Democratic front-runner Sen. John Kerry, responding to Republican questions about his ability to lead the nation, said that President Bush has failed as commander in chief.
| "Yup. Hang it up. Lousy job..." |
While debating his six rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination in Greenville, South Carolina, Kerry said Bush broke his promise that he would "build a legitimate global coalition" and go to war only "as a last resort."
| "Yup. Coalition's illegitimate. All bastards. Went to war as the 4th resort, not the last." |
"He did not go to war as a last resort, and I think he fails the test of the commander in chief," said Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. "I intend to hold him accountable in this election, because the American people’s pockets are being picked to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, and our troops are at greater risk than they needed to be," said the senator from Massachusetts. "And we deserve leadership that knows how to take a nation to war if you have to."
| "Not that I'd ever expect to have to, mind you. I'm sure the French would bail us out long before it came to that." |
Earlier in the day, Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, questioned Kerry’s ability to lead the nation in the post-September 11 era. While calling Kerry’s service in the military "honorable," Gillespie faulted Kerry’s voting record in the Senate, where he is serving in his fourth term. "His long record in the Senate is one of advocating policies that would weaken our national security," Gillespie said.
| Ahhh, but he also has a record of advocating policies that would strengthen our national security. It depends on what day of the week it is and which constituent he's writing to... |
Kerry, along with Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, voted to support the war in Iraq. Edwards says his vote was based on intelligence information and that an independent commission should be formed to determine if that information was credible.
| Yep. Form a committee. That always works. Just think of all the good things that've come out of committees. There's... ummm... |
At Thursday night’s debate, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean attacked Kerry as weak on health care, saying the Democratic Party needs a candidate "who is willing to get stuff done."
| "And I'm just the guy you need to do stuff!" |
"If you want a president who is going to get results, I suggest that you look at somebody who did get results in my state," Dean said.
| "Which is minuscule, admittedly, and chock full of hippies, but otherwise representative of This Great Land of Ours™..." |
The barb came in what was an otherwise cordial debate in which the presidential contenders focused their attacks on President Bush’s policies on the war on terror and Iraq. Before the debate, Dean said his campaign’s insurgent appeal won’t change despite the departure of his campaign chief after losses in New Hampshire and Iowa. But after placing third in the Iowa caucuses and second in the New Hampshire primary, Dean played down his chances in the seven states holding primaries and caucuses Tuesday.
| "I'm toast! No! No! I'm not, really... I still have some money left!" |
He said his campaign is focused on the Michigan caucuses February 7, where 153 delegates are at stake. "We’re going to have to win eventually," Dean said.
| "With all these states, the law of averages says we have to, eventually..." |
"But the question was do we have to win on February 3?
| "Or do we win three or four elections from now? Or when Hell freezes over?" |
"Of course we want to. But we don’t have to. What we’ve got to do is amass as many delegates as we can."
| "Really. We don't have to win anything. We're in this for the principle of the thing. I never really wanted to be president. I just like to holler on national teevee..." |
Dean currently leads the Democratic delegate count with 113. Kerry, the front-runner in the race with his strong victories in New Hampshire and Iowa, has 94 delegates. To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate must have at least 2,161 delegates. States holding contests Tuesday are South Carolina, Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico and North Dakota. Dean shook up his campaign staff Wednesday, naming Roy Neel, a one-time aide to Al Gore, as the effort’s new chief executive officer, and running off losing campaign manager Joe Trippi. The Dean campaign, which has raised more money than any other Democratic effort and opted out of public financing, may also be having financial problems. Some staffers have been asked to do without a paycheck for two weeks.
| Not senior staffers, mind you... |
"The Dean campaign has spent about $8.5 million overall in this race, with the majority of that, over $5 million, being between Iowa and New Hampshire," said CNN consultant Evan Tracey of TNS Media Intelligence. "Interestingly enough, he’s not running any ads now in the February 3 states. But he spent a lot of money in those states, even going back to last summer. Essentially, he’s going to walk away from that ad buy money in those states. And clearly a lot of the money he had been spending in those states was pulled out to bolster the New Hampshire effort." Dean’s aides said they are trying to arrange for him to campaign this weekend with former Vice President Al Gore, although they did not offer any details. Trippi, meanwhile, said Thursday he still believes in Dean and is confident he will be selected as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.
| Nobody else has made him a job offer, huh? That's too bad... |
Kerry went into the debate with two strong endorsements. He picked up the endorsement of Rep. Jim Clyburn on Thursday morning. The South Carolina Democrat is a leader in the black community. Clyburn’s endorsement could be significant in Tuesday’s primary, in which as many as half the Democrats casting ballots are expected to be African-American. Kerry already has the support of the state’s senior U.S. senator, Ernest "Fritz" Hollings. Former president Bill Clinton has not endorsed any of the seven Democrats. But when asked Thursday if Kerry is too liberal to be the party’s standard-bearer, Clinton pointed out that Kerry stood with him to cut back budget deficits at the start of his first year in office.
| Not too close to him, of course. But Bill wasn't standing that close to the guys actually cutting the deficits, either. |
Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, meanwhile, stumped in Oklahoma before heading to South Carolina to pick up the endorsement of Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols.
| Doug's always wanted to meet Madonna... |
In Oklahoma, Clark stressed his military record and his status as a political newcomer. A senior campaign official said Clark, who narrowly edged out Edwards for third place in New Hampshire, would campaign aggressively in South Carolina, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. The former NATO supreme commander had yet to decide whether to make a serious effort in Missouri, where Kerry leads most polls after the withdrawal of favorite son Dick Gephardt, the official said.
| Depends on how many truckloads of votes the Teamsters can kick in... |
Edwards played up his Southern roots; he has described the South Carolina primary as a must-win for his candidacy to move forward. "I grew up here, I’ve lived here my entire life," he told reporters Wednesday, describing his connection to the South. "I’ve represented a Southern state, North Carolina, in the U.S. Senate."
| "Not spectacularly, of course, but I was there. And I have a nice haircut. It's much more manageable than Kerry's hair..." |
Meanwhile, Lieberman received a boost Thursday from the Arizona Republic newspaper, which endorsed him. Most of the candidates will gather Friday morning in Columbia, South Carolina, for a forum with working families, and then will be hitting the campaign trail to other battleground states. |