Kerry to follow Cheney at Westminster College

[maddezmom]

FULTON, Mo. -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will speak Friday at Westminster College, whose president complained after Vice President Dick Cheney sharply criticized Kerry during a campus appearance Monday, campaign officials said.

Kerry accepted an invitation to speak from Westminster President Fletcher Lamkin, Kerry spokesman Bill Burton said. Lamkin said Monday he was inviting Kerry out of fairness following Cheney's visit.

Lamkin expressed disappointment after the Cheney speech, telling students and faculty in an e-mail Monday that he had been told Cheney would deliver a "major foreign policy address" and was unhappy with what he called "Kerry-bashing." However, Cheney's spokeswoman said the speech was always intended as a campaign event.

Cheney questioned whether Kerry was fit to serve as president during wartime, repeating what he had said during a campaign event in March. "The senator from Massachusetts has given us ample grounds to doubt the judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital issues of national security," the vice president said Monday.

~snip~
more: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/04/27/kerry_to_follow_cheney_at_montana_college/

This is bound to get lots of postive press for John Kerry. :)

ATTN:MODS edited title to correct state...hope that's ok?

[WI_DEM]

1. good news but isn't it Fulton, Missouri

not Montana? the boston news station I think goofed.

[Maat]

2. I wonder who paid for this trip....that was always intended as...

a campaign speech. Somehow, I bet the taxpayers picked up the tab -- oh, uh-oh, then it was ....aaah...foreign policy speech.

[DemMother]

3. I think it's in Fulton, Missouri

n/t

[AP]

4. Missouri, not Montana...

http://imgs.maps.yahoo.com/mapimage?MAPDATA=HFXggud6wXW3CjBqfz3jT.hkXnAfzn1C3Oo55eLlpaXn0pnct8998_AOFNz7Y3mglXy8Vn3naKK0F4q_9X7U7clB1MxWQ.09jJievYjlGXlX8ZfeS971lcKXUHzwXExvDoNCSIpLJW2jOmyhXd2x8G22wqYLlvoPvQ--

[maddezmom]

5. it's an AP mistake..corrected the headline

[rocktivity]

8. (Wince) I saw a TV show about a murder who wasn't captured

as soon as he should have been because someone put MT instead of MO on his rap sheet.

:headbang:
rocknation

[rocktivity]

6. Now, THIS is how a president is supposed to act, LOL!

It's called the fairness doctrine, Dickhead--ever heard of it?

By the way, why not send President Lamkin a thank-you note?

:headbang:
rocknation

[SoCalDem]

7. I hope he takes the high road and invites EVERYONE

and does not openly slam Cheney.. He needs to show that he is above the crappola.. I am sure he can do it in a nuanced way, that they kids will get the message..

If he has hecklers, he should invite them onto the stage and let them say their piece, and then dismiss them as the idiots that they are..

[cornfedyank]

14. i agree .. show the contrast between backward lookers and forward thinkers

i will not tell JK the message. If he wants to be President of the United States, he should be able to handle the "pressure".

[NashVegas]

9. The Best Part

The college president identifies himself as a 'split ticket' voter and a conservative. Former West Point administrator.

Keep it up, Dick.

[MO_Dem]

11. They had someone on a Spfld. TV station

saying he knew of lots of independent voters and some open minded repubs saying they were not voting repub this time--as a result of this incident. I didn't catch who the guy is, but sounds like Cheney's little trick and bad mouthing Kerry might be backfiring. Yahoooo!

(Spfld. is on the opposite end of the state from Fulton, and right-wing country A La Ashcroft!)

[rocktivity]

10. The speech was always intended as a campaign event? Bull.

No college in its right mind puts itself in that position. It's one thing to invite a politician to make a speech. But a campaign event makes the college an indirect endorser--very bad for business when the time comes to trolling for donations from alumni!

:headbang:
rocknation

[Terran]

12. THIS coming Friday? goddammit

I can't make it, unless it's late in the afternoon. Anyone know the time, has that been given out yet? I'm only 30 miles from there.

Dirk

[maddezmom]

13. it's not posted yet, but check the JK site: link

http://www.johnkerry.com/events/

[progressivebydesign]

15. Hope Kerry actually speaks to the students.. unlike Cheney.

Cheney's audience was reported to be full of old, white men.. the usual suspects in the GOP dash for cash. I hope Kerry is smart about that.

[harper]

16. Winston Churchill and his Iron Curtain speech

That speech was delivered at Westminster College in 1946. My dad, who was attending the nearby University of Missouri, was in the audience that night. I believe that speech was the first time the phrase "Iron Curtain" was used in a public venue.

Westminster has a history of having prominent political figures speak at the college and delivering non-partisan addresses. Cheney goofed up if he turned his opportunity to speak there into a hack attack on Kerry. Of course, nobody ever accused Cheney of being a thoughtful student of history. Chainsaw Cheney is more his style.

I agree with the other posters, Kerry should use this opportunity to deliver a major speech to differentiate himself from the pair currently in office