Who’s Spinning What? Reaction to Kerry’s Speech + Photos

[kerrygoddess]

Who’s Spinning What? Reaction to Kerry’s Speech
September 19th, 2005

John Kerry’s scathing speech today has hit some nerves.


The Hill offers a look at the spin from the RNC, along with this quip:

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) unleashed a furious attack on the Bush administration at a Brown University speech yesterday, upbraiding the president’s response to the hurricane that recently devastated the Gulf Coastand tying it to what he sees as other flaws at the White House.

Financial Times coupled quips from Kerry’s speech with a quote from RNC, and noted:

Democrats have been outspoken in the criticism of the Bush administration’s handling of the hurricane and its aftermath. But Mr Kerry’s blunt attack – coupled with separate remarks yesterday by John Edwards, his running mate in 2004 – showed the ongoing political dimensions of the storm.

MORE, LINKS & PHOTOS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=606

[Mass]

1. It was a furious attack, because this is what was warranted by the

situation.

There is no surprise that the media will try to paint that as an angry answer, but I would not wait for it.

For now, it was a polite silence in both the local news and the evening news (probably because Kerry did not sound as a mad man).

[whometense]

2. Got some more pictures!!

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. Thanks KG

and thanks Whome for more picks, they are on yahoo they need some rating up.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?g=events/pl/021103kerry&a=&tmpl=sl&ns=&l=1&e=2&a=0&t=&prev=1

[jillan]

19. This is a little of topic, but I have to say it

He is gorgeous! Esp in picture #1!

Now that I have had my dose of eye candy, I will concentrate on his message.

First things first:9

[TayTay]

4. Now I feel a little bad.

I would have liked to have seen him at Brown. Especially when the suitcoat came off.

Did he take questions from the audience? That would have been interesting.

[fedupinBushcountry]

5. Also

it looks like he had a Q&A after his speech. I hope C-Span got this.

[sandnsea]

6. kewl, thanks whome!!

That is kick ass Kerry for sure!!

[Mass]

7. This post on Newshounds gets the situation well.

http://www.newshounds.us/2005/09/19/what_liberal_media_did_you_know_john_kerry_gave_a_speech_blasting_the_bush_administration_today.php

What "Liberal Media"? (Did you Know John Kerry Gave a Speech Blasting the Bush Administration Today?)

Did you know that John Kerry gave a speech today (September 19, 2005) blasting the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina?

I didn't. I didn't know until minutes ago and believe me, I didn't hear about it on television. So, ah, what's that line again, you know, the one about the "liberal media"?

As for Knight Ridder Newspapers, they mention the speech in one line in an article distorting Edwards's speech (or at least I hope so).

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/politics/12688109.htm

Personal responsibility key to combating poverty, Edwards says

BY STEVEN THOMMA

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Fighting the kind of poverty that Hurricane Katrina revealed anew will take more than the government can provide, John Edwards said Monday. It also will take a commitment by the poor to work and stop having babies at young ages, he said.

So, I have no major problems with the Hill and FT. My main concern is with those media who choose to ignore the speech.

[fedupinBushcountry]

8. I hope so too

that last sentence doesn't sound like Edwards.

[Mass]

9. After reading the speech, this is only a part of the speech

(a part that is too long for me, but not the focus of the speech).

[sandnsea]

10. The first paragraph doesn't sound like Edwards

"Fighting the kind of poverty that Hurricane Katrina revealed anew will take more than the government can provide, John Edwards said Monday. It also will take a commitment by the poor to work and stop having babies at young ages, he said."

Wha??? I don't believe Edwards said this at all, tell me he didn't say this. Sounds like "get a job and stop fuckin' like bunnies". No, I know he did not say that.

My god.

I quit reading after that.

[Mass]

11. Here is the link to the speech and No, this is not a direct quote.

http://oneamericacommittee.com/20050919.asp

This is a fairly good speech, globally speaking.

Here is the part they are referring to:

When a 13-year-old girl thinks there's nothing wrong with having a baby that will drive them both toward lives of poverty, we haven't built the levees high enough. When 15-year-old boys become fathers, then walk away, get shot, or go to jail, we haven't built the levees high enough. When young people spend more time going to meth labs than chemistry labs, we haven't built the levees high enough.

We know better, but we don't act because we don't want to look. If we believe in community, we must find the courage to do what communities do: Together, we must stand side by side and man the levees.

All of us - parents, clergy, teachers, public officials - we need to say some simple truths: it is wrong when boys and young men father children but don't care for them. It is wrong when girls and young women bear children they aren't ready to care for. And - and - it is wrong when all Americans see this happening and do nothing to stop it.

Because this is also about America's responsibility to create new opportunities for young people. I met a woman from a New Britain teen pregnancy program called Pathways/Senderos. She told me how she tries to give kids with struggling parents the love, the discipline, and the chance to succeed that you would want for your own children. Instead of having kids, many of these teenagers are getting diplomas. And here in Washington, a baseball coach and teacher named Luis Cardona told me how he's helped boys in gangs get jobs and become mentors to keep other kids out of gangs

[sandnsea]

12. It is pretty good

"These are good and decent Americans just looking for happiness, but too often they think the way to find it is to have a child." That's about it I think. And I'm glad this is the kind of thing that paragraph referred to, unbelievable the way it was written.

But not waiting to have kids is never going to be enough. Not unless we're planning on a society where having children becomes a privilege reserved for those who can afford them. The bottom 30% will never be able to on income alone and there will always be the bottom 30%. The Great Society did reduce abject poverty, but there's no way a capitalist society can ever allow everyone to be stable enough to not have to worry about a pink slip or other emergency. We used to respect the work the bottom 30% did though, I don't think we do anymore.

[kerrygoddess]

15. There's a wealth of coverage on this actually

My point of course was how it's being spun by the right. That was the reason for quoting the Hill and the FT.

[Mass]

18. I got your point - the point is that here in Boston it was not covered

Happy to see that the BG has this interview. I have not read it yet. But for the normal person who watches the news on TV, I dont think it was covered, that's all.

What is better? Silence or RW spin?

BTW, when I wrote this comment, there were no coverage, and to my knowledge, there is still none on TV.

[Klimmer]

13. Got the official email today with link to his speech on his website . . .

All I can say is --- damn that's my President!!
:bounce:

[JanusAscending]

14. In this photo it looks like he's taking questions!!

Does anyone know if he had a question and answer period after the speech? I would love a transcript if he did!! I read the whole speech earlier today, before he actually made it! I've been searching for news all night for some "color" commentary, and all I could come up with was the it was a very receptive crowd!!

[fedupinBushcountry]

16. I guess the liberal media continues

This is the only thing I could find from 4 television stations in R.I., and no video, don't ya love that liberal media. Geez.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is harshly criticizing President Bush for his handling of Hurricane Katrina, saying the inept response showed the true nature of the administration.

In a speech to an enthusiastic crowd at Brown University today, the senator from Massachusetts said the disaster exposed a broader pattern of incompetence and negligence within the government under President Bush. He said Bush’s speech last week in which he accepted responsibility was made only because he was cornered by events.

After the speech, Kerry said he agreed with former President Clinton’s criticism of how the administration has run FEMA, saying Bush has degraded and politicized the agency.

Among those in the audience were Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and one of his daughters.

http://www.wpri.com/Global/story.asp?S=3871100

[kerrygoddess]

17. Alexandra is Brown Alumni N/T

[whometense]

20. The Rude Pundit

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2005/09/shank-and-beat-down-two-approaches-to.html

Rude, but effective.

. . . When you see a beat down under way, you can either walk away, aghast at the violence, jump in and get your own licks in, or, if you find out it's someone who deserves it, just smile and watch. Witness John Kerry's speech last night at Brown University. . .

[jillan]

21. Interesting reading! What is the background of the rude pundit?

I don't think I've read anything from there before.

Loved the last line
"
Meanwhile, as the victim of a shanking or a beat down always does, all Bush can do is lie there, pissing himself, and say, "Oh, God, oh, God.

[whometense]

22. He's something of a mystery.

He did some live shows in NYC this past summer. I read him every day. He can get exceeeeeeedingly obscene and vile, but sometimes that seems entirely appropriate to the situation.

[jillan]

23. When it comes to this administration, obscene and vile are the

best adjectives to describe it.