NYT: Kerry Remark on Foreign Leaders Faulted

[DeepModem Mom]

Kerry Remark on Foreign Leaders Faulted
By JODI WILGOREN

Published: March 15, 2004


BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 14 — A Republican business owner here in this November battleground state and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had the same questions Sunday for Senator John Kerry: Which foreign leaders told you they support your campaign, and when did you meet with them?

The questions, in a volatile exchange at a forum here and in an interview on Fox News Sunday, stemmed from a comment that Mr. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, made last Monday at a Florida fund-raiser. It was the second time in recent days that stray comments by Mr. Kerry diverted attention from his themes of creating jobs and providing health insurance....

***

As his aides have all week, Mr. Kerry refused Sunday to cite any names of foreign officials or describe their rank, telling reporters, "I can't violate any conversation because no one would share something with me again."

Instead, Mr. Kerry disputed the wording of his comment, and tried to change the subject from individual leaders' specific support of his efforts to oust President Bush to a broader deterioration of the United States' international reputation....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/politics/campaign/15TRAI.html

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. I take issue with that report right here:

"I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy, they look at you and say, `You gotta win this, you gotta beat this guy, we need a new policy,' things like that," Mr. Kerry said, according to a transcript from a reporter who attended the session.

- Who is that reporter? What's his name? Who does he work for? What is his political and professional background? I have a few more questions to ask him too.

http://brainbuttons.com

[alittlelark]

2. I have the same questions

But I have yet to catch Kerry in a lie, unlike *

[PurityOfEssence]

3. Let's be serious, folks: it was a misstep

It wasn't a huge one, so it's not the end of the world, but it was a bad move nonetheless. What it does is leave him open to being shown as preferable to the rest of those 95% of the world that is comprised of jealous inferiors out to do us in. Just as MoveOn.org doesn't take foreigners' money, he should be careful about things like this. Remember: the xenophobes are whipping up the terror frenzy at every turn.

Kerry's no Dean with his gaffes, but he's a tad sloppy, and he should be careful. It may well be a close-run affair, and the less ammunition we give them the better.

Oh, and watch that mic...

(Love the non-apology for the microphone misstep, though; that was fabulous theatre, and he handled himself like a true champ.)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Baloney. As president won't he be expected to protect...

...confidential sources of information? Or do you think he should tell the world every time he talks to a foreign leader?

Speaking of which, why aren't we concerned with the conversations Junior has had with foreign leaders other than those he has paraded publicly before the press? Think we'll ever know their names? No, and even though I personally would like to know, I wouldn't expect Kerry to tell us of every conversation either.

[izzie]

4. Kerry does not have to tell. The WH runs that for us and they need to

tell us what is going on. Bush and Co have started to to become whinny

[jumptheshadow]

5. What's so bad about the remark?

Anybody who comes into contact with people from overseas (and I do daily) knows that, for the sake of world peace and prosperity, most of them want Bush and his team out. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Kerry got a couple of phone calls when he won the nomination. It's not like certain international leaders have been tripping over themselves to compliment or support Bush.

Kerry's just saying what many people are already thinking. And the Bush team is making mountains out of molehills because they can't run on their record.

[molly]

6. Is this LBN or GD 2004 material?

[colonel odis]

8. poppy bush negotiated with a foreign government

to undermine the policies of the then-sitting govt., regarding the iranian hostages.

no one named bush is in a position to say anything about a candidate meeting with foreign leaders. besides, kerry probably knows the names of other countries' leaders.

[Vickers]

9. "A Republican business owner here in this November battleground state"

Yeah, no agenda there.

:eyes:

[yardwork]

10. While we're on the subject

...what conversations did W have with the House of Saud during his campaign for president?

[snippy]

11. It would be Bush league diplomacy to reveal something said in confidence.

Lacking any honor or integrity, Powell and the other members of the Bush administraion are confounded when someone behaves with honor and integrity. Kerry is not some dishonorable cowboy.

[wellst0nev0ter]

12. Looks Like We Got Another Entry For The

Jodi Wilgoren Watch

[The Stranger]

13. XENOPHOBIA!