POLITICS - Kerry's Message

From Senator John Kerry's speech at the Democratic National Committee Fall Meeting Washington, DC October 3, 2003 :

Five thousand years ago, Moses said, "Hitch up your camel. Pick up your shovel. Mount your ass. I will lead you to the promised land."

Five thousand years later, Franklin Roosevelt said, "Light up a Camel. Lay down your shovel. Sit on your ass. This is the promised land."

Today, George Bush will lay off your camel, tax your shovel, kick your ass and tell you there is no promised land.

Has Kerry stolen Dean's message? I'm not sure, when was the last time Dean said this:

Some people have asked me the important question: Can a man be president of the United States without a prostate. Well, I just answer them by saying, "Why not? We've had a lot of Republican presidents who didn't have a heart."

How can Kerry possibly defend his nay vote on the $87B supplemental? Sounds like he has a good soundbite waiting to be unleashed.

Last week, Joe Biden and I -- or just the other day -- stood up on the floor of the Senate and said we don't think it's right to ask for $87 billion for Iraq, that it ought to be paid for, without getting rid of those lavish tax cuts at the top.

How can the president tell reservists spend another year in Iraq, but we're not going to tell the wealthiest in America to contribute to this cause.

Why should we be paying $87 billion for Iraq, cutting back health care, cutting back education? It is wrong to open up firehouses in Baghdad and shut them in cities in the United States of America.

But what, in this October 2003 speech, would make me choose Kerry over Dean as the 2004 Democrat Presidential nominee?

He has respect for the establishment. It may not be perfect, but it was built by thousands of liberals and conservatives alike. It may not be perfect, but it's a perfect statement about the character of America. (Take what you will out of that sentence...) But it is clear that Kerry wants to lead the Democrats over the next four years. All of them. I'm not sure that some of the other candidates share this desire.

I have confidence that we will win next year if we deserve to win. And I ask all of you, the backbone of the Democratic Party, the DNC, I say to you and I say to activists all across this country, have faith in who we are and what we believe, stand up for our values, have the courage to make the choices that are right for our nation. Let's go out and do the work. Let's put America back to work by putting George Bush and Dick Cheney out of work. Let's go get it done.