Pride, truth and war according to Kerry
By Thomas Oliphant, 7/13/2003, The Boston Globe
I continue to be struck by something else in Kerry's rhetoric that is worth quoting:
''The Bush administration has a plan for waging war but no plan for winning the peace. It has invested mightily in the tools of destruction but meagerly in the tools of peaceful construction. It offers the people in the greater Middle East retribution but little hope for liberty and prosperity.
''What America needs today is a smarter, more comprehensive and far-sighted strategy for modernizing the greater Middle East. It should draw on all of our nation's strengths: military might, the world's largest economy, the immense moral prestige of freedom and democracy - and our powerful alliances.''
Increasingly common words today, but Kerry spoke them more than six months ago, two months before the war began. Like others, I gave him guff then for seeming to fudge his support for the use of force; but also like others I failed to see the power of his thinking about the link between conflict and aftermath. On this, Kerry was more than prescient; he was speaking with the clarity expected of presidents.
Last week, Kerry also brought the perspective of his military service into play - not as boast but as useful experience. It helps, he said, to see the need for truth ''from the perspective of those in the field who are taking fire even as they do not know friend from foe, who have no idea when they will come home.''
More pointedly, Kerry made his case for truth not solely for the country's sake and its standing in the world, but ''most of all for the young people in uniform who cannot be protected from enemy attack by an announcement, no matter how well-staged, that hostilities are over.''
If Kerry discusses domestic affairs with this force and clarity, he will win his party's presidential nomination next year. This is a remarkably wide-open, multi-candidate race in which content and message will win.
That is why Kerry's ability to cut through the fog and use his gifts and background to speak clearly and forcefully about Iraq is of more than passing interest.
The challenge, as he put it succinctly to me, is to ''punch through'' on domestic issues in the same way. He has the policy material to do it; now the message must follow.
One big Kerry advantage in a crowded field is the under-noticed fact that no segment of the Democratic electorate is vigorously opposed to him or any of his ideas. That's a start, but the bigger challenge is to provide ordinary people with a reason to be for him.
In my opinion John Kerry has shown a lot of reasons for the "ordinary peple" to be for him. There's his strong stance on Abortion, he's a sponsor on the Family and Medical Leave Act, he was the original composer of the Violence Against Women Act, he is the Chairman of the Senate's Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, he's calling for a New Era of National Service which will help students earn college tuition, he wants to Raise the Minimum Wage, provide affordable Healthcare, extend and improve Unemployment Insurance.....
I would call myself one of the "ordinary people" in fact. I am a single mother (sole parent), with a Home Business. John Kerry introduced a bill to Senate earlier this year to help entrepreneurs like myself. He recognizes that Women in Business is a fast growing segment of Small Business, as is Home Business.
John Kerry has provided me with a lot of reasons to be for him. Please support John Kerry for President.
By Thomas Oliphant, 7/13/2003, The Boston Globe
I continue to be struck by something else in Kerry's rhetoric that is worth quoting:
''The Bush administration has a plan for waging war but no plan for winning the peace. It has invested mightily in the tools of destruction but meagerly in the tools of peaceful construction. It offers the people in the greater Middle East retribution but little hope for liberty and prosperity.
''What America needs today is a smarter, more comprehensive and far-sighted strategy for modernizing the greater Middle East. It should draw on all of our nation's strengths: military might, the world's largest economy, the immense moral prestige of freedom and democracy - and our powerful alliances.''
Increasingly common words today, but Kerry spoke them more than six months ago, two months before the war began. Like others, I gave him guff then for seeming to fudge his support for the use of force; but also like others I failed to see the power of his thinking about the link between conflict and aftermath. On this, Kerry was more than prescient; he was speaking with the clarity expected of presidents.
Last week, Kerry also brought the perspective of his military service into play - not as boast but as useful experience. It helps, he said, to see the need for truth ''from the perspective of those in the field who are taking fire even as they do not know friend from foe, who have no idea when they will come home.''
More pointedly, Kerry made his case for truth not solely for the country's sake and its standing in the world, but ''most of all for the young people in uniform who cannot be protected from enemy attack by an announcement, no matter how well-staged, that hostilities are over.''
If Kerry discusses domestic affairs with this force and clarity, he will win his party's presidential nomination next year. This is a remarkably wide-open, multi-candidate race in which content and message will win.
That is why Kerry's ability to cut through the fog and use his gifts and background to speak clearly and forcefully about Iraq is of more than passing interest.
The challenge, as he put it succinctly to me, is to ''punch through'' on domestic issues in the same way. He has the policy material to do it; now the message must follow.
One big Kerry advantage in a crowded field is the under-noticed fact that no segment of the Democratic electorate is vigorously opposed to him or any of his ideas. That's a start, but the bigger challenge is to provide ordinary people with a reason to be for him.
In my opinion John Kerry has shown a lot of reasons for the "ordinary peple" to be for him. There's his strong stance on Abortion, he's a sponsor on the Family and Medical Leave Act, he was the original composer of the Violence Against Women Act, he is the Chairman of the Senate's Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, he's calling for a New Era of National Service which will help students earn college tuition, he wants to Raise the Minimum Wage, provide affordable Healthcare, extend and improve Unemployment Insurance.....
I would call myself one of the "ordinary people" in fact. I am a single mother (sole parent), with a Home Business. John Kerry introduced a bill to Senate earlier this year to help entrepreneurs like myself. He recognizes that Women in Business is a fast growing segment of Small Business, as is Home Business.
John Kerry has provided me with a lot of reasons to be for him. Please support John Kerry for President.
posted by Pamela J. Leavey at 9:31 PM
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