JK to Commonwealth Club (San Francisco)

[MBS]

April 1, 2011
I haven't had a chance to hear it myself yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
Some friends told me he was terrific!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-radio-program/id113721208

You can download it for free on itunes..

[Luftmensch067]

1. Thank you so much for this link!

I'm almost finished listening. It's absolutely fantastic. Sometimes I really do feel like JK is the Voice of America. I don't mean by that that he speaks for everyone -- he's just one, very human, man. But he loves this country and the idea of it, the ideals of it, so much that when he appeals to an audience, I feel like it's the yearning of a nation for healing, for common sense, for dreams of a better future speaking. He's definitely someone who MUST tell the truth. It's who he is. I don't know how he keeps doing it, but it seems clear that he feels it is his life's mission and we're so lucky that he does.

[ObamaKerryDem]

3. SO beautifully said! I have tears in my eyes! :) And I completely agree!

I truly feel he is a voice for us in the Senate and in politics/public service in general. We are so lucky to have him. And I wish so much that he were even more appreciated for all the things he does. Even some on our side of the aisle just do not see it..and that saddens/frustrates me to no end! But I so admire how he keeps pressing on, with or without the recognition of the media, etc. That's what a TRUE leader does! Unlike Brown, Palin, etc...who are clearly in it for the celebrity, all fluff and nothing to show for it, no substance..

I can't wait to watch this! :)

[karynnj]

5. Seeing things like this speech makes me understand why the right has

tried to destroy him since the early 1970s. After speaking out in the 1970s it is amazing that he was ever able to win a Senate seat. It is amazing that in spite of decades of derision from the right, the media and even some Democrats that he got the Presidential nomination. You can see that, almost without exception, the people who became President had the wind of the media and the powerful behind them. In his case, had the powers that be just been neutral, he would have won.

In 1071, as a 27 year old, he was seen as a statesman. I feel cheated that my generation is represented in the Presidency by Bill Clinton and George W. Bush - while Clinton is brilliant, he does not have the integrity and vision Kerry does. I get the feeling that Kerry wanted the Presidency because of what he could do for the country.

[ObamaKerryDem]

6. Completely agree! And it's ironic that so many on the Right in '04 complained..

..that the media was on JK's side. Didn't seem that way to me at all. It didn't seem that way to me with Obama either, but even less with JK. I think it's pretty clear that the Powers that Be were opposed to and had it out for JK since '71. That's why--or at least part of the reason why-- the RW memes about him have stuck more than about Obama and Clinton. I even hear fellow Progressive Dems repeating those very same lines, which as you can imagine and probably relate is just SO frustrating. But there's a reason why the media didn't object more to the Swiftboat stuff, for example. Or if you want to get down to it, why they crown and cast John McCain as the ultimate Vietnam War hero, while allowing JK's service to be mocked and discredited. Not to take anything away from McCain's service--I think that irrespective of his politics and a lot of his more recent actions, it should be respected and remembered--but why allow JK's to be so disrespected?

I agree with you on all counts. And strongly believe that JK is the best President we never got to have..:( A huge part of me would still love to see him run for it again someday, though I completely understand how he would not want to. But man oh man, did America miss the boat on that one. Though I think it's amazing that with everything that was going against him in '04--the Swiftboat liars, the media, the still proximity to the war and the lies still believed regarind it, etc--he came SO close (at very least..). Again he deserves FAR more credit--even in the party--than he gets. But I know I never cease to be amazed by this man! :)

[karynnj]

7. I agree with you

Although what almost hurts me more is that JK was swiftboated twice. The first time was in 2004, where the media treated the official NAVY record as having less credibility than men, allied with Bush, caught in one lie after another. The media condoned a character assassination. With Obama, the comparable thing is that the media continues to give air to birther claims. In both cases the official record is completely unambiguous. Obama has it a bit easier as in his case the truth is simpler and few in the media give any credence to the birthers. The second time started as soon as he lost. To their eternal discredit both the Edwards and Clinton people pushed the story that Kerry did not respond or responded weakly.

In the case of the Edwards people, it was despicable. Kerry gave that vain egotistic guy a shot at being VP and he was a VP from hell, not defending Kerry when asked and telling the media he was too good for that role and refusing to even use the Kerry slogans. He then had the chutzpah to say that he told Kerry that Kerry had to fight back.

In the case of the Clinton people, their goal was to foster the idea that only Clintons really know how to fight the right wing. This ignores that the vaunted "war room" actually did less than Kerry did - partially because the attacks on Clinton contained some truth - and in Kerry's case, he was the war hero the Navy records show. The Clinton people used that theme against both Gore and Kerry and implicitly anybody not them. It happened often enough that I kept cutting and pasting the same response - tailoring it slightly every time it came out. Here's a recent version - http://www.dailykos.com/comments/925822/39278676 (In all honesty I now have two reasons for countering it on DK - one is that it still needs to be hit and the other is that now it gets lots of recommends and helps me sometimes be a trusted user with little work.

In addition to all you list, 2004 was tougher because whoever won would select 2 or 3 Supreme Court justices, including Rehnquist. This meant the abortion issue was far more powerful. The Catholic church took a much larger role and so did some evangelical groups, A Democrat would have seriously changed the direction of the court. But, looking back now, I also see that corporate interests would have had no chance getting the Citizens United decision from a court where Roberts and Alito would have not been there and two JK judges would be there. (I think this would have been the case even if JK were not re-elected. I suspect that Stevens or Bader Ginsberg would have retired earlier rather than risk the Repuublican winning.) That decision had a major impact on 2010.

[Luftmensch067]

2. Video of the entire event! Yay!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS_7Hvtv1QM&feature=channel_video_title

[karynnj]

4. This an amazing speech - there are so many quotes that can be taken from this

He actually lives up to the most effusive intro I have ever heard. "We are in a fight for the soul of the country". His statistics are startling - the 1% have 40% of the wealth! He is right these changes are immoral. (and they are stupid.)

I wish that President Obama was saying things like this. We are moving to becoming a third world country - and people are afraid to say that - probably because the right will speak of American exceptionalism. The majority of people have not left the US - that might be why they believe we are so much better than everyone else. We aren't on many objective measures.

[MBS]

8. and I loved the introduction

"our country's leading statesman"
Boy did he get THAT right!!
Thank you, Sen. Kerry, for saving me from utter despair about my country.

[YvonneCa]

9. Your friends are right...

...MBS. :7 Amazing!