday he would make a decision by the end of the year.

I can't wait.

Run sKerry, run!!

As I recall, most of the response to the Swifties was through 527 organizations. Supposedly they have been hobbled somewhat by the FEC. I'm sure they are working full time on finding loopholes :)

37 posted on 04/09/2006 2:50:25 PM PDT by upchuck (Wikipedia.com - the most unbelievable web site in the world.)
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To: SkyPilot


ATTENTION JOHN KERRY, now hear this, you fool, you lost the presidential race because you are a LIAR, you are USELESS, you are IGNORANT, get your head out of your ass, smell the coffee, face the fact that you are a LOSER, plain and simple pal, you are a LOSER, no one likes you, except maybe T Razor and I certainly question her judgement......


38 posted on 04/09/2006 4:19:08 PM PDT by rockabyebaby (I'm not afraid to say out loud what the rest of you are afraid to admit.)
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To: CheyennePress
Not enough to spend?

Did he not end the campaign with about 15 million in the bank, unspent?

39 posted on 04/09/2006 4:33:25 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: hgro

the beast will have them released, somehow they will appear; she will wipe out the entire field we will hear about everybody's mental illness, homosexual secret lifestyles,adulterous relationships,wife beatings; this election cycle will be better than anything hollywood could ever produce


40 posted on 04/09/2006 5:07:57 PM PDT by dubyawhoiluv
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