How Kerry Gambled and Lost

[Closer]

How John Kerry gambled and lost
By Cynthia Tucker
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION

(snip)
Perhaps nothing was more pathetic in the last Democratic debate (and much about it was pathetic) than the diminished status of John Kerry. The Massachusetts senator was left on the sidelines as other Dems aimed potshots at Howard Dean, who, according to his rivals, either impugned rural Southerners or cozied up to them, depending on which of his critics was speaking.

(Though Dean later ended up apologizing, his comments about Southerners should not have been considered controversial. His statement - "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks" - was simply an admission of the obvious: Democrats need to reach out to white Southerners, especially men, if they want to win.)

During the debate, Kerry answered questions thoughtfully enough, but he didn't distinguish himself from his colleagues. He is the candidate who has most befuddled the odds-makers. Pegged the front-runner a year ago by pundits and political consultants, he instead finds himself pushed aside by Dean in New Hampshire and Richard Gephardt in Iowa, both states with crucial early Democratic primaries.

Kerry's malaise can be traced to one act, one decision, one vote: his support of the resolution giving President Bush the authority to invade Iraq. Had Kerry voted "no," he'd be the Democratic front-runner right now, bringing credibility on foreign policy because of his military service while also easily upstaging Wesley Clark on domestic policy.

(snip)
The consideration of invading a sovereign nation - and putting young Americans in harm's way to do it - ought to be the sort of issue in which a man or woman votes his or her conscience, regardless of the political ramifications. If John Kerry failed to do that, he doesn't deserve the presidency.

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/7209567.htm

And just a note of observance, for those who don't know Cynthia Tucker is a BLACK SOUTHERNER (please note her Dean/Confederate opinion)

[blm]

1. Cynthia Tucker's opinion is BULLSHIT. She's shilled for the GOP

in the past and will do so again.

She has NEVER been a consistent voice for the left, and has taken shots at Kerry many times.

She completely ignores the FACT that Dean was NOT discussing race relations as he claimed, he was in an interview explaining his NRA support and gun control.

Tucker also attacks Kerry about the flag issue when Kerry did not address the flag issue during the debate. Yet she puts the onus for it on him. PATHETIC, yet again, Cynthia.

People who work in southern newsrooms know a little something about Cynthia Tucker and the way she operates.

[Closer]

3. HAHAHAHA

Are you EVEN kidding?

Cynthia Tucker tucker RULES! She's always the voice of the left on CNN and other networks.


The truth DOES hurt doesn't it blm?

[blm]

6. Yes...she is, isn't she?

And yet, she never really strays from the centrist view, does she?

[mitchum]

37. Hmmm..."she's always the voice of the left on CNN and...

other networks" Wow, what a DU turnaround! Since we've always ascribed so much credibility to the "voices of the Left" in the major media. I guess Alan Colmes will really appreciate our group apology.

[Hep]

13. Isee this

as attacking the credibility of the writer without addressing the message.

It's her opinion, right or wrong.

[sfecap]

16. Amazing...

According to you, any columnist who writes something the least bit negative about Saint John is a GOP shill.

LOL.

Tucker is right.

[wtmusic]

20. And you completely ignore the fact

That Dean in his 'Confederate flag' statement NOWHERE mentions NRA support OR gun control.

Maybe that's one little myth we can put to rest.

[blm]

25. He was being INTERVIEWED about his NRA stand.

And he referenced the flag in his reply to that issue.

Please post where he discusses race relations in that interview with the Des Moines paper from Nov. 1.

[wtmusic]

32. I'm not making the accusation

Please post where he references the flag in relation to guns or the NRA.

You can't, 'cause he didn't.

[Northwind]

27. Hmmm...

In another thread, one in which the author ponders whether CNN ought to become an officially "liberal" network, you claimed that you wanted no slant, no spin, only objective reporting, in your news.

Link to your post in that thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=674614#674629

And now here you are, frothing and spitting because Cynthia Tucker "has NEVER been a consistent voice for the left, and has taken shots at Kerry many times."

So which is it? You only want unbiased reporting as long as it favors liberal views? Or just favors Kerry? Or are you just so furious because she won't bash Dean, and her being a black southern woman kind of knocks the wind out of all the white males who claimed this was such a huge mistake for Dean?? Or will you now claim that this is totally different because it is an opinion and not hard news?

I don't think Ms. Tucker is the pathetic one here.

[flpoljunkie]

34. Perhaps Cynthia Tucker ought to read WashPost take on Dean's real problem

She chooses to give Dean a total pass on the flag issue while reaching to attack Kerry on same. She seems to have an agenda, and one can only speculate at to what her motive might be.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10305-2003Nov6.html

Dr. Dean's Diagnosis

Friday, November 7, 2003; Page A30

IT'S BEEN A WHILE since Howard Dean practiced medicine, but the Democratic presidential candidate did a good job of self-diagnosis the other day in the aftermath of the flare-up over his remarks on the Confederate flag. "You know how I am, if somebody comes at me, my tendency is to go right back at them and worry about it later," the former Vermont governor told reporters. In an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Dean elaborated on this theme: "I tend to be reflective rather later than sooner," he said. "Now, unfortunately, we all know that nobody's personality is perfect. So the things that make me a strong candidate are also my Achilles' heel."

Mr. Dean's mythological reference may have been particularly apt: Achilles was a heroic warrior, the Greeks' best hope to take Troy, but he could also be arrogant, obstinate and short-tempered. And so, as Mr. Dean himself recognizes, the very characteristics that appeal to many Democratic voters -- his confrontational, even angry attitude -- could also be his downfall. That, and not bogus suggestions that he is a racist, is the real concern raised by Mr. Dean's flag remarks and their aftermath.

Mr. Dean's rivals went after him for saying he wants to be "the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." This wasn't racist, but it was doubly insensitive: first, to African Americans and others for whom, as Mr. Dean himself put it, the Confederate flag is a "loathsome signal"; second, to the white Southerners Mr. Dean was stereotyping. Mr. Dean would have done himself a service if he had recognized that earlier, and gracefully -- not after he found himself in a self-described "jam."

But Mr. Dean, as he acknowledges, has a tendency to pop off in ways that he regrets, as well as a hard time backing down in the face of criticism -- troubling attributes in a presidential candidate or a president. Questions about his personality have been a simmering but persistent theme through the campaign. He's quick to criticize, reluctant to say he's sorry. Mr. Dean apologized to Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) for incorrectly accusing him of fudging his stance on the war in Iraq. "The only time I've had to apologize, just for the record," Mr. Dean pointed out to ABC's George Stephanopoulos -- and he refused to back off his equally incorrect claim to be the only candidate to speak about race to white audiences.

He gets testy over the words of others, but can be loose with his own. Mr. Dean said he regretted saying that Sen. Bob Graham (Fla.) wasn't in the top tier of candidates, then mystifyingly took issue with those who said he had apologized. When Mr. Stephanopoulos asked about his past strong support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mr. Dean pounced, demanding, "Where do you get this 'I'm a strong supporter of NAFTA'?" -- though in fact he had described himself as "a very strong supporter of NAFTA" on that same network eight years earlier. And there is an edge, in his remarks, not just of anger but of condescension. He recently likened members of Congress to insects, saying that they are "going to be scurrying for shelter, just like a giant flashlight on a bunch of cockroaches" after he is elected.

Like Achilles, Mr. Dean knows he has a vulnerability. Whether he will be more successful in avoiding its consequences remains to be seen.

[KoKo]

35. blm, what she said is why I couldn't support Kerry. And, he probably

would have been my candidate if I hadn't sensed that he voted for this war for political reasons. He also supported Bush tax cuts.

If so many of us here saw what Bush was, then Kerry had to know what he was and had access to more information thatn we did here about the faulty intelligence. But, we managed to figure out what this War was all about and most of us were against it for reasons of the Constitution and the defying of the UN. The New Bush Doctrine had to be known on Capitol Hill.

I have to vote for an "outsider." Dean is the one, with Kucinich being my second who is outside this "Beltway" mentality enough to hopefully be able to roadblock the Reich.

[Kolesar]

2. How many Americans even know how the candidates voted on the IWR?

Many Democrats see the IWR vote & position as the ultimate issue, but I just don't think that most voters even knew what happened last year during the lead up to the war. (The news coverage was slanted and inadequate, and the public have just plain forgot). I think many Dem activists (like us here on DU) are overemphasizing the impact of that vote. The election is still a whole year away, and I think the IWR vote will fade in importance--even if the Iraq War is the prime issue of the campaign.

[Closer]

5. You better believe

most of the Democratic Primary voters know who were FOR and AGAINST this war!

[Kolesar]

I am going on my experience with citizens & voters in Ohio

Do you have anything further on this? Polls, whatever.

[blm]

10. Really...media said Dean is antiwar and Kerry is prowar...yet

their actual positions are much closer to the middle. Dean was NEVER against use of force and would have voted for the IWR with the Biden-Lugar amenment,and Kerry preferred the B-L amendment , but had to vote for a bill he angled for with expectations of better diplomacy before Bush used war as a last resort.

[wtmusic]

15. Unfortunately he didn't angle for either the Levin or Byrd amendments

which would have given the US that diplomacy.

Guess I'll have to keep repeating that.

[blm]

22. Dean was for Biden-Lugar amendment.....

and the diplomacy onus was put on Bush. Because he didn't use it properly, you blame Kerry. That suits the political agenda need, but, unfair.

[wtmusic]

31. Really? Unfair to ask legislators

to provide a check to the power of the executive branch? Sounds rather constitutional to me.

[virtualobserver]

17. he didn't have to vote for anything.......

unless he thought that he had to for political reasons.

[MoonRiver]

24. If Kerry were to miraculously win the nomination,

his ability to attack * on Iraq is tremendously diminished. The Pukes would just keep repeating the FACT that Kerry backed Chimp on the issue. Therefore, a HUGE campaign issue, maybe the most important one, would, for all practical purposes, be off the table. Along with my loss of respect for his vote on Iraq, that's why I sincerely hope he does not win the nomination. Clark's the best/most viable candidate, IMO.

[Carolina]

29. while most 'voters'

may not have cared about the IWR vote, the voters that matter in the Dem primaries sure did. That vote has forever changed Kerry's standing and is one of the main reasons for Dean's ascendancy. So it matters mightily when it comes to who becomes the party standard bearer and it is THE reason neither Kerry or Edwards (or Lieberman or Gephardt)will win the nomination.

[livinontheedge]

4. It's not what Kerry did wrong, it's what Dean did right.

Even Kerry supporters have to admit that Dean's campaign has been wildly successful so far, while Kerry's could have been better.

[Evanstondem]

7. Yes, Kerry has damaged himself

I dislike his long-windedness and personal attacks on Dean and other candidates. I've gone from strongly considering him to having him at the bottom of my list of preferred Dem candidates.

[Upfront]

23. Like Wise

Kerry thought he had to support the war for polital advantage. Dean stood against the war when he was almost all along. He spoke out long and hard, much as he did on the gay issue, not for polital advantage, but because it was right. Dennis did also, and a few others.

[virtualobserver]

9. Kerry's campaign is run by Bob Shrum, who ran Gore's campaign

Shrum is incompetent IMO.

If Trippi had run Gore's campaign, Gore would have won in a landslide, instead of by 500,000 votes.

[BeFree]

8. As a Dem voter, I wonder

What exactly does Kerry stand for? The only good ever heard about him comes from one source....DU. Everything else kinda smells.

[Kolesar]

11. Friends of mine say positive things about Sen Kerry

Honestly! These are people who get their news about the campaign outside of DU. Mostly viewers of PBS/Jim Lehrer News Hour, NPR and the newspaper.

[UTUSN]

18. Look Here:

Boston Globe KERRY Profile: http://www.boston.com/globe/kerry/

and here:

http://www.johnkerry.com/

[blm]

19. Kerry has the longest record of progressive action of all the candidates.

What many don't realize is that almost everything we know now about the BFEE is directly due to John Kerry EXPOSING them in his investigations.

Kerry was the FIRST lawmaker to put up legislation for gays. He was their first advocate in the senate.

Here's a few things you might want to know:

• National coordinator of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, 1969-'71.

• Introduced one of the Senate's first bills forbidding job discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1985.

• Worked with Sen. John McCain (R) in 1992 on finding out whether there were still American POWS in Vietnam.

• Worked on a Russian nuclear-arms reduction policy.

• Headed investigations into Iran-Contra affair and the BCCI banking scandal.

Campaign touchstones: • Wants to allow all Americans to buy into the healthcare plan used by members of Congress.

• Would repeal some Bush tax cuts, but keep those for the working poor and middle class.

• Proposes "Service for College" program, granting the equivalent of four years' tuition in exchange for two years of community service.

• Vows to block the nomination of any Supreme Court justice who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

• Wants to make the US independent from foreign oil within 10 years.
Key legislative positions:

• Voted to give President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq, but voted against Mr. Bush's request for $87 billion to help fund reconstruction, and has criticized the administration for a lack of "diplomacy" and called for a gradual withdrawal of US troops.

[Hep]

21. Yes!

Thank you SO much for posting his record! I'm serious, this is a good post.

[OneBlueSky]

12. much as I like Kerry . . .

(and I do), she makes a good point . . . his vote on the war WAS politically motivated, and it's coming back to bite him in the ass . . . shoulda gone with his conscience . . . as she says, he'd probably be the front runner by now . . .

[HFishbine]

14. One truth

It migh be unfair, it might be incomprehensible to some, but I think this is probably very true:

"Had Kerry voted "no," he'd be the Democratic front-runner right now..."

[livinontheedge]

26. I would have to agree with that.

At least I would give him an even chance with Dean for the nomination. However, you can't put shit back in the dog, and you can't take back your pro-war vote.

[HFishbine]

30. Actually, I once had a beagle who would

never mind. It's disgusting.

[Carolina]

28. so very true

Throughout 2002 Kerry and Edwards tag-teamed South Carolina. They variously spoke at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Congressman Clyburn's Fish Fry and the State Party's DemFest to name just a few occasions. These events occurred during the same period that Bushco started vaunting the Saddam is evil, Iraq is an imminent threat ... talk.

I spoke with Sen. Kerry, and I was definitely not alone, and begged him not to go along with the administration on this potential Iraq war. I told him that I was a supporter of his and even from SC had donated money to his senate campaigns. He looked me dead in the face and said he understood my feelings BUT Saddam was indeed a dangerous character. I knew then that he would be a lost cause, that he would vote aye. Coming from a state like Massachusetts, lacking a serious opponent for his own 2002 senate seat, and most importantly having fought and been wounded in a senseless war, he was in a prime position to contest Bush. Instead he showed that he lacked REAL political courage. And that is now his albatross.

I was finished with him after our encounter and his subsequent, predictable vote. So it is not surprising that he is foundering now despite support from such heavyweights as Joe Wilson and Robert Baer.

On an aside, and I know I'll get flamed for this, he does not come across that well either. In this television age, a candidate needs that intangible something, call it elan, charisma, spark, telegenicity, whatever. He ain't got it, folks. Clark and Edwards do (though I'm pissed with Edwards for the very same reason Kerry lost my support). But they come across well to 'everyday' people, the kind of people who find Bush likeable, the kind of people we need to come over to our side next November, if not sooner.

[stopbush]

36. Amen, Carolina.

I agree, Kerry doesn't come off well in the TV age. During the RTV debate, he looked the worst when other candidates were speaking and you could see JK in the background. He sits there with his top teeth hanging out in a very forced smile. I know it's shallow, but it just doesn't look "presidential." In addition, he has this laconic quality that reminds me a bit of Droopy the dog. And while I agree that many of his positions are sound, left-wing positions, his vote on Iraq sealed his fate with die-hard party members.

Dean is also doing so much right. He was out in front in his opposition to the war and that is going to work for him right through the election. Why? Because there is less than a snowball's chance in hell that things will improve in Iraq and the Middle East in general. Any little upclick in the economy will now be trumpeted as evidence that shrub's massive giveaway to the rich is working (any Dem candidate should challenge that spin by saying, "it's great the economy is finally turning around. Bush only has 24 million jobs to go to equal Clinton's record...which at this snail's pace will take 24 years to accomplish what Clinton did in 8. Do you want to wait that long for a decent job?"), so it's going to come down to the war.

On that point, Kerry is toast - as are the other bush-enablers, Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt.

And finally, it's hard to win the presidency unless you can run as an outsider. Congress people aren't outsiders. They're perceived as part of the problem - especially if you've voted for policies that the public now sees as wrongheaded. Carter, Clinton, Reagan and un-elected bush all won as outsiders. It's no surprise that, save for poppy bush and Ford, all of our presidents since Nixon have made the jump from governor to prez.

And who's the only former governor left running on the Dem side? Howard Dean.

[terrisel]

33. Cynthia Tucker worked to get rid of Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia Tucker wrote furiously against Cynthia McKinney's re election to congress and what she considered McKinney's outrageous comments about Bush and the 9/11 attacks.In effect she sided with Zell Miller to engineer a primary defeat of McKinney by encouraging Republicans to vote in the Democratic primary.

It is true that Kerry is a politcal opportunist. For example he stated in his Washington Post interview that he was totally opposed to the law passed restricting abortion--but he, and John Edwards were 2 of the 3 "democrats" who conveniently did not show up to vote on the bill.

However, I have a distinct memory of John Kerry at the time of the resolution authorizing Bush to use force after 9/11. He stated that it was deliberately worded so that Bush would not be able to invade Iraq without seeking another resolution. At the time he seemed to know that Bush wanted to invade Iraq for the wrong reasons.

What was Cynthia Tucker's position on invading Iraq? Did she support it? (I pretty much stopped reading her editorials after her pro-Bush attacks on McKinney).

What happened between those resolutions? My guess is that Congress was lied to about the intelligence.

I think Tucker's column is silly. I believe she was gullible in helping Zell Miller turn over representation in Georgia to the Republican party.

If Congress was lied to by Bush, it was not Congress being "gullible" that is the issue, it is Bush telling lies that are resulting in thousands of deaths that is the issue.