(Posted earlier at dailykos, slightly updated and with added commentary here)
WaPo lets us in on how Kerry has been “raising the issue”:
Hat tip to Mass and Pirate Smile at DU. More discussion at these DU posts:
WP: Democrats Looking for a Road Map to Downing Street (Kerry Letter to *)
and
For those who missed it, Kerry also issued (via an aide) another brief statement to a newspaper (Boston Phoenix) last Tuesday (Hat tip to Ron at LUTD):
You may not like the deliberate pace, but it seems to me he’s playing carefully so as to not blow it. The WaPo article suggested this may be the safer approach:
Erik Smith, a former longtime adviser to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt, said that although there are “cracks in the president’s Teflon,” most voters are turned off by suggestions that he purposefully lied to make the case for war.
I think a lot of folks in the blogosphere smell blood in the water and want to go in for the kill, with an immediate, direct strike. I don’t think that’s Kerry’s way, though. And given what happened with the TANG memos, I can’t say I blame him – or the rest of our Senate leaders, who are no doubt working with him on this. Let it seep into the public’s consciousness gradually. Raise it in a way that cannot be written off as “strident” or “crazy” – like the RW spin machine tried to do when Kerry first mentioned it, by immediately trying to say he was calling for impeachment – so that he would be written off as crazy, even though he never said anything like that. If you’ve been watching the google news hits, you’ve seen we are gaining ground every day. To me, that means we’re doing something right.
drip… drip… drip…
Related Posts at Freedom’s Fire
Potential (R) Response to Kerry on DSM, and why it’s bunk
More on “Iraqi Liberation Act” of 1998
More Dems Speak Out on Downing Street Minutes
“Where’s Kerry on DSM?” He got there first. (read it before you yell at me.)
Senator Boxer joins DSM fray
Glowing Embers (Kerry to “raise” DSM in Washington)
I read you over at Kos this morning. I too am still a Kerry fan. He didn’t let the stolen election stop him. He takes his time and is very diliberate. Boxer is joining the frey. Hope more jump in with Conyers. We have seen what can be done when the dems stick together.
it’s nice to know I’m not alone here!
I did forget one of the links in my dkos story though – “Glowing Embers” was the first one, when Kerry first said he was going to raise the issue.
The man deserves thanks, not vilification.
You deserve thanks as well, for your diary. 😀
I also want to thank you for a thoughtful reaction to Kerry news. The hatred for him on DKos is vile.
pretty decent, but frankly the stupidity at dkos pushed me over the edge to really liking him a lot. A few times someone actually made an argument against him (instead of just a troll-like flame), but when I dug out the facts and found out how wrong they were, I also found out more about Kerry that I really like.
I had the same problem. I finally read a biography and was able to respond to most face to face criticism of Kerry with actual facts. I found a lot of people were more put off by Teresa, she seemed to outspoken for a first lady. I think she would have been great.
I also appreciated then and appreciate now Kerry’s deliberation. It may not have meant a strikeback soon enough on the Swift Boaters, so it may not be the best attribute for a candidate — but it’s what I want in a president.
And, with the recent Newsweek mess, and with the revival of interest in Deep Throat and Watergate, I am reminded of the one point in that extraordinary WaPo coverage when the Woodstein investigation almost was killed. It was when they went with a story too soon and misunderstood a source.
They learned then, as Ben Bradlee said in so many words (his were wonderfully scatalogical, as I recall) that the bigger the target, the slower you go — to get it right. Because you don’t usually get a second chance.
the bigger the target, the slower you go — to get it right. Because you don’t usually get a second chance.
We can’t afford to screw this up. I’m praying that our Senators will work together and carefully on it, and that Kerry and all of them will perform at their very best. I am sure they know the seriousness and the potential and are really trying to get it right.