The actual newspaper story about Kerry & DSM

[TayTay]

Sen. Kerry puzzled over the apparent lack of interest by Americans in the Iraq war and the near silence in the U.S. mass media about the so-called Downing Street Memo.
That leaked secret document, the minutes of a 2002 cabinet meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, says bluntly that Mr. Bush had decided to attack Iraq long before going to Congress with the matter, and that "intelligence was being fixed around the policy."
It caused an uproar in Great Britain and badly hurt Mr. Blair in national elections but went almost unnoticed in the United States.
"When I go back (to Washington) on Monday, I am going to raise the issue," he said of the memo, which has not been disputed by either the British or American governments. "I think it's a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth and a profoundly important document that raises stunning issues here at home. And it's amazing to me the way it escaped major media discussion. It's not being missed on the Internet, I can tell you that."
He questioned Americans' understanding of the war and the sense that criticism equals disloyalty, saying, "Do you think that Americans if they really understood it would feel that way knowing that on Election Day, 77 percent of Americans who voted for Bush believed that weapons of mass destruction had been found and 77 percent believe Saddam did 9/11? Is there a way for this to break through, ever?"

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/06-05/06-02-05/a01...

This never promised a floor speech. It promised he would bring the issue up. (I originally thought this meant Democratic Oversight Hearings.) Why does he have to speak today just because somebody thought this is what the press mention meant. Kerry never said this.

[MeDeMax]

1. indeed

I concur, he only said he was going to bring it up after getting back to DC.

I also didn't see him say anything about raising the issue on the senate floor.

[saracat]

2. Tay Tay. Apparently his office has stated there will be a speech

just not today!http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=245&topic_id=8023&mesg_id=8030&page=

[TayTay]

3. Yeah, but everybody, including Keith Olbermann

expected a speech and I want to know who said this was happening today? Seriously, who cares if he makes the speech today or tomorrow. What difference does it make? He didn't say he would make a speech on the floor of the Senate on Monday. (Doesn't he have to check with leadership and see if there is time on the schedule anyway?)

I just hate to see these build-up/let-down things go on. If his office said he will give a speech, then I would guess that he is polishing one up. What's the hurry?

[saracat]

8. I agree. I think this MAY , and that is the operative word,

be morphing into something bigger than originally intended. By which I mean it looks like the MSM may give this more attention than was previously though! And the Kerry people are trying to adapt to the change of emphasis!

[Mairead]

4. I'm sure he'll give a speech...once it no longer matters.

Unless his DLC speechwriters can create something sufficiently equivocal and meaningless before then.

[TayTay]

5. Did you read the article that started all this

or are you stuck on meaningless snark?

[Mairead]

10. Yes, I did read it

He'll say something. But he'll do it in a way --timing, venue, wording-- that will turn it into meaningless bloviation. If you still expect leadership from him, you are doomed to compromise yourself over and over again. Because whatever might have been in John F-for-Fraud Kerry during his VVAW days, it's evaporated meanwhile. There's nothing left except money.

Kerry is an over-privileged empty suit to whom we rabble and our petty needs are as the dust beneath his thousand-dollar loafers. He thinks us too desperate and stupid to see through him, and it's regrettable that so many of us are willing to sell ourselves out to prove him right.

[NoFederales]

14. Well said

especially the barb that implicates/links the corpo Dems and Repubs against their constituents. The issues before us these days are not Dem or Repub, it is across-the-board ideology that is sinking American government--the whole American political landscape is skewed to the extreme right.

If we quit believing leadership will come from the career politicians and begin to participate in our own governing from the grass roots up, maybe things will change. I don't believe in the tooth fairy any more than I do a benign aristcracy. I can only support those voices that are calling a spade a spade, who do not compromise integrity and the Ideals associated with our Constitution. I do not hear those voices coming from Capitol Hill.

NoFederales

[Mass]

7. He would not want to break your illusions

:sarcasm:

[saracat]

9. It would be soo much better if no one said anything, wouldn't it?

Too bad John Kerry isn't as productive as some posters on this board! The bashers do soo much to help both the Democratic Party and the nation. .:crazy: :banghead: :sarcasm:

[deutsey]

6. "When I go back (to Washington) on Monday, I am going to raise the issue,"

I can see where people could infer from that statement that he was going to speak on Monday.

But, no, he does not explicitly say here, "I'm going to give a speech on Monday raising this issue."

[Clark2008]

11. OK... so how does he intend to "raise" the issue?

Is he going to file something?
Give a speech?

I haven't yet commented on what I think Kerry will or won't do (not into bashing him, really), but he did lead people to believe he was going to do SOMETHING on Monday.

I realize our news media is piss poor in covering issues of this nature, but Kerry didn't do anything yesterday, did he?

[bluecrush]

12. A check of the newswires

turned up nothing yesterday and I checked in several times with Kerry's website with the same result. Maybe something today?

[TayTay]

13. I'm not sure there is going to be a speech today either

The schedule has a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing at 10 on the new ambassador to Iraq. (Hey, maybe it will come up in hearing.) Kerry should show. Iraq has been in the news lately, he might have an interest in it.

There is a Senate Finance Comm hearing on Pensions also at 10 AM and what the hell to do about companies like United Airlines dumping their pension obligations on the taxpayers. I kind of think Kerry should show.

The Dem caucus is at lunch time, so the Senate recesses.

The afternoon has another Senate Foreign Relations Comm hearing, and this is a sub-comm hearing of which he is Ranking Dem member. (They usually have to show up.)

The day is looking pretty busy, if you ask me.

[Freddie Stubbs]

15. People read what they want to read

and one misleading post turns into a whisper-down-the-alley distortion of the original story.