John Kerry's qualifications
Via Matthew Yglesias, Tom Oliphant, a columnist for the Boston Globe (a newspaper that has long had issues with John Kerry), has penned an article for The American Prospect which explains why Democrats should be enthusiastic about our presidential candidate.
It's a valuable memoir by a writer who has known Kerry throughout his political life because we are going to have to support Kerry for reasons other than "Anybody But Bush" if we are going to be successful in evicting the boy king from the White House.
Oliphant suggests that we're pretty fortunate to have such a strong candidate. No, he hasn't got charisma, but he has worked extremely hard to get where he is today, having taken the long, arduous road since losing his first race for Congress.
And he has thought long and hard about the three most important non-terrorism issues facing us: the cost of healthcare, energy independence and the environment, and repairing the hole in the budget created during the insane period in our nation's history, known in years to come as (optimistically) "The Last Four Years of the Eight-Year Bush Dynasty." And he's not only thought about them, he's actually developed unique ideas to deal with the issues.
A thoughtful, hard-working president. What a concept.
Yes, Oliphant writes, Kerry is a sober thinker, but these are sobering times and we desperately need someone with the ability to consider new ideas and work them through the "sausage making" of the U.S. government.
One can criticize the piece for not touching much on the threats of Islamo-terrorism other than to suggest he'll negotiate more with regional leaders to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority, stop tacitly supporting Sharon's destructive practices, and ending dependence on Saudi oil. But for those who criticize Kerry's lack of a detailed plan on fighting al Qaeda, I'm still waiting for Bush's plans. Invading Iraq doesn't seem to have worked too well. So I'd call that one even -- at worst; perhaps give the edge to Kerry since a change in leadership will at least allow us to rebuild alliances. But Kerry does have to do a better job of communicating how he'll improve U.S. security to attract those who are still undecided and who may favor Kerry on domestic issues, but for whom fear of terrorism still has them leaning towards Bush's robust black & white views.
It's worth a read, and Kerry's worth our, yes, enthusiastic support.
It's a valuable memoir by a writer who has known Kerry throughout his political life because we are going to have to support Kerry for reasons other than "Anybody But Bush" if we are going to be successful in evicting the boy king from the White House.
Oliphant suggests that we're pretty fortunate to have such a strong candidate. No, he hasn't got charisma, but he has worked extremely hard to get where he is today, having taken the long, arduous road since losing his first race for Congress.
And he has thought long and hard about the three most important non-terrorism issues facing us: the cost of healthcare, energy independence and the environment, and repairing the hole in the budget created during the insane period in our nation's history, known in years to come as (optimistically) "The Last Four Years of the Eight-Year Bush Dynasty." And he's not only thought about them, he's actually developed unique ideas to deal with the issues.
A thoughtful, hard-working president. What a concept.
Yes, Oliphant writes, Kerry is a sober thinker, but these are sobering times and we desperately need someone with the ability to consider new ideas and work them through the "sausage making" of the U.S. government.
One can criticize the piece for not touching much on the threats of Islamo-terrorism other than to suggest he'll negotiate more with regional leaders to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority, stop tacitly supporting Sharon's destructive practices, and ending dependence on Saudi oil. But for those who criticize Kerry's lack of a detailed plan on fighting al Qaeda, I'm still waiting for Bush's plans. Invading Iraq doesn't seem to have worked too well. So I'd call that one even -- at worst; perhaps give the edge to Kerry since a change in leadership will at least allow us to rebuild alliances. But Kerry does have to do a better job of communicating how he'll improve U.S. security to attract those who are still undecided and who may favor Kerry on domestic issues, but for whom fear of terrorism still has them leaning towards Bush's robust black & white views.
It's worth a read, and Kerry's worth our, yes, enthusiastic support.
posted by John at 3:46 PM
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