Thursday, September 30, 2004

I + H -- Debate thread

I couldn't sleep last night, woke up at 3:00 AM and just had to come up with the 2-minute answer for John Kerry to the debate question:

"Senator Kerry, what is your position on the war in Iraq?"

Here's what I came up with...

"Jim, I support our troops and want success in Iraq. This can only be accomplished by electing a new Commander-in-Chief and immediately putting in new civilian leadership in the Vice-President's office and the departments of Defense, State and Intelligence. Once that's done, we can implement my four-part plan to win the war and help the Iraqi's establish a free, peaceful nation.

I apologize if my previous statements about the war have seemed unclear or have sounded contradictory. But I think that like many Americans, when the President began the march to war in 2002, I wanted to believe him. As a United States Senator, I wanted to support our troops and protect our country. That's why, when the resolution came up that would give him authority to use force as a last resort, I supported the President. He called it a 'vote for peace,' and in the public record, I stated that I supported force only as a last resort.

But again, like many Americans, I then felt betrayed when the President kicked out the weapons inspectors and decided to attack Iraq without UN support. That decision has blackened our image as a moral leader in the world. And while having Saddam and his sons out of power is a blessing, several of the tactical decisions our civilian leaders have made in Iraq have been disasterous to the Iraqi people and our troops.

So, while I understand that we're in Iraq and we must succeed, I think it's imperative that we hold the Commander-in-Chief accountable for the grave blunders of strategy and diplomacy that have hung our military and civilian support staff out to dry.

I want peace and democracy in Iraq. As Commander-in-Chief, and as representative of this nation at the negotiating table, I will work to put our plan into place so the Iraqi's will be able to lift themselves out of the chaos there and we can secure safe passage home for our troops when the mission is complete. Thank you.


One minute, forty-five seconds.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...
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MK said...

I'm sure that Diane Sawyer thing was just sandbagging, so people would think he's unprepared.

How's that for spin?

DH said...

Matt,
Very articulate. It's just too bad that Kerry trys to raise himself up over the everyday person with his "I'm better than you" lingo. In doing this I think he loses himself in his rantings and backpeddleings so much so that the man really has no clue what he is going to do. I don't think he even knows why he wants to be President. Sorry man but Bush is going to debate this guy into the ground tonight.

defiantheart@blogspot.com

MK said...

Defiant, you're probably right. The reason I have hope today is that I watched Kerry mop the floor with my man, Howard Dean. Kerry went from last to first in just 2 debates and some good ads. And John Edwards is a gamer. I refuse to be nervous today. Today, I am a Republican, blindly optimistic that John Kerry will crush his opponent according to the will of Jesus and George Washington. And at 9:31 CDT, the calls to talk radio, letters to the editor, and blogging begins. Spin baby!

MK said...

Scott, you SO cannot take a joke.

DH said...

Snolen,
Don't worry, your not the lone republican here. I'm standing next to ya. And don't worry about not taking a joke, those left-wing liberals have a strange sense of humor.

Kuz,
I'm a republican and I'm not sure if I even believe in God, but I do believe in Dubbya woopin' your boy Kerry by the grace of George Washington and everything "right" (thats "right" politically but not always correct, I have loyalty but I'm not blind.) ;-P

MK said...

Mike, I think he said it even better than both of us. Thanks everyone for writing.