Posted on 11/06/2007 5:30:01 PM PST by CGblue
RANDOLPH -- John Kerry said Monday there might be a next time for his presidential aspirations, and if there is, the 63-year-old U.S. senator from Massachusetts says he’ll be ready for the political torpedoes that helped sink his 2004 White House bid.
Kerry, whose service as a U.S. Navy Swift boat skipper during the Vietnam War came under attack in his race against President Bush, said he has compiled a dossier on his war record critics that he wishes he had as the Democratic presidential nominee.
``We have put together a documented portfolio that frankly puts their lies in such a total light of absurdity and indecency, that should they ever rear their ugly heads again, we have every single ‘t’ crossed and ‘i’ dotted, and I welcome that in a sense,'' Kerry said following a morning address to the South Shore Chamber fo Commerce. ``It’s a shame we weren’t able to produce all that at the time.''
Kerry said he regrets his slowness to counter accusations from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which faulted Kerry’s war record and his subsequent anti-war activism.
``I think the bigger problem was the campaign should have spent more money putting the truth out there,'' Kerry said. ``I think there was an assumption that is was out there, it was sufficiently out there.''
While Kerry is sitting out the 2008 presidential election n he’s instead focusing on his own his race next year for a sixth term as U.S. senator n he expects he’d be dogged by the same war record critics in a subsequent race for the White House.
``I have no doubt at all that some of the people involved on the other side don’t care about the truth, think nothing about distorting it, will not hesitate to say and do whatever they think is necessary to win,'' Kerry said. ``But I think we are now much more prepared and savvy about those kind of things, and certainly in my own involvement, I will make certain that people don’t get away with that.''
Kerry said he regretted that the term ``swift boating'' has taken on the meaning of a political attack, but that such attacks have become a part of national politics.
``I hate to see the term become a negative term in American politics, it is what is is,'' he said. ``Would those same tactics be used against people? Sure, absolutely.''
Kerry also said he doesn’t see why Republicans were able to corner the market on the evangelical vote, adding that former Bush adviser Karl Rove used religion to divide voters.
``Evangelicals care enormously about the centrality of the teachings of Jesus Christ and of the Bible,'' he said. ``If you lead a life and if you are involved in issues that manifest a concern for those kinds of issues, there’s no reason that one separate issue or another ought to create a wedge.''
Kerry also said Bush and current Republican president contenders have exploited the issue of terrorism for political gain.
``There is a willingness to try to exploit 9-11, to scare Americans to try to move this debate to a place that it frankly isn’t,'' he said. ``I think the artificiality of that will be seen by many Americans, and it certainly does not represent real leadership.''
While Kerry hasn’t made an endorsement in the current race for the Democratic presidential nomination, he is quick to pounce on Republican Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who recently called the United Nations an obsolete body.
``I think Gov. Romney’s comments about the United Nations were ignorant and demeaning, and frankly almost counterproductive in the worst way,'' Kerry said. ``To dump on it the way he did is simply crass politics playing to the right-wing base, and that is not what we need in terms of presidential leadership in our country.''
Responding to observations that Kerry speaks more decisively today than he did as a candidate in 2004, Kerry said he’s learned from past mistakes on the campaign trail.
``I don’t think I’ve changed in my willingness to tell things as I see them, I did that when I ran for president,'' he said. ``I’m not sure I did it quite as directly and effectively as hopefully I can do it now.''
Tom Benner may be reached at tbenner@ledger.com
Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger Transmitted Monday, November 05, 2007
This will be good. I’ve been waiting for someone to tell us, point by point, what the Swift Boat Veterans said that was not true. All we’ve gotten is allegations from the press and their liberal allies (or is it the other way around?) reflecting a presumption that the SBVT told lies, as though everyone knows such to be the case.
he lost because he couldn’t take a clear stand on a single (even) relatively major issue. the swiftees didn’t help, but they didn’t sink him. he sunk himself.
HAHAHA, my Lord this man is pathetic, how on earth did he beat Bill Weld...
yup... one of the best!!!
``I think the bigger problem was the campaign should have spent more money putting the truth out there,’’ Kerry said.
I think the problem is you bastards get paid to serve your Republic . I think the problem is because God gave you life you think oxygen is free .
As for politics , you aint the only 1 with a dossier and I’m only 48 you self absorbed twit . When YOU think you qualify at life you will be in your 70’s ..
Walking dead man ..
Wasn’t he going to release his own military records?
Fricking perfect . I’ve seen him lately getting butch and riding down on the Hildabeast , backed by the femmies .. Politics aside , I dont know how he looks in the mirror everyday .
He did sink himself and the out of the main stream input made it solid . I was curious through the Swift boat vets for truth reality tour just how much of a Perot he could / would have been .
Since the Republican Party hacks were unwilling to pull Kerry’s ass through the knothole of his own lies — they weren’t going to get a dime for me...
My money goes to the fighters, not the spectators.
Mr. Benner: The problem with Kerry was, and will remain, as long as he won't sign the form 180. He won't release ALL records of his service. Finding crap and spin on other Medal of Honor winners and Purple Heart recipients, doesn't counter his treasonous service in Paris and Hanoi. If you read the VVAW's FBI report, you can see just what a despicable person he was, and as far as I'm concerned, still is. His FBI VVAW report is easy to find on the web.
The only question that still needs to be answered is what happened to his discharge in 1972? He joined the Navy in 1966 for a 6 year obligation, but didn't get an Honorable Discharge until 1978. I don't really give much weight to discharges that Carter gave to Draft dodgers and other degenerates in 1978.
The question the news media dare not ask, for whatever reason, is what kind of discharge did he receive in 1972? I would think belonging to a group that went to Hanoi and planned to murder 7 Senators might not be considered presidential timber. Throwing mud at "Swift Boaters" won't change that.
Isn't there any reporters with the backbone to ask him about 1972 and demand that he not put them off? Just hand him a form 180 and wait for the signature.
Young voters have no clue what happened then, but I for one, will never forget Kerry and Jane Fonda, among others, and what they did to our country and soldiers.
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