Kerry: McCain's Judgment Is Dangerous

(CBS)  Sen. John Kerry believes that the presumptive Republican nominee for president is adhering to the Bush Administration orthodoxy in ways that call into question his carefully-nurtured image as a political maverick.

"John McCain has changed in profound and fundamental ways that I find personally really surprising, and frankly upsetting," the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts said on CBS' Face The Nation.

"This is a different John McCain. This is not the Senator John McCain; this is want-to-be president John McCain.

"And the result is that John McCain has flip-flopped on more issues than I was even ever accused possibly of thinking about! I mean, this is extraordinary what he's done: He's changed on taxes; he's now in favor of the Bush tax cut. If you like the Bush economy, if you like the Bush tax cut and what it's done to our economy, making wealthier people wealthier and the average middle class struggle harder, then John McCain is going to give you a third term of George Bush and Karl Rove.

"If you like what has happened to oil prices, John McCain is going to continue that policy. If you like what you see about health care, John McCain has no health care plan.

"I would have at least expected the John McCain that I knew back then to realize what almost every person in the Pentagon has admitted. There are very few who walk around and say, 'Going into Iraq was the right thing to do, and we should have done it, or do it again if I have the chance.' John McCain does.

"I'm challenging Senator McCain's judgment," Kerry said, "that says, 'There's no violent history between Sunni and Shia.' That's wrong. His judgment that says, 'This is going to increase the stability of the Middle East.' It hasn't, it's made it less stable. The judgment that says, quote, 'This will be the best thing for America and the world in a long time. It's the worst thing that we've done in a long time. And he's turned his [focus] away from Afghanistan and al Qaeda and made America less safe. That's dangerous for our country."

Kerry criticized McCain's continued support of the occupation, given the effect of a continuing presence of U.S. troops on the situation in Iraq and the region at large. He pointed to remarks by leaders in the Middle East who told him during a recent visit, "You, America, have served up to Iran Iraq on a platter."

"They are outraged by the ineptitude of what has been done by those who decided it was smart to go into Iraq," said Kerry, who feels the Republican Party is now in turmoil over the "reality" of McCain's position, which is that "he has a plan for staying in Iraq and Barack Obama has a plan for getting out of Iraq."

However, McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that McCain was right about the war.

(CBS)

"John understood we were losing in Iraq, quite frankly," Graham told host Bob Schieffer. "After Baghdad fell, we had the wrong strategy in place. And John, above anybody else in the country, spoke against his own administration, argued to Rumsfeld that we didn't have enough troops. So it's not just a few dead-enders. And he risked his own political career to turn it around."

Graham said Sen. Barack Obama was wrong to predict the "surge" would not work and that troops should be withdrawn. "The big test for this country is, how do you avoid losing in Iraq? If we'd have listened to Barack Obama, we would have lost. If we listen to him now, we will lose in the future and undercut all the gains we've made.

"We're winning because John McCain understood Iraq better than anybody else. The surge has worked. The political, economic and military progress in Iraq is undeniable.

"The biggest loser in Iraq is al Qaeda because the Muslims in Iraq joined with us and turned on them, and they've punished al Qaeda in Iraq. Any time a Muslim will take up arms against bin Laden's sympathizers, we're all safer.

"The only way we can lose this war now is to go down the road that Obama suggests," Graham said. "And that's pulling out, sending a signal to al Qaeda, 'Don't give up hope'; telling Iran, 'You can still feel the vacuum created in Iraq.'

"The enemy is on their knees and the only person talking in a way to get them off their knees is Barack Obama."

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Read the full "Face the Nation" transcript here.

[shingles1]

bigal321321, what really turned things around in Iraq was that we started to PAY OFF the insurgents. Back when the insurgency was raging, the Pentagon estimated that 90+ percent of it was Sunni-based and unrelated to Al Qaeda. So what did we do? We made DEALS with the Sunni insurgents, renamed them ''Concerned Local Citizens'' of the ''Sunni Awakening'', and paid them NOT to shoot at us.

And it worked.

The funny thing is, if anybody had suggested back in 2004, 2005, and 2006 that we simply PAY OFF and make deals with the people who were shooting at us (with American blood on their hands, I may add) - the wingnuts would have gone nuts and screamed out every name in the book (appeasers, traitors, defeatocrats,etc. - you should know the litany by heart now).

But when Bush does it, appeasement is OK.

[bigal321321]

Here''s what really bugs me about this story. Any other time or person the story would have read straight, just like that. But because it''s John Kerry, here we go, Lindsey Graham gets to put in his two cents worth. Why is this? Could one of you posters let me in on what CBS is up to with this sort of reporting? Balance or free publicity for McCain? The Surge? It wasn''t what made the difference in Iraq. I wish the repubs would stop acting like the Surge is what did it. What did it was exactly what Graham has stated above. The Iraqi''s stood up for themselves against al queda. The Surge accomplished nothing more than sending more troops and costing us more money.

And the first time a repub talks to me about the economy is when I rub the entire war in their face. We wouldn''t be in this economic mess if it weren''t for their war. Don''t tell me it''s not their''s. They pushed for it, they lobbied for it and they got it. Now they have to sleep in that bed. Good luck in November you guys (he says with tongue firmly in cheek).

[dkhorse1]

John Kerry is essentially a Republican in drag (a democratic politician), he married a wealthy heiress and has millions, or is that billions? He acts like his is on the side of the everyday person, yet he knows nothing about regular people. Kerry is the dictionary example of Hypocrisy, like Howard Dean and that disgusting Al Gore(global warming guru, yet pollutes worse then anyone). Democratic posers! If anyone listens to what they vomit out to the world needs help, psychotropic drugs would be a good start.

[dumbocrat]

Here we are again with McCain and his advocates falsely claiming that McCain was "right" on the war.

That is a lie. John McCain was one of the principal advocates for the war in the first place. That is his original sin with respect to this national tragedy.

Posted by IndyVet66 at 10:38 AM : Jul 08, 2008

What about your boy Johnny??
John Kerry February 23, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has already used these weapons and has made it clear that he has the intent to continue to try, by virtue of his duplicity and secrecy, to continue to do so. That is a threat to the stability of the Middle East. It is a threat with respect to the potential of terrorist activities on a global basis. It is a threat even to regions near but not exactly in the Middle East

[johnmcsame]

John Kerry, go back to the hole that you crawled out from. No one gives a hoot about what you have to say.

[acolton1]

John McCain the senior citizen with a bad temper. He is like an OLD PALE Drag Queen who ran out of makeup.

[taotxzen]

IF YOU LIKE THIS ECONOMY;

IF YOU LIKE THIS NEVER-ENDING WAR;

IF YOU LIKED HIS VOTE AGAINST A GI BILL FOR IRAQ VETS;

IF LIKE PAYING HIGH GAS PRICES;

IF LIKE THE TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH;

IF YOU CAN''''T WAIT TO INVADE IRAN;

IF YOU LIKE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT;

IF YOU LIKE A PRESIDENT WHO VOTED AGAINST EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN;

IF YOU LIKE A PRESIDENT WHO VOTED AGAINST MATERNITY LEAVE FOR WOMEN;

IF YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE END OF ROE V. WADE;

IF YOU LIKE THE UNFAIR TRADE POLICIES THAT SEND JOBS AND TECHNOLOGY OVERSEAS;

IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT PRACTICES TORTURE;

IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT SPIES ON ITS OWN CITIZEN;

IF YOU LIKE THE FACT THAT THE US IS ONE OF THE MOST REVILED NATIONS ON THE PLANET, THEN YOU''''LL JUST LOVE McCAIN.

Posted by raoul12

The really weird thing is that they are actully on board with most of that and think that you are a ''Godless fact-monger'' if you are not!

[indyvet66]

Here we are again with McCain and his advocates falsely claiming that McCain was "right" on the war.

That is a lie. John McCain was one of the principal advocates for the war in the first place. That is his original sin with respect to this national tragedy.

In 2002, McCain said "I believe that success will be fairly easy, and we are not going to get into house-to-house fighting%u2026We may have to take out buildings, but we are not going to have a blood-letting or trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.%u201D

As a leading Republican Senator, John McCain could have IMPEDED the Iraq war. Instead, McCain and Bush started a war that did not need to be fought %u2013 and that Iraq war has resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 American soldiers, and wasted more than $1 Trillion that now imperils the American economy.

This unnecessary war has strained the military (especially the reserves) way too much. McCain%u2019s crew has wrecked our economy by wasting $1 Trillion in Iraq. And too many people have died for McCain%u2019s mistake in Iraq.

Now John McCain claims he has the judgment to fix the Iraq quagmire that he caused.

NO%u2026I don''t think so.

[taotxzen]

And before you go to the, ''well look at the job the Demoncracks (sic) are doing in Congress'' rant, read the headlines:

Republicans block Democrats'' attempt to impose windfall profits tax on oil companies.

Republicans block efforts to amend relief bill, hold vote without providing copy of bill

Republicans Block Senate War Debate

Senate Republicans Block Democrats'' Housing Bill

Republicans Block Senate Consideration of Democrats%u2019 Energy Bill

Senate Republicans Block Plan to Expand U.S. Economic Stimulus

[indyvet66]

I don''t think it is appropirate to use the words "Judgment" and "John McCain" in the same sentence.

I give John McCain all due credit for serving in Vietnam.

However, McCain has consistently expercised poor judgment thoughout his life. Even as a Navy pilot.

Every pilot knows the important of performing a pre-flight checklist BEFORE you take the plane up.

McCain brags about the fact that he routinely skipped the pre-flight checklist. His motto was "KICK THE TIRES...LIGHT THE FIRES." That just sounds so Jet-Jockey cool...and stupid.

That may be why he crashed 4 planes before being shot down. He''s just a Fly-The-Seat-Of-The-Pants kind of guy.

McCain is a very interesting and pretty cool guy, but I sure would not want to fly with him. And he is not fit to be President.