The Prez 2004: Is John Kerry ‘The dude’?

Our new regular look at the fight for the Oval Office by our man in the States, Alex DeJong…

A couple months ago, my vote was in the Kerry/Edwards camp. I looked forward to watching Kerry easily pick Bush apart and saunter into the oval office.
Unfortunately this has not been the case and now my eagerness to vote has followed a similar path to that of the notorious Zeppelin. Not wanting to vote for either camp I am considering wearing a blindfold when the time comes. It is not difficult to see why Kerry has been accused of “flip-flopping” based on his blatant wavering on several issues.
In today’s Boston Globe, Kerry was quoted during a speech in Canonsburg, Pa. saying, “I would have done everything differently than the president on Iraq”. Kerry continued by declaring, “It’s the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
After reading this I became a bit confused knowing that in 2002, Kerry voted in favor of the Iraq war resolution. Perhaps this sort of speech began when Kerry changed his mind by voting against funding the war.
One would hope for some consistency. However on August 9th 2004, Kerry was asked if he would have voted in favor of invading Iraq if he had known all he does now about the lack of unconventional weapons or close connection to Al Qaeda.
Kerry responded by saying, “Yes, I would have voted for the authority, I believe it`s the right authority for a president to have.” Nevertheless, Kerry has stated several times that Bush mislead the nation and that it was committed at the wrong time and in the wrong place! Is anyone else getting a little dizzy?
Today Kerry has taken note of the “Zapatero strategy” by declaring he wants to bring U.S. soldiers home within his first term in office. “We want those troops home, and my goal would be to try to get’em home in my first term, and I believe that can be done.”
But flipping back to December 3rd 2003, Kerry accused the Bush administration of harnessing a “cut-and-run strategy” by pulling out troops prematurely. Such hasty action would become an “an invitation to failure,” according to Kerry nine months ago.
The list of “waffling” goes on with NAFTA, the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind Act, free trade, gay marriage, environmental protection, etc., all of which are issues Kerry has stood for and against with equal vehemence. I’m not saying that you can’t change your mind, but is there one thing people can honestly say Kerry stands for?
The only thing that I can really count on is Kerry’s indecision. Whether it’s his confusing/quixotic rhetoric and hollow log vibe, once convinced voters are beginning to lean more towards someone who is more consistent. And you can see it happening in the polls today. Sooner of later Kerry may be saying to himself, “I would have done everything differently if I could have ran my own campaign.”
I am curious to know how all you Europeans feel about Kerry with out all the baseless Bush slander. I’ve never been a fan of “the dude” but I would like to just stick to the facts.
To be continued…

damien

Damien DeBarra was born in the late 20th century and grew up in Dublin, Ireland. He now lives in London, England where he shares a house with four laptops, three bikes and a large collection of chairs.