Missed Opportunity - Part 2
At the second debate on Friday night, Kerry blew a few easy opportunities to clarify his own positions and debunk the president's.
First, he was short on specifics. At this point, I think most undecided voters are screaming for specifics. They are undecided because they have grave doubts about president Bush. They know his plans, and they aren't sure they like them. They are undecided because they aren't sure they can back Kerry. They have heard him say he has a plan hundreds of times, but they haven't heard very much about what those plans are. So my first piece of advice to Kerry would be to start hammering home the talking point summary of his major foreign and domestic policy agendas. Close the sale. You've got the undecideds checking you out, they want to like you. Now seal the deal.
Second, he let Bush slide on his answer to the "name three mistakes" question. Bush couldn't name even one. He admitted there might be some mistakes in strategy that historians might be able to discover in the future. Kind of like his answer to pollution. Pollute all you want and let scientists of the future fix it. Kind of like his answer to spending. Spend all you want and let our children and grandchildren pay it off for generations to come. He also said he might have made some mistakes in his appointments, but he can't name names because he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Bullshit! Donald Trump on a television game show every week publicly fires someone in front of a national television audience. If a blow-dried blow-hard billionaire can find the guts to fire someone in public, the president of the United States ought to be able to as well. The real problem is, he doesn't blame the people who have truly failed in their jobs. He doesn't blame Rumsfeld for his faulty war plan that has turned Iraq into such a disaster. He doesn't blame Condeleeza Rice for failing to pay attention to the terrorist threat before 9/11. He doesn't blame Ashcroft for his illegal application of the PATRIOT Act. We all know who his "mistakes" would be if he named them. He would only name those who quit in protest. Like Clarke. But he didn't even have the guts to do that, and Kerry let him get away with it. You can't ask a president to improve if the president can't see his mistakes.
But the biggest missed opportunity at the debate was letting Bush get by with this comment about WMDs in Iraq. Here's what Bush said, "We all thought there was weapons there, Robin. My opponent thought there was weapons there. That's why he called him a grave threat.
I wasn't happy when we found out there wasn't weapons, and we've got an intelligence group together to figure out why." Okay, bad grammar aside, I know I'm not the only one troubled by this comment. Saddam Hussein, someone widely considered to be an evil madman, did not have any weapons that he could have used to kill us or have given to his neighbors or to terrorists. We were safe from him. He wasn't a threat. Our troops did not have to face chemical or biological attack. There was no threat of a mushroom cloud. But Bush wasn't happy? Bush would rather Saddam Hussein had WMDs. Bush admitted on public television in a debate that he is more concerned about his own credibility than about the safety and welfare of the entire planet. "I wasn't happy when we found out there wasn't weapons." I would have thought you'd have been thrilled! That sentence alone is reason enough to elect anyone else besides Bush to the White House.
First, he was short on specifics. At this point, I think most undecided voters are screaming for specifics. They are undecided because they have grave doubts about president Bush. They know his plans, and they aren't sure they like them. They are undecided because they aren't sure they can back Kerry. They have heard him say he has a plan hundreds of times, but they haven't heard very much about what those plans are. So my first piece of advice to Kerry would be to start hammering home the talking point summary of his major foreign and domestic policy agendas. Close the sale. You've got the undecideds checking you out, they want to like you. Now seal the deal.
Second, he let Bush slide on his answer to the "name three mistakes" question. Bush couldn't name even one. He admitted there might be some mistakes in strategy that historians might be able to discover in the future. Kind of like his answer to pollution. Pollute all you want and let scientists of the future fix it. Kind of like his answer to spending. Spend all you want and let our children and grandchildren pay it off for generations to come. He also said he might have made some mistakes in his appointments, but he can't name names because he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Bullshit! Donald Trump on a television game show every week publicly fires someone in front of a national television audience. If a blow-dried blow-hard billionaire can find the guts to fire someone in public, the president of the United States ought to be able to as well. The real problem is, he doesn't blame the people who have truly failed in their jobs. He doesn't blame Rumsfeld for his faulty war plan that has turned Iraq into such a disaster. He doesn't blame Condeleeza Rice for failing to pay attention to the terrorist threat before 9/11. He doesn't blame Ashcroft for his illegal application of the PATRIOT Act. We all know who his "mistakes" would be if he named them. He would only name those who quit in protest. Like Clarke. But he didn't even have the guts to do that, and Kerry let him get away with it. You can't ask a president to improve if the president can't see his mistakes.
But the biggest missed opportunity at the debate was letting Bush get by with this comment about WMDs in Iraq. Here's what Bush said, "We all thought there was weapons there, Robin. My opponent thought there was weapons there. That's why he called him a grave threat.
I wasn't happy when we found out there wasn't weapons, and we've got an intelligence group together to figure out why." Okay, bad grammar aside, I know I'm not the only one troubled by this comment. Saddam Hussein, someone widely considered to be an evil madman, did not have any weapons that he could have used to kill us or have given to his neighbors or to terrorists. We were safe from him. He wasn't a threat. Our troops did not have to face chemical or biological attack. There was no threat of a mushroom cloud. But Bush wasn't happy? Bush would rather Saddam Hussein had WMDs. Bush admitted on public television in a debate that he is more concerned about his own credibility than about the safety and welfare of the entire planet. "I wasn't happy when we found out there wasn't weapons." I would have thought you'd have been thrilled! That sentence alone is reason enough to elect anyone else besides Bush to the White House.
posted by Charles S. Russell at 10:26 AM
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