John Kerry on Bush's so called "responsibility moment"

[DemsUnited]

Posted on Talking Points Memo:

John Kerry has a good line today on the president's responsibility moment: "The President has done the obvious, only after it was clear he couldn’t get away with the inexcusable."
-- Josh Marshall


Link on edit: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[tinfoilinfor2005]

1. How true. n/t

[Mass]

2. Yes, he did that only because the blame game did not work\nt

[MaineDem]

3. That's really good!!! (nt)

[sendero]

4. Does anyone know...

.. the context under which Kerry said this? The rest of his statement? Why is there no link either here or on the TPM page?????

[sandnsea]

17. Full statement

Just got it in my email....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2005
John Kerry Statement on President Bush’s Failure to Respond to Hurricane’s Devastation

Below is a statement from Senator John Kerry on President Bush accepting responsibility for the federal government’s failures in responding to Hurricane Katrina.

“This Administration still hasn’t figured out the difference between spin and leadership. The President has done the obvious, only after it was clear he couldn’t get away with the inexcusable. President Bush has accepted Michael Brown’s resignation and admitted the buck stops in the Oval Office. But there are a lot of survivors who want to know whether this will change anything. Does the White House even understand the problem? The Administration had four years after September 11th to get this right, and they were caught unforgivably unprepared to deal with a major emergency here at home. Do they now understand that our government’s efforts and resources have been going to the wrong priorities? What are they doing to make sure this never happens again other than talking tough talk?”

[emulatorloo]

19. Bush "still hasn’t figured out the difference between spin and leadership"

EOM

[sandnsea]

20. That's my favorite part! n/t

[emulatorloo]

21. "The Administration had four years after September 11th to get this right,

and they were caught unforgivably unprepared to deal with a major emergency here at home."

[C_U_L8R]

29. all hat and no cattle

there's a clueless tinhorn in the white house.
Tim to run em out of town.

[emulatorloo]

18. More here and link

“This Administration still hasn’t figured out the difference between spin and leadership. The President has done the obvious, only after it was clear he couldn’t get away with the inexcusable. President Bush has accepted Michael Brown’s resignation and admitted the buck stops in the Oval Office. But there are a lot of survivors who want to know whether this will change anything. Does the White House even understand the problem? The Administration had four years after September 11th to get this right, and they were caught unforgivably unprepared to deal with a major emergency here at home. Do they now understand that our government’s efforts and resources have been going to the wrong priorities? What are they doing to make sure this never happens again other than talking tough talk?”

DU thread and link here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2087652

[sendero]

22. This is very good..

.. I hope Kerry gets a chance to say this on TV so more than just his supporters will hear it.

This is what Dems should be saying!

[Melodybe]

5. That is really good

Bravo to Kerry

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

6. English, when spoken correctly, clarifies. Thank you Sen. Kerry.

Perfectly spoken.:thumbsup:

[AspenRose]

10. Tell me about it

I miss not having a leader who is intelligent enough to speak with clarity.

*sigh*

[quaoar]

14. Actually

You miss having a leader who is intelligent enough to speak with clarity.

We currently have a leader who is not.

[Mass]

7. Also important on the same issue in TMP.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_11.php#006522

Give the president his due. His statement -- the full transcript of which we've published below -- is couched in an attempt to minimize the role of federal mismanagement

in the Katrina disaster. And in the second paragraph of the response his speechwriters appear to be setting up a new line of attack -- that those who criticize the federal response are in fact criticizing the first responders on the scene. But many of us have been pointing out for more than four years President Bush's refusal to take responsibility for anything that has happened on his watch as president. So kudos for the first.

But responsibility means accountability, not just words but deeds. And that means no cover-up.

...

[emulatorloo]

12. yes, more tiresome spin from the whitehouse. . .note that it was Nedra

Pickler, the tireless nitpicker of Democrats, who asked Bush the set-up question. . .


ON EDIT: Add link to transcript of Bush answer:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_11.php#006520

ON EDIT: Add link to American Prospect

Nit Picklering
AP reporter Nedra Pickler is known as being a stickler for detail in her presidential-campaign coverage. Too bad she gets so many things wrong.

By Matthew Yglesias
Web Exclusive: 1.20.04

http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2004/01/yglesias-m-01-20.html

<snip>

Welcome to the exciting world of "Nit Picklering," a label devised by popular liberal blogger Atrios to honor Associated Press campaign reporter Nedra Pickler's invention of a new standard for honesty whereby a Democrat is lying every time his or her comments neglect to include literally the whole truth, whether or not the overlooked fact actually contradicts the claim in question.

Elsewhere in the same article, Pickler, a 28-year-old Washington-based reporter who covered the auto industry before moving to the campaign beat last January, took Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to task for telling the story of a New Hampshire couple whose water supply was rendered unsafe for drinking or showering due to the presence of a gasoline additive, MTBE, without noting that they now, in fact, had potable water from an alternate source. Was Kerry remiss? Certainly no more so than Pickler, who failed to mention that the senator's remarks came up as he was discussing the Bush administration's efforts to shield manufacturers of the toxic substance from lawsuits. (MTBE has a propensity for poisoning groundwater). A revised version of Pickler's story was released on the wires the next morning, now leading with the Kerry-bashing in the first paragraph, insinuating that the senator had inflicted emotional distress on the victims of his "dishonesty." Actual harms caused by the chemical didn't make the cut, however.

<snip>

[LittleClarkie]

8. He's pissed off!

You can always tell when he's pissed off. He gets pithy.

Welcome, Incredible Hulk!

You wouldn't like him when he's angry...

[ginnyinWI]

24. I agree--he's pissed

I hope this gets some good coverage.

[whometense]

9. He's on a roll.

Yesterday's comment: http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=245622

Senator John Kerry on Resignation of FEMA Director

BATON ROUGE - Below is a statement from Senator John Kerry on the resignation of FEMA Director Michael Brown.

“Long overdue. Too little, too late.”
# # #

[PretzelWarrior]

11. John KERRY! shame. you're supposed to be glad he took it

responsibility, I mean. You don't support the troops and hate America when you question if Bush merely "taking responsibility" in a speech is enough after this gigantic failure that no one could predict.

[Helga Scow Stern]

13. Bravo, Kerry! Now keep it up! We the people need you.

[politicasista]

15. kick!

:kick: :patriot:

[confludemocrat]

16. That's as good a quote as I have seen from Democrats on this-WTGo! n/t

[faithnotgreed]

23. now thats the john kerry i want to hear more from

[JaneQPublic]

25. Well said, John!

I can't imagine a more apt way to describe Bush's statement.

[lateo]

26. too funny.

[StudentOfDarrow]

27. Very true indeed. n/t

[indepat]

28. But the sickophants will glorify W for acknowledging his only mistake as

president.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

30. "Doesn't work for me, I gotta have more cowbell!"

[krkaufman]

31. Duh! This describes this idiot's entire (P)residency..!

Immediately post-9/11, he invaded Afghanistan (obvious), even though he wanted to immediately go after Iraq (inexcusable).

How many other examples...