Answering Hugh's Call: Debunk the bunker buster non-sense
Remember when John Podhoretz said fisking John Kerry over his debate debacles was going to be the responsibility of the blogosphere? Well, Hugh has put out the call and created his own Symposium about the subject.
I am not a nuclear scientist, never been in the military, never had to practice drills in school to prepare for Soviet nuclear attacks, but I can tell you John Kerry made the biggest mistake of his entire campaign (well, at least on that rivals making Vietnam the central argument) during the debate on Thursday and that was his "pledge" to stop development programs in regards to "nuclear bunker buster bombs".
My first thought: Is he serious?
My second thought: Of course he's serious - this is the REAL John Kerry. The one from 1971, the one from the 1980's who was completely off base when battling Reagan, and the one from 1991 who voted against the first Gulf War "because it was a vote to go to war." He had finally slipped back into, well, himself. The persona he had been wearing for 9 months must have become too uncomfortable. But bringing up the topic was so unnecessary and clearly no better than a "draw" issue for Kerry it was bizarre to have even been addressed. The only explanation for it was to draw votes from Nader - in fact, that IS the only explanation. But if that was their purpose in doing so, John Kerry and his strategists (or maybe they are his saboteurs) made a great miscalculation in bringing up the subject and taking a stand.
Do you remember one of the earliest ads the W. Camp released - WEAPONS? What will it be now? "We told you he wanted to neuter our capabilities"? Well, yes, that's what it SHOULD be. The thought that John Kerry wants to stop R&D on defense programs is so opposite of what this country should be focusing on that it is almost delusional. Most voters will see right through it, as long as the RNC and BC'04 camps point it out (and let's not underestimate how important it is that they do with ads, which by the way the BC'04 people did today in regards to the "Global Test".)
But what more about his statement was a mistake? Some have weighed in that there is a "moral relativism" he is projecting on our nation compared to other nations. I for one, think it goes even deeper. John Kerry wants to stop R&D on such weapons systems not because he thinks we're on equal moral grounds as other nations, but because he believes we are our own worst enemy, period. When asked what he thought the biggest threat the United States was he said "nuclear proliferation" and had earlier denounced our own development of such weapons. To me he was not saying, "nuclear proliferation is our greatest threat" - no, he was saying "our OWN development of nuclear weapons is the greatest threat to the United States. We are our OWN worst enemy." John Kerry is foolish and now that he has opened his big PINK mouth he's going to pay for it (with commercial airtime).
By the way - Newsweek says 47-45 Kerry now. What do you think?
UPDATE: One more reaon it was a fatal mistake - it just gives bloggers one more item to make fun of Kerry with.
I am not a nuclear scientist, never been in the military, never had to practice drills in school to prepare for Soviet nuclear attacks, but I can tell you John Kerry made the biggest mistake of his entire campaign (well, at least on that rivals making Vietnam the central argument) during the debate on Thursday and that was his "pledge" to stop development programs in regards to "nuclear bunker buster bombs".
My first thought: Is he serious?
My second thought: Of course he's serious - this is the REAL John Kerry. The one from 1971, the one from the 1980's who was completely off base when battling Reagan, and the one from 1991 who voted against the first Gulf War "because it was a vote to go to war." He had finally slipped back into, well, himself. The persona he had been wearing for 9 months must have become too uncomfortable. But bringing up the topic was so unnecessary and clearly no better than a "draw" issue for Kerry it was bizarre to have even been addressed. The only explanation for it was to draw votes from Nader - in fact, that IS the only explanation. But if that was their purpose in doing so, John Kerry and his strategists (or maybe they are his saboteurs) made a great miscalculation in bringing up the subject and taking a stand.
Do you remember one of the earliest ads the W. Camp released - WEAPONS? What will it be now? "We told you he wanted to neuter our capabilities"? Well, yes, that's what it SHOULD be. The thought that John Kerry wants to stop R&D on defense programs is so opposite of what this country should be focusing on that it is almost delusional. Most voters will see right through it, as long as the RNC and BC'04 camps point it out (and let's not underestimate how important it is that they do with ads, which by the way the BC'04 people did today in regards to the "Global Test".)
But what more about his statement was a mistake? Some have weighed in that there is a "moral relativism" he is projecting on our nation compared to other nations. I for one, think it goes even deeper. John Kerry wants to stop R&D on such weapons systems not because he thinks we're on equal moral grounds as other nations, but because he believes we are our own worst enemy, period. When asked what he thought the biggest threat the United States was he said "nuclear proliferation" and had earlier denounced our own development of such weapons. To me he was not saying, "nuclear proliferation is our greatest threat" - no, he was saying "our OWN development of nuclear weapons is the greatest threat to the United States. We are our OWN worst enemy." John Kerry is foolish and now that he has opened his big PINK mouth he's going to pay for it (with commercial airtime).
By the way - Newsweek says 47-45 Kerry now. What do you think?
UPDATE: One more reaon it was a fatal mistake - it just gives bloggers one more item to make fun of Kerry with.
posted by Editor at 3:47 PM
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