Here’s John Kerry on MTP, focused, aggressive and delivering the message Democrats need to pound home:
Kerry is a real puzzle. Once in a blue moon, he delivers a performance like this one. The rest of the time, he’s meandering, self-indulgent and vague.
(via Fallows, who says, correctly, that Democrats just need to keep repeating this message.)
p.a.
B-b-b-but HE SEEMS FRENCH!!!
WarMunchkin
His DNC 2008 speech was pretty damn good too. He demolished McCain in like 4 sentences. He should let that John Kerry out more often.
Cat Lady
It must have been the sternly worded letter I wrote to him after Scott Brown got elected and before HCR was passed. I demanded that he get out there and do exactly what he did in that clip, because I was so sick of seeing that other failed presidential candidate Grumpy McCain on my teevee every Sunday, and that if he didn’t start exerting himself, well, it was going to be Scott Brown all over again.
cleek
right on, John.
that is exactly what i mean when i say i want Dems to “fight”.
luckily, there are still a couple of months before the 2010 elections!
Linda Featheringill
Very well said, John Kerry.
PeakVT
I can’t imagine Broder approving of such language. Kerry better watch out.
sal
The problem with that clip is having to listen to Gregory as well. I wasn’t strong enough, couldn’t make it through the whole thing.
jinxtigr
I’m sold. He’s clearly right, AND wasn’t letting himself get steamrollered by that host guy. More of this plz :)
gene108
Maybe the Democrats got a wake up call to stop their public in fighting and rally behind some core principles. I hope so.
It takes an entire Party to push back against another Party. You can’t just expect the President to do all the “bully pulpitting”.
mercurino
kerry is great, but gregory’s repeated attempts to bring the conversation back from a substantive debate about actual policies to a substance-free conversation about politics is painful. what a douchebag.
btw: I like the introductory ad for the clip from the huge defense contractor. good to see GE is sticking with its brethren.
DearOldDad
I have been disheartened by the Democratic responses to the republic party for so long that, while Kerry certainly cheered me up, I know that ultimately the Dems are going to fold.
Bill E Pilgrim
The Democratic Uncertainty Principle: While one may detect a Democrat being forceful and unambiguous about Democratic principles, and one may also detect a Democrat in enough of a position of power to use that to his advantage, one will never detect a Democrat doing both at the same time.
Kerry 2004: While I may have made a mistake in how I talked about the bill, I didn’t make a mistake about the bill itself. That is….
Kerry now: This.
I rest my case.
robertdsc-PowerBook
Eh. Our fuckup-in-chief has already ruined any “responses” by caving on tax cuts to begin with. It doesn’t matter what anyone says as long as stupid policies like tax cuts are allowed to continue.
JPL
@WarMunchkin: Kerry won’t be asked back. McCain has already sent an email saying him or me….
cleter
Look, the original rationale for those tax cuts was to give away the surplus. Bush went around saying “it’s not the government’s surplus–it’s the people’s surplus, and we should give it back to ’em.” That rationale has vanished. There is no more surplus to give away.
stuckinred
@gene108: Don’t hold your breath.
Suck It Up!
Oh I love it when the media asks why is no one doing THEIR job for them.
Suck It Up!
@sal:
HA! me neither. I see what everyone has been saying about him.
jayackroyd
Seems to me the most compelling and informative bit of that video is Boeing sponsoring this program.
Steeplejack
@sal:
Thank you. I had the same reaction and was feeling guilty for bailing around the 6:00 mark.
Right on, John Kerry, though. Every Dem in Congress should write these points on their palms so they don’t forget them.
Marc McKenzie
@robertdsc-PowerBook: And where’s your proof of this? You don’t add any links, no sources, just this “meh, I give up” attitude.
Great.
I think this quote by John Dean says a lot:
“There has been a pattern in recent history that goes as follows: We elect a conspicuously-able president and he does not magically cure all the nation’s ills (for instance, Bill Clinton). Then, we elect a new president (for instance, George W. Bush) who is not so able, and who not only fails to solve all the problems before him, but also creates new problems. What no one seems to notice, in this pattern, is that the able presidents spend most of their time cleaning up the mess of their predecessors who were not so able. Thus, in dumbing the office down, we are creating a legacy of increasing the unsolved problems that call for presidential attention.”
I’m very happy with what Kerry said, and it is necessary for Democrats (and all of us on the ‘Net) to keep repeating this over and over again. The problem? Well…our MSM. They’ve got the microphone, and they keep giving it to the Republicans.
WarMunchkin
@JPL: are you serious? link?
@mercurino: Well, I kind of wanted Kerry to make the point that what he was doing on Meet the Press is exactly how to make Republicans pay a political price – by getting surrogates to clearly explain the issues involved. But Gregory should have realized that and maintained perspective instead of obsessing over process.
Marc McKenzie
@Steeplejack: And we should repeat it as well.
But let’s also be happy that Kerry was able to get this point out in a media environment that is much more friendly to Republicans, and pretty much allows them to say whatever they want unchallenged.
Keith G
Kerry ID’ed Obama’s preferred position on taxes, which according to this morning’s news is being bargained away.
So, a common sense, economically sound position on taxes which will have an impact for decades is being bargained away just so that the GOP will act humanely on one vote in the Senate.
Wow. Just fucking wow.
Kerry’s message from minute 7 to the end is one that has been touched on by the West Wing, but they seem to not have the willingness, ability, or desire to focus on this and develop a plan to spoon feed this to the American public.
Napoleon
@Marc McKenzie:
Great quote from Dean.
timb
@jayackroyd: Do you guys NEVER watch Sunday programs? Here’s a hint: when they say these Sunday shows feature “conversations with our leaders,” they don’t mean the substance free discussions with the blow-dried pretty boys in news and politics, they mean the information that Boeing, ADM, and various financial services companies need to tell us about their business. I thought everyone knew that going in.
Try to believe a little less and be more cynical. it will make you much less easier to outrage
djheru
Yes, it’s easy to tell when he’s on teh meth vs. when he’s on teh H.
NovShmozKaPop
Much as I dislike Gregory, “Where do you create the discomfort?” is a fair question to me. If he’s going to give ground why can’t the President at least make these jokers pay for their shameless support of such rotten policy?
jayackroyd
@Steeplejack:
There’s a point where you have to conclude that they HAVE written what they want to say on their palms,and they are reading it just fine. They (Obama and his “centrist” allies, like Evan Bayh) are not caving, not confused, not spineless, not bad cardplayers, not weak, not compromising with themselves.
These are policies they believe in, and I, at this point, believe that this historic loss makes it possible for them to justify implementing policies that they were unable to implement because of Democratic control of the legislature.
It was quite a week for awful policy direct from the administration.
Legalize
Of course he’s right. Too bad it means nothing right now. Kerry could have easily delivered this kind of statement in September or October.
Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill
@Keith G:
And just what is that vote, hmmm? From TPM:
In other words, Obama’s actually fighting to get people money they need NOW, today, ASAP, as opposed to semi-esoteric fights over tax rates that play well, in the end, only to those of us paying attention (as the White House found out when the GOP demagogued the crap out of the actual lower rates Obama’s already put in place — now that was a message failure on their part!).
Go ask someone who’s unemployed which is more critical — lower taxes they don’t owe, and can’t pay anyway, or a check when they need it the most — right bloody now. Obama’s making the best play to get the most important thing for people, and yes, the politics for our side suffers as a result.
Robertdsc-iphone
@Marc McKenzie:
All of these tax cuts are unpaid for. That’s not “common sense” in any way. Add to that the fact that tax cuts are the least stimulative way of moving the economy, the sheer awful optics of caving to Republican terrorism, and the simple fact that there is a precedent for raising taxes In a recession: Reagan & Clinton.
Also, has it bothered to occur to anyone that the unemployed don’t need a tax cut but need work instead?
jayackroyd
@timb:
I host a weekly webcast for exactly this reason, Timb. It turns out that many people are both ignorant and insufficiently cynical.
BTW, here are links to the transcripts, which I distribute to the Sunday hosts, most weeks, and will post publicly going forward.
Keith G
John Dean’s observation that the above is a recent phenomenon is a little shaky, actually. Kennedy had a fist full of Ike’s messes to deal with. What FDR faced, I need not detail. Rutherford Hayes brought a close to Reconstruction while cleaning of the titanic mess in the nation’s civil service caused by Jackson’s spoils system. Buchanan left a government totally unfit to even begin to manage the crises Lincoln would be facing.
And on it goes. It’s a really hard job.
timb
@jayackroyd: You know I meant that tongue in cheek, right? I wrote it chuckling to myself at such a pithy bit of cynicism I was delivering.
I will admit that hating a TV show or internet clip because a huge corporation is sponsoring it seems a little like being surprised Rush Limbaugh is a racist douchebag, but still I didn’t mean it to sound condescending.
Keith G
@Robertdsc-iphone:
Good. I hope this is the start of a more tenaciously progressive (in the historic sense) phase of the Obama presidency.
Marc McKenzie
@Robertdsc-iphone: I understand your point, but let’s be clear about the difference between Reagan and Clinton–at least Clinton’s left a budget surplus (which was squandered by Bush).
And as for the matter of the unemployed…well, as much as you (and I, for that matter) want a solid, workable jobs bill, the votes simply are not there. Sorry to burst the bubble. Still, let’s see how things play out.
But, at least we had a sensible exchange…a rarity on the ‘Net nowadays, it seems….
Marc McKenzie
@Keith G:
“And on it goes. It’s a really hard job.”
Nailed it on the head, Keith.
And honestly, it brings to mind something I heard recently about what we’ve become as a nation–“A nation of armchair bloggers which gave rise to a generation of critics and no leaders.”
Hard to believe that came from Smallville, but I digress.
I know one thing–I could not handle what Obama is facing. Bush, well, he probably didn’t have a clue or thought he was Hopalong Cassidy or something. Clinton handled it as well as he could, but you saw the man after he left office–aged and, well, battered and bruised. Reagan thought he was in the greatest motion picture of his career.
Even if I could run for the office of President (that is, if I were a native-born citizen, not a naturalized one, which I am) I would not. That this President has kept his cool and tried to navigate the giant sea of shit that is DC politics–hell, modern politics–is an achievement in and of itself.
Screaming and yelling isn’t an option for him. And if there’s anyone here who thinks that they can do better, then step up and try.
jayackroyd
@timb:
I am having a hard time separating out irony from seriousness.
That the Republicans are permitted to be both against deficits and against taxes sets the bar high.
Or, FTM, that the Times Public editor would defend publishing wikileaks material by saying:
(and that’s before considering the spiking of Risen/Lichtblau’s Illegal wiretapping story.)
Linda Featheringill
@Marc McKenzie:
Nice rant, Marc.
And you are correct, of course. I would not blame Obama one bit if he decided not to run for reelection.
Keith G
@Marc McKenzie: Marc, where ya from?
Possible not you, but others are indulging in the fallacy of bifurcation when they type what’s in the above block.
It does not have to be that or the status quo. Our history, both near and far is replete with examples of use of the many tools of presidential power. And D.C. is home to more than a few men and women (mercenary as they may be) who have helped recent presidents successfully fight similar battles.
The current president has been out maneuvered on more than one occasion by the GOP and/or elements within his own party. That needs to happen less.
Neldob
If the people lead the leaders will follow, or something like that. Those of you in red states – write your representatives. (Pardon the motherly advise.)
Michael D.
Kerry’s MTP performance was great. But it doesn’t matter. It would matter if:
1. The electorate actually watched MTP and saw Kerry’s takedown and;
2. The electorate actually wanted to have an honest discussion about policy.
Neither of which is the case.
Here in Georgia, I bet 20x more people were watching church on another channel than were watching Kerry.
Marc McKenzie
@Keith G: From the great island of Jamaica, Keith…been up here for a few years, but I still consider that island “home”.
And believe me, if you think the political situation is bad up here….well, it’s actually downright peaceful compared to how things were when I left as a child (yep, I was interested in politics back then too….scary….).
And I do agree that Obama needs to outmaneuver the Repubs more, not less…but, from what I see (and it’s probably just me) he’s going to be faced with a lot of no-win scenarios, or at least instances where the choices he has are between “Not so good, but there’s no other way” and “Not good at all”. That’s a position I would never hope to find myself in.
@Michael D:
“Kerry’s MTP performance was great. But it doesn’t matter. It would matter if:
1. The electorate actually watched MTP and saw Kerry’s takedown and;
2. The electorate actually wanted to have an honest discussion about policy.
Neither of which is the case.
Here in Georgia, I bet 20x more people were watching church on another channel than were watching Kerry.”
A gold star to you, man. This pretty much cuts right to the heart of the matter.
Marc McKenzie
@Linda Featheringill: Well, John had said something to that effect in an earlier post.
I mean…Obama said that he would accept honest, constructive criticism. Anyone would. But what passes for criticism in the MSM and in many parts of the ‘Net is…it’s pretty much being told “F**K YOU!!!” all the time, every time, without a thought about the difficulties you face in getting things done (you know, asshole Republicans, a broken MSM, backstabbers in your own party…).
I’ll ask again–who thinks they can do better? Are you willing to face what this guy has faced for two years and will face for two more? Hell, four more if he runs again and wins?
John W.
Kerry at the 2008 DNC, pwning McCain:
“I have known and been friends with John McCain for almost 22 years. But every day now I learn something new about candidate McCain. To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say, let’s compare Senator McCain to candidate McCain.
Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain’s own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you’re against it.”
Pithy Kerry is great. He needs to keep Reflective Kerry to the Senate hearings he chairs.
nenabeans
@cleter:
Exactly!!!!
Ruckus
I voted for Kerry even though I didn’t think he was much of a candidate and he had run a pretty crappy campaign. Still, the (much) better of 2 evils. And then I heard his concession speech. WTH? Where had this guy been the entire campaign? When he speaks with his brain instead of a prepared speech he seems to be so much better. Oh well we are where we are and we have to move on from here, not where we’d like to be.
JPL
@WarMunchkin: Sorry… I was being sarcastic. It would not surprise me though.
PR
fine, fine, I get it – the Republican position is venal and contradictory, and they’ve jedi-mind tricked the entire country
“How do you create the discomfort for the Republicans?” Don’t think that was answered
sb
@PR: It may not have been answered but someone upthread said that maybe, just maybe, the press could play a role. When Gregory says, “how do you create discomfort”, it would behoove him to ask the Repugs. Though to be fair, he might have asked McConnell; I’d have to check the videotape though I might have to throw up afterward.
PR
@sb: well, if we don’t develop an uppercut or a sucker punch we’re going to keep getting our asses kicked by these bastards
maskling
i completely love how he ignored dancin’dave’s repeated question: “but how has the president made republicans uncomfortable?” and “but why has he caved?”. kerry just ignores his stupid ass and goes on to make his own points in his own time, kind of pretending that he is addressing davey’s ignorant whatever question. perfect. rethugs do this all the time “fuck your question, i am here to advertise my party talking points”.
has kerry been taking steroids? whatever he is putting in his coffee, pass it around the caucus and get more of this on my sunday tv. we will not get crushed again.
SciVo
Yes, that’s great. Awesome! Thanks.