John "Smooth Operator" Kerry On Meet The Press

Sen. John Kerry appeared on Meet the Press with Tim Russert. The transcript does not do his performance justice - we are left wondering, as with Howard Dean, whether America will be inclined to elect a fellow this angry.

However he also provides some helpful pointers on how to conduct diplomacy. The subject was Iraq, and Tim Russert was honing in the nuances of Kerry's objectives - do we want a stable Iraq, a democratic Iraq, or what :

MR. RUSSERT: Could you accept a Shiite theocracy running Iraq similar to what we have in Iran?

SEN. KERRY: I think that what is important is to have a pluralistic representation. It doesn't have to be, at least in the early days, the kind of democracy this administration has talked about, though that's our goal and we should remain there. But what is critical is a stable Iraq.

If this sort of pre-emptive concession is the Senator's idea of good diplomacy, I may wax nostalgic for Bush's style.

Skimming the rest,we see that Brandini has left Iraq, having been replaced by Brahimi; Bush is making an utter hash of the Palestine peace process, but Kerry supports everything he has done; Ms. Heinz will release her tax return when we scream loud enough (the NY Times has yet to whimper); he will curtail benefits to wealthy Social Security recipients if that is necessary; and he will pay for some of his tax cuts by the simple expedient of raising taxes.

OK, that last may not be obvious, so here is our man John:

SEN. KERRY: ...They don't take into account the innovative ways I'm going to pay for things [in calculating the cost of my proposals]. Let me give you an example. When I say I'm going to give 99 percent of American businesses a tax cut, they just sort of figure, "OK, that costs this much, we're going to deduct it." I'm not doing it that way. I'm taking that--I'm giving that tax cut by taking away the current subsidy that American workers give to businesses that move overseas.

UPDATE: Can't Keep A Good Man Down - Brandini is back, delighting the crowd with a surprise re-appearance at a rally in Miami with Kerry! Previous sightings were noted here, here, and by the Dean.

LAST UPDATE: The WaPo pounds Kerry ("Mr. Kerry Revises") for similar, earlier "stability over democracy" comments.

Comments

[WillieStyle]

Pre-emptive concesion?!

Look, as we speak, Sistani is demanding that U.S. troops not enter Najaf, and Chalabi is agreeing with him. British Officers admit that if revolt were to erupt in Basra, they would be powerless to stop it. The Bush administration has conceded total control of the June 30th handover to Mr. Brahimi of the U.N., and frikin' Iran is negotiating for us.

There is absolutely nothing pre-emptive about conceding that, right now, the likes of Sistani present a best case scenario for us in Iraq.

And for the upteenth time, the proper response for a partisan of the war party at a time like this is, "Oh dear god, forgive me for what I've done. I am so very, very sorry for our incompetence".
Not, "Snark, Snark, snarkity snark snark."

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

For solidifying a reputation for flip-flopping, it would be hard to improve on Kerry's answers to consecutive questions near the end of the program

---------quote-----------
MR. RUSSERT: .... The trustees of Social Security told us this, that if the programs remain in their current form, we're going to have to either cut benefits by a third or double the payroll tax from 7.5 percent to 15 percent for the average wage earner. Back in 1995, you said we have to be bold. And it might be unpopular, but we should consider raising the retirement age and means testing. Do you stand by those statements?

SEN. KERRY: No, I rejected that. We looked at that and we found that we don't have to do it....

....I'm not going to cut Social Security benefits. I'm not going to extend the retirement age. And we're not going to have to raise the premiums. We can fix Social Security beginning with a stronger economy.

MR. RUSSERT: Double the number of people on it with current spending?

SEN. KERRY: Tim, we're going to have a bigger economy. We have more Americans who are
working. We have the ability to grow out of it. Now, if we don't do that--let me give you an idea. You and I earn a lot of money. We're very lucky. If you live to be 85, Tim, do you think it's right that somebody who earns $30,000 a year after you've gotten all your money out of Social Security, after you've gotten everything and more than you paid is paying you money?
----------endquote-----------