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The Forsyth County News
Opinion
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Looking back on a bad
performance by Kerry
WASHINGTON To be
an effective president or an
effective presidential candidate,
you have to be able to perform
well in public.
As Lewis L. Gould, author
of "The Modern American
Presidency," writes, "Over the
past 50 years, the institution of
the presidency has evolved into
a mixture of celebrity and con
tinuous campaigning."
So it is fair to evaluate the
performance abilities of our
presidents and presidential can
didates (yes, even down to what
kind of ties they wear on TV').
In the last week, the public
has been treated to two major
performances: George W. Bush
held a formal press conference
in the East Room of the White
House last Tuesday, and John
Kerry was interviewed on
"Meet the Press" for the full
hour on Sunday.
Both events were fraught
with peril for the performers.
Both events required prepara
tion. which is to say rehearsal.
The campaigns can guess at
what their performers will be
asked, but they cannot know
with certainty.
Since the Bush press con
ference has been much written
about, however, let me leave
that for a future column in
order to evaluate Kerry's inter
view by Tim Russert on "Meet
the Press" Sunday.
While I thought Kerry per
formed well when he was
attacking Bush. I thought he
did less well when he was
defending his own past words
and positions.
The worst moment came
when Russert played a video
tape of Kerry 's first appearance
on "Meet the Press" on April
18. 1971, in which a 27-year
old. bushy-haired Kerry admits
that he committed (sort of)
atrocities in Vietnam:
"There are all kinds of
atrocities," Kerry says on the
tape, "and I would have to say
that, yes, yes. I committed the
same kind of atrocities as thou
sands of other soldiers have
committed in that I took part in
shootings in free-fire zones. I
conducted harassment and
interdiction fire. I used 50-cal
iber machine guns which we
were granted and ordered to
use. which were our only
weapon against people. I took
part in search-and-destroy mis
sions. in the burning of vil
lages. All of this is contrary to
the laws of warfare."
The clip ends, and Russert
On your payroll
CITY COUNCIL NATIONAL LEGISLATORS Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th District > I Jhfc J
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ijTf Roger
Simon
says to Kerry: "You committed
atrocities."
To which Kerry replies
lightheartedly: "Where did all
that dark hair go, Tim? That's a
big question for me.”
I think that when humor is
used well, it can be a powerful
tool. Humor is a good way to
divert a tough question to safer
ground. But after you have just
admitted to blowing people
apart with 50-caliber machine
gun rounds, humor is not going
to get you anything except
winces and groans. Kerry went
on to a serious reply, but the
damage was done.
It was a bad moment.
(Inexplicably, since Kerry had a
transcript of his 1971 perform
ance and should have been pre
pared for questions about it.)
And it had been preceded by a
missed moment: Russert asked
Kerry about his now-famous
assertion in March that "I have
met more (foreign) leaders who
can't go out and say it publicly
but. boy. they look at you and
say. You gotta win this, you
gotta beat this guy. we need a
new policy.'"
Russert asked Kerry to
name the leaders and quoted a
Washington Times story stating
that Kerry "has made no offi
cial trips abroad in the past two
years. Within the United States,
he has had the chance to meet
with only one foreign leader
since the beginning of last year,
according to a review of his
travel schedule."
Kerry’ replied to Russert that
"you can go to New York City
and you can be in a restaurant
and you can meet a foreign
leader." This is no doubt true,
but it was a missed opportunity.
What Kerry should have
said is: "I'll tell you one foreign
leader I did not meet with. Tim.
I did not meet with Saudi
Prince Bandar and collude to
fix oil prices like President
Bush did!"
Am I using 20-20 hindsight
on all these points? You bet.
It always has been easier to
be a critic than to be a per
former.
Which is why we have so
many critics.
Roger Simon is a national
ly syndicated columnist.
J* rartw
Hope x FA
“...You know, I’m really going to miss those eggs!"
Bush backing left-wing-supported Specter
WASHINGTON
George W. Bush's journey to
Pittsburgh Monday to stand
with Sen. Arlen Specter in the
political battle of his life puts
the president in unusual com
pany. Specter’s supporters, as
he faces conservative Rep. Pat
Toomey's challenge in the
April 27 Pennsylvania
Republican primary, have
included George Soros.
Harold Ickes Jr.. Ron Carey.
Arthur Coia. Richard Ben-
Veniste, Alan Dershowitz.
Barbara Kennelly and the
International Association of
Fire Fighters.
That's a left-wing all-star
team, validating Specter's long
career as a political broken
field runner. He will become
chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee next year
as a Republican in good stand
ing who is also a favorite sen
ator in liberal-labor circles.
When organized labor has
needed a vote. Specter has
been there, explaining why
many of Bush's enemies are
Specter's friends.
Why then has President
Bush not only endorsed
Specter but gone to Pennsyl
vania to campaign for him?
While Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1936 blundered when he
tried to purge anti-New Deal
members of Congress, Bush
backs any lawmaker with an
"R" beside his name.
Simultaneously. Democratic
activists and financial contrib
utors support Specter despite
his party designation.
——
Robert
Novak yr
Heading the list is billion
aire investor George Soros,
who so far has spent $15.5
million to defeat George W.
Bush. Soros has plenty left for
Specter, contributing $50,000
to the Republican Mainstream
Partnership as part of its ear
marked $200,000 against
Toomey. In the 1998 election
cycle. Soros and his wife gave
Specter the $4,000 legal maxi
mum.
With a Republican primary
approaching. Specter does not
want public association with
Bush-bashers. When Rush
Limbaugh reported the Soros
contribution on his radio pro
gram. Specter telephoned the
conservative talker last
Wednesday to stress that he is
"very, very strongly support
ing" Bush. The senator said he
has "nothing to do" with the
Republican Mainstream
Partnership or Soros's dona
tion. though he is listed on the
organization's Web site as a
member.
There are many other
sources of Specter support
who despise Bush:
The fire fighters union
contributed $2,500 to Specter
last September, the same
month in which it became the
first labor union to endorse
Kerry for president. Specter
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS-Thur»d«y, April 22,2004 -
has received contributions
from two big left-leaning
unions, the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)
and the American Federation
of State, County and
Municipal Employees
(AFSCME). The Pennsylvania
AFL-CIO and the
Pennsylvania State Education
Association also have
endorsed him.
ln the last election
cycle. Specter was given
SIO,OOO by the Teamsters
under the leadership of Ron
Carey (whose election to the
presidency was voided by
court order). He received
SB,OOO from the Laborers
Union under President Arthur
Coia, who then was under
investigation for ties with
organized crime and later was
barred from active union lead
ership.
The National Comm
ittee to Preserve Social
Security and Medicare, head
ed by Democratic former Rep.
Barbara Kennelly of
Connecticut, gave Specter
SI,OOO last fall. The organiza
tion fights Bush's plan for pri
vate investment accounts.
Harvard Law Prof. Alan
Dershowitz, a fierce critic of
the way Bush was elected, has
contributed to Specter in the
current and previous election
cycles.
Harold Ickes Jr., the for
mer Clinton White House aide
who runs the Media Fund put
ting anti-Bush advertising on
television, gave Specter
PAGE 11A
SI,OOO last year.
Richard Ben-Veniste,
the high-powered Washington
lawyer serving on the inde
pendent 9/11 Commission, is
a Specter backer. He con
tributed to Specter in 1997
when Ben-Veniste was repre
senting Terry McAuliffe, now
the Democratic national chair
man, in connection with the
Teamsters scandal. Ben-
Veniste is generous to
Democrats, but Specter is the
only Republican on record as
being helped by him.
"Arlen is with us on votes
that matter," conservative Sen.
Rick Santorum, the other
Pennsylvania senator, says in a
television ad for Specter.
Specter did vigorously support
Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas's confirma
tion. But he was not "with us"
in opposing Robert Bork for
the Supreme Court, in failing
to support the full Bush tax
cut and in voting against
President Bill Clinton's
removal from office.
Sen. Charles Schumer of
New York, a leader in estab
lishing a liberal litmus test on
judicial opponents, last year
wrote Bush listing Specter
among desirable Supreme
Court nominees. If the presi
dent can accept George
Soros's choice for the Senate,
could he go along with Chuck
Schumer's suggestion for the
Supreme Court?
Robert Novak is a nation
ally syndicated columnist and
a television commentator.