John Kerry challenged President Bush on Thursday to weekly debates from now until Nov. 2 on campaign issues like education, health care and national security.
“America deserves a discussion like we’re having here today, which I’m prepared to have with this president every single week from now until the election,” the Democratic presidential candidate said.
Kerry issued the challenge while speaking about health care at Anoka Hennepin Technical College, fielding questions from a group of more than 200 people, some of them self-described undecided voters.
The Kerry campaign picked Anoka County for its known political independence, drawing the audience from counties surrounding Minneapolis and St. Paul. Anoka County voted for presidents Clinton and Bush, as well as independent former Gov. Jesse Ventura, and tends to be a bellwether for statewide candidates.
The Bush-Cheney campaign rebuffed the debate challenge.
“There will be a time for debates after the convention, and during the next few weeks, John Kerry should take the time to finish the debates with himself,” responded Bush-Cheney spokesman Steve Schmidt.
“This election presents a clear choice to the American people between a president who is moving America forward and a senator who has taken every side of almost every issue,” he said.
EXACTLY what I was thinking.
huh?
I just don’t understand why you think this is a good thing. Let’s see…choose someone who can only see one side of an argument, makes his decision, and sticks by it, even if it is later proven incorrect, or choose someone who doesn’t pretend to be infallible, can understand both sides of an issue and adjust his views accordingly. This whole “Kerry is indecisive” thing is just political mumbo-jumbo designed to scare our simple electorate with the false premise that being unwaivering is equivalent to being a good leader.
Dean
Huh:
Do you have a significant other? Would you be comfortable if they didn’t “pretend to be infallible, can understand both sides, and [might] adjust his views accordingly” on EVERYTHING?
What if that included their commitment to you? Or your children?
That’s the problem, I think: What does John Kerry believe in enough that he WON’T change his mind?
shark
Owch! bitch, meet slap.
Go back to your one issue Kerry.
“When I served n Vietnam, we weren’t afraid to debate ths issues every week!”
Sorry bitch, your platform was Vietnam, you wanted to live by it now die by it hahahahahaha
Rick
“…or choose someone who doesn’t pretend to be infallible, can understand both sides of an issue and adjust his views accordingly.”
Good point that underscores my support for Bush: the recognized the error of the steel tariff, and adjusted his views accordingly.
Now, when will Kerry stop pretending the UN is infallible?
Cordially…
caleb
“Indeed. The main reason to respect Bush’s reversal on the tariffs is not that he changed his mind willy-nilly, but rather he saw the empirical evidence that proved the tariffs were not having their intended effect”
Great example of differing views.
The left calls this a flip flop. The right…well…you see the statement above.
Had Kerry come out in favor of steel tarriffs and then reversed course, first thing out of the right would be “flip flopper”. There would be no “respect” for Kerry’s decision…just accusations.
…
When are the debates? The dates. End of September?
I’m just wondering if the whole kerry medal/SBV bru ha ha will still be moving as it still is now.
And, how much of the debates will be given to this topic, which will enevitablly lead to Bush’s NG questions?
Personally, I would rather hear of neither of these and just debate what is going on in the world and what these canidates will do for the country in the next four years.
But…I digress.
Russ
The point of the tariffs bit is that Bush tried it, the evidence showed it didn’t work, so he stopped it.
Kerry’s not actually done anything concrete in the last 20 years; his reversals are insubstantial. No wonder it’s so easy for him to be on every side of every issue.
If, OTOH, he’d actually authored a major piece of legislation, he’d be forced to take a position and stick with it instead of trying to be all things to all men.
kadang
“And, how much of the debates will be given to this topic, which will enevitablly lead to Bush’s NG questions?”
Or, will it inevitably lead to John F’in Kerry’s meeting with the N. Vietnamese in Paris while still wearing the uniform of the Naval reserves?
Mark
I’ve always thought flip-flopping was a bad term for Sen. Kerry, because as people have said, I think flip-flopping can mean having an open mind. What gets me about Kerry isn’t his flip-flopping on, but his *straddling* of issues. I don’t care if takes a different view after a period of time, but I do care if he tries to take two (or more) views at the *same* time. See Kerry endorsing preemption, then saying at the convention a few weeks later that he would only attack if a threat were “imminent” with no explanation as to the switch. See Kerry saying he would bring home troops from around the globe, then blast President Bush a week later when Bush announces his redeployment plan. That’s what gets me about Kerry.
George Turner
Well, it’s a good thing Kerry finally saw the wisdom in asserting America’s right to unilateral pre-emptive war. I was getting worried that all those war protesters wouldn’t find a leader who’s smart enough to ignore them after sinking their candidates.
Bloggerhead
My impression is that Bush reversed himself on the steel tariffs because they violated international trade law and the Europeans threatened retaliation. So not a flip-flop, more like a slip-slap. Of course, Bush made it seem like was his idea, as if…
Mikey
Good old ‘Weathervane’ John Kerry
Ernest Brown
Russ,
That’s BS. The steel tariffs were a clear bone thrown at the rust belt for the ’02 election. Their bad effects have been known for years.
Andrew J. Lazarus
Moving America Forward? I thought it was “We have finally turned the corner.”