Kerry: Lieberman's Words Are "Scare-Tactic Bunk"

That's bunk. That's scare-tactic bunk. And it's an unfortunate statement from somebody of Joe's quality, and I regret it....

I'm not going to stand for those scare tactics , that's exactly what the Republicans have been doing for the last years. They avoid a real discussion by throwing out a slogan and they scare people....

It's a disgrace that people are playing to the lowest common denominator of American politics, which is fear.

Notice how he doesn't mention Lieberman by name, not even in the "Joe Lieberman is a good friend, but I respectfully disagree... blah blah" hat tip. It was solely about Lamont's strength on Iraq (I'm sure that's what the whole toe-to-toe with unpopular Rumsfeld was about).

Say what you will about Kerry's 2004 mistakes (and I concede there were many), he knows the importance of speaking from strength. No mention of "redeployment" or "changed course", only standing up to mismanagement and hubris. It was all "Ned Lamont is going to kick ass in the Senate and we need him". I'm convinced this is just the kind of boost Lamont needs.

Kerry is clearly hoping to stake out the toughest position on Iraq for the next presidential campaign season. It's worth noting that Hillary is still using the same platitudes on Iraq, and that Edwards and Warner have not gotten much press on the matter. Second-tierers Bayh, Richardson, Vilsack and Dodd have been virtually silent.

Since Dean won't be running this time and Gore probably won't, there is a good chance the Iraq dynamic will shake up the race. Should it become the dominent dynamic, the way I see it, the only two candidates that are well-positioned are Kerry and Feingold. Feingold has the better record because he voted against the IWR to begin with, but Kerry has the name rec, experience and "gravitas". It could be an interesting showdown.

John Kerry Calls Lieberman's "Scare Tactics" a Disgrace


Kerry was on The Young Turks last night. We talked about his health care proposal, Iraq and how to effectively fight terrorism. He was most forceful when it came to Joe Lieberman's statements about Iraq. When we asked the Senator what he thought of Lieberman's remarks that the plan Ned Lamont and Senator Kerry support would strengthen the terrorists, this is what he had to say in response:

http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2006/8/15/12211/6721

more>

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/john-kerry-calls-lieberma_b_27398.html