John Kerry - Wafflemeister

So far, John Kerry is marching to the drum of his war record in his bid for the White House in 2004. This happens during the times he is not marching to the drum of his antiwar record.

Kerry states he is the only candidate who has ever been to war, discounting the myriad veteran advisors to President Bush. He has also made it clear in recent speeches, that "Bush has mismanaged the war" and intimates that only Kerry knows how to run a war. John Kerry fails to understand Bush is not running the war. He has an entire Defense organization for that. George Bush may be making decisions regarding the geopolitical and overall policy direction of events in Iraq, but Kerry assumes everything happening in Iraq is within the control of one man on the other side of the world. It isn't, nor should it be.

Unlike President Bush, John Kerry cannot seem to decide where his real feelings are about the war in Iraq and accomplishing the mission of stabilizing the middle east in general.

There are some interesting waffles to consider in John Kerry:

An excerpt from The Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate Sep 9, 2003

Question: "You've been saying you voted to authorize President Bush to threaten the use of force in Iraq. In fact, as Senator Graham pointed out, you voted to authorize the use of force at President Bush's discretion. To some, it may seem that you're trying to get out of a vote that's now unpopular with many in the Democratic Party. Is that the way we should perceive it?"

Kerry: "Absolutely not. The vote is the vote. I voted to authorize, it was the right vote. And the reason I mentioned the threat is that we had to give life to the threat. If there wasn't a legitimate threat, Saddam Hussein was not going to allow inspectors in. If there hadn't been a vote, we would never have had inspectors. And if we hadn't voted the way we voted, we would not have been able to have a chance of going to the UN."

- Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John
Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998

"We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S.
Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate,
air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to
the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction
programs."

Air and missile strikes are both preemptive and unilateral.

  - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority
to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe
that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real
and grave threat to our security."

Apparently, John Kerry believed the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq as much as the President and the vast majority of Congress did.

Kerry states "Bush Lied" regarding the reasons to go to war. John Kerry has signed Congressional letters and made speeches as far back as 1997 relating exactly the same information President Bush laid out to the American people.

John Kerry went to Vietnam as a naval officer and served honorably. He came home and protested the Vietnam war. He voted against every major weapons system currently in use in Iraq. He voted for military action in Iraq. Some question John Kerry's motives. Given his stance on issues, his voting record and his speeches - I question John Kerry's judgment.