Positive Campaign? Oh Yeah, Right!

[Annie]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1278078,00.html

John Kerry, buffeted by a new assault yesterday on his wartime credentials, has scoured Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 for memorable lines to deploy against President Bush.
Although Mr Kerry yesterday unveiled a £16.2bn plan to wean the US off foreign oil, and Mr Bush fended off criticism about July's job creation figures which fell far short of expectations, this is a campaign turning increasingly on which man would make a better commander-in-chief.

In that fight, Mr Kerry went to new lengths, borrowing Moore's best lines twice, without crediting the film-maker.

Meanwhile, Bush supporters unveiled a full-frontal attack on Mr Kerry, in television ads which argue he did not deserve his combat medals in Vietnam.

At a meeting of journalists from ethnic minorities, Mr Kerry drew on a scene from Fahrenheit 9/11, attacking Mr Bush for his seven-minute delay in reacting to news on September 11 2001. "Had my top aide whispered in my ear, 'America is under attack,' I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the president of the United States had something he needed to attend to," he said, in response to a question.

Mr Bush, after learning that a second plane had hit the World Trade Centre, spent the next seven minutes reading My Pet Goat. Moore zoomed in on Mr Bush's darting eyes to suggest he was at a loss as to what he should do. White House aides say Mr Bush continued reading because he did not want to scare the children.

But wait, The Guardian and other US papers missed something. I guess we should be happy that he was in Washington at the time, not there much for the past 2 years:

http://www.redstate.org/story/2004/8/5/113357/2243

In an interview with Larry King on CNN, July 8, 2004, Sen. Kerry was asked where he was the morning of September 11th. Here is part of his response:


Kerry: "...And as I came in [to a meeting in Sen. Daschle's office], Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon..." (emphasis added).
It should be noted that the second plane hit the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m., and the plane hit the Pentagon at 9:43 a.m. By Kerry's own words, he and his fellow senators sat there for forty minutes, realizing "nobody could think."

In other words: Sen. Kerry, who criticized President Bush for not rushing out of the Florida classroom for seven minutes, sat paralyzed with his colleagues for a full forty minutes. He is hardly in a position to criticize President Bush for "inaction."

 

[JIHADTHIS]

It is sad that this is the best that Kerry the candidate can do. Put a little heat on him and the best he can come up with is an attack on GWB. If he does become president who's he going to blame for everything?

 

[007]

If he does become president who's he going to blame for everything?

Everbody else.

 

[nbdysfu]

The article links to a transcript of the original interview on CNN:

KING: Where were you?

KERRY: I was in the Capitol. We'd just had a meeting -- we'd just come into a leadership meeting in Tom Daschle's office, looking out at the Capitol. And as I came in, Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon. And then word came from the White House, they were evacuating, and we were to evacuate, and so we immediately began the evacuation.

cnn transcript

So after the first plane hit, he did nothing for 43 minutes, sat in a stupor. And yet he calls Bush for waiting seven minutes to avoid scaring children.

 

[insein]

I personally hope he uses more lines from Moore's muckraker of a movie. He'll bury humself by halloween.

 

[Avatar4321]

It is sad that this is the best that Kerry the candidate can do. Put a little heat on him and the best he can come up with is an attack on GWB. If he does become president who's he going to blame for everything?

The American people.

 

[Annie]

I thought this was a nice accounting of time:

http://www.overpressure.com/archives/week_2004_08_01.html#000990

About Kerry and the seven minutes

Let's put that in perspective.

In the 40 minutes between the second plane striking the WTC and the plane striking the Pentagon, John Kerry sat, unable to think.

In those same 40 minutes, President Bush spoke to the Vice President, the director of the FBI, the National Security Advisor, and the governor of New York; addressed the nation; and rushed to Air Force One.

And he read a book. posted by blaster at 12:33 PM |

 

[ScreamingEagle]

I thought this was a nice accounting of time:

About Kerry and the seven minutes

Let's put that in perspective.

In the 40 minutes between the second plane striking the WTC and the plane striking the Pentagon, John Kerry sat, unable to think.

In those same 40 minutes, President Bush spoke to the Vice President, the director of the FBI, the National Security Advisor, and the governor of New York; addressed the nation; and rushed to Air Force One.

And he read a book. posted by blaster at 12:33 PM |

http://www.overpressure.com/archives/week_2004_08_01.html#000990

Make a movie about that MM!

 

[Annie]

Make a movie about that MM!

Love your new avatar! Go screamingeagle!

 

[Avatar4321]

Make a movie about that MM!

Why let Michael Moore make the movie? Why dont we rake in the big bucks for it.