He IS an idiot

[dude1394]

How can this person be such and idiot? Now he's out there touting bob woodward's unattributed word for crap and attacking bush based on it. A BOOK!! It's going to be his downfall his inability to be positive and take every and any opportunity to make political hay out of anything. This is the kind of idiot you liberals want as a president?? Good heavens.

Idiot

Kerry said the deal, reported in "Plan of Attack," the new book by Washington Post editor Bob Woodward, and mentioned in his appearance Sunday on the CBS program "60 Minutes," was "fundamentally wrong" and "outrageous and unacceptable to the American people." A day earlier, the Massachusetts senator condemned Bush for withholding details about Iraqi war planning from Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, again relying on Woodward's account of the administration's war planning.

Kerry yesterday invoked the report of a Bush-Saudi deal as a cause of high gas prices.

"Right now there are people all over this country who are literally going through their purses and their pocketbooks, looking behind the sofa and under the cushions and under the car, to find the pennies and the extra money to be able to pay the additional cost of gasoline," Kerry told a crowd of more than 1,000 gathered outdoors on the Palm Beach Community College campus. "They're giving up choices for their kids, giving up choices for a family, to pay the extra $30 to $50 a week in order to be able to pay for gas."

In a state where gas is selling for more than $2 a gallon and in a country where gas prices have risen an average of 29 cents a gallon since late December, Kerry added: "Those aren't Exxon prices we see, ladies and gentlemen. Those are Halliburton prices."

Halliburton is the Texas-based oil services giant that was run by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000 and is now the leading logistics contractor for the US military in Iraq. The company has been accused of overcharging the military $61 million for fuel provided in Iraq under a no-bid contract.

Woodward reports a promise made to Bush by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States and a member of the country's ruling family. The Saudi Embassy denied the report, and Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said: "Senator Kerry's attack today was inaccurate and without basis in fact. It's typical of the type of attacks and pessimism he displays every day on the campaign trail.

"The president has a long-term plan to lower energy costs and to lessen America's dependence on foreign oil," Schmidt said. "John Kerry is opposed to that plan."

The mere mention of the book by Woodward, who as a Post reporter helped expose the Watergate scandal, brought murmurs and nods from the crowd, a mix of senior citizens on fixed incomes and students attending the commuter school. Continued...

[Mavdog]

Originally posted by: dude1394
How can this person be such and idiot? Now he's out there touting bob woodward's unattributed word for crap and attacking bush based on it. A BOOK!! It's going to be his downfall his inability to be positive and take every and any opportunity to make political hay out of anything. This is the kind of idiot you liberals want as a president?? Good heavens.

"unattributed"?
From a news article about the book:

"Journalist Bob Woodward calls his new book, “Plan of Attack,” the first detailed, behind-the-scenes account of how and why the president decided to wage war in Iraq.

It’s an insider’s account written after Woodward spoke with 75 of the key decision makers, including President Bush himself.

The president permitted Woodward to quote him directly. Others spoke on the condition that Woodward not identify them as sources."

[dude1394]

OK Md, if you think that's enough to base a "presidential" statement on. I don't see it. If he wanted to have a surrogate do it then maybe. But this guy is running for president, don't you think his credibility(which ain't too high already) might be in danger if one of the "sources" comes out and refutes it.

Sort of like Condi has done. Sort of like Colin Powell has already done. It's a BOOK man, don't you think he has to show a little more sense than that? He's not James Carville for goodness sakes.

[Dooby]

1. Woodward has a stellar reputation. Difficult to contradict anything he writes.

2. Surrogate probably would work better for Kerry. He's keeps making Clinton's old mistakes. Feeling the need to personally address everything.

3. Whimsically going off message to say Bush is a bad guy ain't going to win votes. Maybe Kerry forgot to read the memo that said the primary was over?

[Mavdog]

Originally posted by: Dooby
1. Woodward has a stellar reputation. Difficult to contradict anything he writes.

As was penned in a WSJ review, Woodward isn't the best "wordsmith" in journalism but he has a reputation that gets him into the inner circles of those he writes about.

2. Surrogate probably would work better for Kerry. He's keeps making Clinton's old mistakes. Feeling the need to personally address everything.

It did generally work well for Billy, didn't it? As far as a surrogate, if he would anoint a VP that would be a natural for that person. Of course that selection would mean that Kerry would need to share the limelight...

3. Whimsically going off message to say Bush is a bad guy ain't going to win votes. Maybe Kerry forgot to read the memo that said the primary was over?

It does play into the ABB group, who sees GWBush as the villian. If there is increased disenchantment with a) the economy, b) the progress in Iraq, c) general handling of foreign affairs, this criticism will stick. I can't see how a candidate running against an incumbent would make any progress without being aggressive, I expect that Kerry will continue to pound the credibility issue with all the unflattering news going around.
It isn't going to be any more civil, and from the looks of things it is going to get worse (from both sides BTW).

[Dooby]

I would dispute that it helped Clinton. Yes he won, but he was getting creamed for a while. Clinton at some point before the convention in '92 stopped addressing everything. If you want to be President, you have to act presidential. Running around looking for cameras and commenting on everything is fine for the Governor of Kansas or Mississippi, but a Presidential candidate has to come across as being above that.

[Mavdog]

IMHO in '92 Clinton saw that he really didn't need to say much, just let the HWBush campaign self destruct. He pretty much just smiled his way to a win.

Kerry wants to stay in the newscasts every night, so lots of small and easily digested quotes and statements. Pretty soon (late May?) comes the big buildup in speculation on the VP selection and articles on every politician who wants one. The finale will be at the convention, in his hometown, and it'll be a production American Idol will be jealous of.

Whether or not he looks presidential is yet to be shown. We'll know by October tho.

[dallas_esq]

He has time to look presidential, but right now he looks a little anxious. Dooby is right on.

Kerry should assert confidence in the democratic party and himself. Act a little cocky.

[dude1394]

He can attack and he should, but he has no theme. Hell to listen to him bush is the worst president, the economy is the worst, education spending is the worst, etc.,etc.etc. All the while he doesn't provide anything that votes either understand or can remember.

He's acting like a senator playing tit-for-tat. No over-riding big themes here. His biggest one is... "I'll get the internation communicty involved". All the while Kofi Anan says that they won't be going to Iraq even WITH pakistan troops for security. He's blowing smoke, trying to find someway to differentiate himself from bush on it, but he doesn't have a core value to play on.