MSNBC Imus Kerry LIVE discussion thread

[ringmastery]

He's going to be on right now after the break.

[ringmastery]

1. They are talking about afghanistan

[Guaranteed]

2. All this with the backdrop of the alleged affair.

No one's listening to what he's actually saying.

[ringmastery]

3. Vietnam now

[girl gone mad]

4. I am.

He sounds confident.

[matcom]

5. whats he saying for us cube rats?

is imus bringing up the drudge shit?

[girl gone mad]

6. "Nothing to report..

nothing to talk about."

[w13rd0]

7. He just denied it...

...it was the least nuanced answer he's ever given. Now Imus is asking him about Dean.

[seventhson]

14. Nothing to report, nothing to talk about is NOT a denial

I need to see a transcript

It was a nondenial denial

Not very encouraging

depends on what "nothing to talk about" means

Kerry sounds really "controlled" and is laughing too nervously.

If it were me I'd be REALLY Pissed if it were a lie.

Imus says; "Now if something comes up he's a dead man"

[polpilot]

71. Kerry could have spelled out how he knew her, when he knew her, the

relationship, and left it at Imus' place. He chose to defer. Not good.

[yellowcanine]

80. Wrong. You don't dignify a rumor by "naming names."

For him to do what you are suggesting he would have had to give out information that would have identified who the woman was. If she chooses to identify herself and talk to the press, so be it. Kerry said exactly the right thing at this stage - that there is nothing to it. Nothing means nothing. Going into detail just rewards the rumor mongers by giving more publicity for their "story" and also subjects private people to media scrutiny.

[ShaneGR]

8. Interesting that he isn't addressing the issue

I would have expected him to go right after it. What happened to bring it on?

[CWebster]

10. Sounds like they took him up on his cocky offer

and done brung it on...

As we well know, political fortunes can hit the rails in a heartbeat.

[Jersey Devil]

11. Imus simply said, "let's get this out of the way"

That's it.

[Jersey Devil]

9. "There's nothing to it" - said Kerry

Imus mentioned Drudge but not the content of Drudge because, obviously, right now it is just a rumor that is unsubtantiated.

[Guaranteed]

12. Kerry just said "ass."

Huh huh huh...."ass."

[Jersey Devil]

13. Summary of the Drudge question

Imus mentioned that he had endorsed Kerry and asked, "I'm not going to have to take this back later over stuff like that Drudge thing, am I?" or something close to that and Kerry said, "No, there's nothing to it, nothing to talk about or nothing there, no, no" and they moved on.

[seventhson]

16. Move on. Nothing to see here

The fact that Kerry was laughing nervously and was NOT Pissed about this in the least tells me he is guilty as sin

[La_Serpiente]

19. hmm?

Since when did you become a psychologist or John Kerry? Please, tell us, are you a part of the Kenny Kinston network?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. Kerry Has The Right Stuff...

He exhibited it while taking fire and saving his fellow soldiers lives in the Mekong Delta while other candidates were skiiing or hiding in the National Guard...

[Jersey Devil]

37. I thought his appearance on Imus was excellent

He was straightforward on everything asked, very assertive and decisive in his answers. What you'd expect of a leader.

[MoonRiver]

56. Wish I'd seen it. Apparently I just missed it.

;(

[Jersey Devil]

33. Give me a break

LOL, sure

[DemNoir]

47. What the heck are you taking?

He was certainly not laughing nervously!. Why are you lying. He said no in the strongest possible way.

[MoonRiver]

55. Unbelievable! Is DU writing Rove's talking points now?

:thumbsdown:

Edited for "Smiles".

[GRClarkesq]

15. Well that was a definative answer

but I hope he did not just make a big mistake.

[seventhson]

18. "Nothing to it" is NOT a definitve answer

Telling Theresa "It was Nothing" would "literally" be saying exactly the same thing.

I think he is lying though his teeth.

[shawmut]

21. or....

maybe you're hoping he is?

[Jersey Devil]

44. Why should he dignify trash?

Laughing about it was appropriate. It was just a stupid rumor with no substance. Denying it with anger and discussing it fully simply would give substance to something that shouldn't have any.

[Name removed]

73. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[oasis]

81. Night nurse, live to fight another day. This story will fizzle after the

Wisconsin steamroll victory. Until then, keep your powder dry on this matter so's you don't get zapped. At least tone it down.

[Snivi Yllom]

76. "Nothing to it"

(John ducking ketchup bottles from Teresa)

Just a guess. That's what my gut tells me.

[fujiyama]

17. It was...

a very boring interview actually. I kept waiting for him to ask about the stupid rumor...and Kerry answered in a very un-nuanced manner (yes, he actually did that)...that there's nothing to it. God I hope that isn't his "I did not have sex with that woman" statement. I know if I were going on a show (especially with a host that was friendly with me) and there was some sort of rumor about my (in)fidelity, I'd say straight up, "let's get that stupid Drudge rumor out of the way...and categorically deny it...and maybe even call it BS"...Then again Kerry isn't a stupid man and definetely not a stupid/bad politician. I'm sure he has studied the Clinton mess well enough to know, that if he wanted to run for prez (and he's had the intention of doing so for many years now), that he should keep his snake in his cage.

Either way, this is why I'd probably be MUCH more confident if Edwards (or Clark) were the front runner at this point. I also think their background (and moreso Edwards') can (and in Clark's case, could have) relate(d) with many ordinary Americans in a way Kerry's probably can't.

Oh well, Kerry did use the word ass!

[seventhson]

20. a nervous answer IMHO

Freudian even

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. He Defeated Dean....

It's time to move on...

Get it....


move on....


lol@ me

[seventhson]

32. Not yet he hasn't - ad that does NOT answer the question of whether

Kerry's answer is truly a denial.

Nice distraction

[DemocratSinceBirth]

39. He Denied It...

Find me a semen* stained blue dress and I'll revisit my position.....






*and Kerry has to be the donor...

[Blue_Roses]

69. Your' reading WAY

too much into to this statement and his "so-called" giddy laughter. Your disdain dislike of Kerry makes you sort of "biased" to believing anything WRONG in the first place. Nothing to see here.

[NightNurse]

77. HUMBLE?

J.A.R.K.

[ShaneGR]

23. Hmmmmmmmmm......

I'm baffled. On one hand he's denying it. But it wasn't the kind of "Those lying scumbags will resort to anything" denial I expected.

The media will run with it now.

[seventhson]

29. I'm telling you L THIS WAS NOT A DENIAL

I am a trial attorney.

He said there was nothing to it.

It is like Clinton's definition if what "is" means.

What does "nothing to it" mean?

A Non-story?

Nothing there?

BUT it is NOT the same as saying: this story is completely false

He waffled

[Dookus]

31. well

you already bet your credibility on the question of whether Kerry would appear on the show in another thread. So does this mean I can question your credibility freely?

Kerry sounded pretty confident to me.

[Uzybone]

40. Your sigline

describes the above p.....well I dont wanna get warned.

[Dookus]

50. here's the thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=325255

this is the thread in which he clearly bets his credibility. I was hoping for twenty bucks, but he evidently chose the less valuable bet.

[HFishbine]

65. Here's a thread

worth taking a look at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=84975#85189

Find this quote: "Just because it's on Drudge doesn't mean it's untrue."

[DemocratSinceBirth]

45. Amen

NT

[DerekGD]

35. It is like Clinton's definition if what "is" means.

Is can be defined in an ontic sense or in an ontological sense. There is a big difference.

[OKNancy]

43. What it means is he is not going to dignify

the trash comments of a nut-case like Drudge.
----
I thought his response was good. Short and to the point.

Just because someone is a trial lawyer doesn't make their opinion any more valid than the next poster. I base my thoughts about each posters opinions on their past posts.

[bearfartinthewoods]

52. response was good. Short and to the point.

sort of like "i fullfilled my duty".........

kerry's response is not sufficent to lay this to rest.

thank you so much chris lehane...</sarcasm>

[Jersey Devil]

46. As a trial attorney, would you advise your client to give

respect and a long winded answer to an allegation that had no proof or substance behind it in evidence? No, you'd tell him to laugh it off, as Kerry did, while at the same time just saying "no" as Kerry did.

The cardinal rule of having your client testify is never to volunteer answers to questions that are not asked in order to "gild the lily."

Kerry was asked if the Drudge story was true and he said "no". Why in the world would any seasoned attorney want him to do more.

J. Debbil, Esq.

[OKNancy]

48. I bet you are a Good attorney!

[Jersey Devil]

49. The bill is in the mail

LOL, I'd probably be a better one if I could cure my addition to places like this.:)

[OKNancy]

54. I posted on another thread...

Cui bono
-----
I wonder? Most logically it's another Democrat. I say so because of the timing.

[MoonRiver]

58. Ha, ha I know that feeling!

I'm trying to control my addiction, but I keep saying to myself 'just five more minutes'!

[Redbear]

78. Thats what I always told my clients as well.

Actually, I think "there is nothing to it" is a much stronger statement than no. It implies not only are the exact reports wrong, they aren't even close to right.

I intend to vote for John Edwards, but Im not letting Drudge determine my opinion of Kerry.

[yellowcanine]

82. Exactly. There is nothing to it is the correct response to rumor.

I would want you for my defense attorney rather than someone who seems to think that "nothing to it" and "no" means guilty as rumored.

[MoonRiver]

57. Well, I'm a psychologist (for real) and I can smell a set-up every time.

See psychs are naturally endowed with ultra sensitive olfactory organs, hot wired to our super sonic bull shit detectors.

But ya don't need to be a psych to see that what's going on is a classic political smear job. Only this time it seems to be operating through an unholy alliance between Pukes and "others" with vested interests in getting a non-Kerry candidate nominated and/or elected.

[seaglass]

That's not his style. I think his response was perfect and

in character.

[seventhson]

36. Evasive

IMHO

[seaglass]

42. Of course that's the way you see it, I wouldn't expect you

to see it any other way. Your opinion of Kerry is very clear.

[Uzybone]

38. Which lying scumbags???

the white house??? He better have some proof. The RNC?? He better have some proof. Drudge??? Why should he even discuss a rumor mongrel. Drudge already has enough new found fans on this board.

Kerry haters can never be placated.

[Riptide]

24. After the interview was done, they were comparing him to Clinton....

whom they called a "liar" and a "pervert". Imus said that if anything was proven now, Kerry would be a "dead man". He seemed to believe Kerry.

I don't understand why it is considered blashemy to suggest that Bush did not complete his military service, but calling Clinton a pervert is A-ok! Nobody died as a result of Clinton's BJ, but Bush's lies have resulted in over 500 dead soldiers thus far. It infuriates me!

[GRClarkesq]

26. I wonder if his answer depended on US press coverage

Right now this is not getting much mainstream press coverage (tv/print) in the US. That of course may change in the next few days.

[LostInTheMaise]

27. Well that settles it

Saint Kerry is clean and he got his stump speech aired.

I guess the days of hard-hitting Imus are over.

[MoonRiver]

59. Sad isn't it. Oh, for the good old days!

:cry:

[robsul82]

28. Think about all the 80s sitcoms you've ever seen.

"It was nothing!", c'mon, even Kerry supporters have to know what that means. There's something to it. Nervous laughing, no "BRING IT ON!", no "THAT'S A DAMN LIE!", which ANY normal man when accused of adultery even when NOT running for President would say, that HIGHLY suggests there's something to these charges.

And you all know it.

Later.

RJS

[w13rd0]

34. Hey, didn't you get the memo?

He's "electable" (because it's his turn), and he most certainly isn't the benefactor of a very dirty Stop-Dean coalition. No siree, clean as a whistle. So just unite behind him, it's over, 1/4 of the votes have been counted. It's time to stop all this nonsense and praise the name of John Forbes Kerry.

[DoctorBombay]

74. We'll, I'm satisfied!

I totally forgot to put Kerry's answer to the highly regarded "Family Ties - Cosby Show Test" This changes everything! He must be guilty now!

:eyes:

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[La_Serpiente]

41. Bwhahahahah

lol :P

[Killarney]

51. Just dismissing it isn't good enough

He has to take a strong stand. SUE DRUDGE.

Assuming it's false.

[Jersey Devil]

53. Why bring more attention to something like this?

Do you think that people other than those glued to the internet and political sites even know about the Drudge story? Do something like that would just bring mountains of attention to it.

[YouMustBeKiddingMe]

60. Nope. Don't give Drudge the time of day.

Kerry's focus should be on the campaign and winning primaries, not on Drudge. These smear tactics are going to come hot and heavy, and Kerry is ready for it.

[DiverDave]

61. JESUS!!

Way to go people.
You are doing KKKarls bidding.
The guy said NO...now move on!
This is just the crap that they intended to happen.
Keep your mind in the game DAMNIT!

[MoonRiver]

62. I'm really concerned that defeating * is not the game some are playing

here.

[progressiverealist]

63. Drudge and the Deanbots working together...

who would have expected this? Seriously, not me.

[Dhalgren]

67. Any Democrat who wants Kerry to be guilty

is driving nails into the party's coffin. Why would any of us gleefully salivate at the prospect that Kerry might be guilty of some sort of "sex" scandal? We should hope that the story isn't true - or if it is true, that the voters will realze that this kind of personal crap MAKES NO DIFFERENCE in regards to the office being sought. I no longer really consider myself a Democrat, because of the rightward swing of the party, but this kind of slobbering cannibalism is pretty sickening.

[Tinoire]

70. We are not yet at the point of beating Bush. We are at the point

We are at the point of determining who is the best man to beat Bush.

According to Centrist & DLC logic it must be someone who panders to middle-America. I am afraid that middle-America may not be amused over Kerry's extra-curricular affairs. Progressives with international concerns (war, occupation, empire-building, NAFTA, WTO, GATT) are already not amused. How many middle-American swing voters are we willing to lose?

There are still other fine candidates in this Primary race. Let's stop acting as if Kerry is our only hope.

Maybe if people had taken the Jennifer Flowers' allegations with more seriousness, someone more progressive than Clinton would have won the Primaries & we wouldn't have witnessed the fate of the Free World swoosh down over "I did not have sex with that woman".

I want reporters to be ALL OVER this story. Dig up as much dirt as they can- NOW- and let the best man to represent us take this nomination.

If Edwards has shady deals, I want it out now. If Dean panders more to corporations than the voters, I want that out now. If Kucinich is a hypocrite, I want that out now. Sharpton a huckster? Kerry a lying cheat? Now, now, now. And not after the Primaries when a bevy of fresh young girls will be trotted out to tear at the moral heart-strings of voting parents throughout America.

[Tinoire]

64. Clinton said no too. Adamantly. Made fools of us all.

This is a political discussion board and it will be discussed because we are here to discuss who will be the next Democratic nominee.

Kerry is not young and irresponsible (can't use that excuse). He was responsible enough to vote to send a slew of young men to fight an unjust war and to get people killed. He was stupid enough (so he would like us to believe) to have been "misled" by that drunk narcoman in power. He is against gay marriage and yet we should move on? Pro-occupation for a war based on a lie and we should move on?

Some of us have had enough of men who think they're so smart that they can get away with anything & won't get caught. If he's that smart, he knows what the rules are and should have followed them.

This issue was reportedly enough to prevent Gore from picking him as a running-mate in '99- you would THINK that Kerry would have THOUGHT about that one a little.

If you can lie to your wife, you'll lie to me. And you don't think this merits scrutiny?

I want no more lies, liars and pious hypocrites. I want a leader who has a conscience and won't cheat on the campaign promises he makes. And I damn well want to know who/what I'm voting for.

THANK HEAVENS this happened during the Primaries when there are still other fine, finer candidates in the race. I will not move on. I will not do Karl Rove's bidding which would be to shut my eyes until he can trot out young, fresh interns so that Middle America can be disgusted at the idea of a 61 year old man's hands all over their bodies.

The guy saying no is not enough. And talking about saying no, Kerry also said "no" to the evidence Scott Ritter personally sent him that there were no WMDs in Iraq and enabled Bush. He said no to Democratic voters when we phoned his office to beg him not to enable Bush's empirical greed that would get thousands of innocents killed and pulverize Iraq.

And you would like people like me to "move on"? Close my eyes to all of that and "move on"? Forget about it. I won't be voting for a man whose self-interests are more important than following the rules of the game when they are very, very clear.

We are still the Primaries. Kerry has not been crowned yet. I will right here, right now say thank you to Drudge for breaking this NOW and not after the Primaries when it would have been too late. Drudge has done us a favor if these stories are true. If they're untrue, he's done Kerry a favor. You should be thankful for that possibility if you are a Kerry supporter.

[DiverDave]

66. I am a

DEMOCRATIC supporter.
This smells to high heaven, rove did this, I can guaran-damn-ty it.
So do karls work for him...Me? I am giving it as much as Kerry did.
Non story, nothing to it.
And if he would have blasted, you can be sure that they would have said "methinks he protestith too much"
Win-Win for the slime merchants at the RNC.

[Dhalgren]

72. Tinoire, I completely agree with you about Kerry

and his betrayal of the principles of progressiveism and of the best interests of the country. The problem I have is in this pyrhic attack on Kerry, coming from Drudge and being pushed by liberals. I say, disagree with Kerry on his policies, his Bush-inabling, is DLC corporatism - and do not vote for him, ever. But throwing the Republicans' bimbo bomb at him is something I can't do.

[yellowcanine]

85. Kerry is not Clinton. Rumor is not fact. Don't discuss it as such.

So now if someone puts a rumor (and that is all that it is) on the internet they are "doing us a favor?" What do you think it means to "bear false witness"? Repeating something as true when you have zero evidence is the same as lying in my book.

You don't like Kerry, fine. Don't vote for him. But you have no right to discuss a rumor about him AS IF IT WERE TRUE.

[WonderGrunion]

68. If Kerry isn't the nominee

Which, last I checked, he's not yet. Then we aren't doing any work for KKKarl, just for the future nominee. I see this event the same way the scene in Primary Colors went when Travolta brought up the drug and sex scandal to Hagman and suggested that if he could find it out his opponents would as well and it might be a good idea to drop out peacefully now.
Kerry asked for his opponents to "Bring It On", hoping they would be too scared to do so after the train wreck with Gephardt and Dean. He was wrong, now he has too suck it up and either quit like Gephardt or stick it out and keep fighting for what's right like Dean.
Besides, isn't it better that Kerry deal with now to toughen him up before the general election? :evilgrin:

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JasonBerry]

79. Goodbye!..N/T

[seventhson]

83. I would alert on you but you are new here

and so I will cut you some slack.

I have opposwed Kerry on this board since I came here because of jhis ties to the Bushes via Skull and Bones membership which both he and the Bushes have publicly acknowledged.

I also have said repeatedly that one reason I opposed Kerry was because of the issues of infidelity which go back to his first marriage - one of his constituents told me aboiut this when I first thought he might be a good candidate some 15-20 years ago.

I think this story is probably true and it will not go away.

The woman involved has yet to speak and Kerry's denial was a nondenial IMHO. It was a dangerous waffling.

Instead of sayng it was not true he said it was a nonstory.

I think he has been lying all along.

We will see if he is lkying about this woman.

[Tinoire]

84. I won't cut that any slack. n/t

[yellowcanine]

87. "one of his constituents told me aboiut this" - Oh, must be true then.

Gee, there is one person living in Mass who thinks Kerry was unfaithful to his first wife and that is enough to convince you not to vote for him? No wonder you are willing to treat a Drudge rumor as fact. I suspect Mr. Kerry doesn't mind not having your vote.

[Dhalgren]

88. You know what? You've convinced me.

Not that this story is necessarily valid, but that the "look" into it is. Tinoire said in one post (somewhere - gods there are a bunch)that (paraphrasing) we know how Kerry has behaved as a Bush enabler, we know how he supports corporate slavery, so maybe, just maybe, we had better give this story a good hard look - because we know what Kerry is capably of. So, without slinging any mud, and without passing a verdict before the evidence is in, I think this story should be run to ground and run to ground fast.

[Straight Shooter]

89. Seventh Son is not a "Rove roach"

I believe DU rules prohibit personal attacks on other DU'ers.

I wonder if Seventh Son was espousing a belief in no WMD in Iraq while so many in America were running around screaming "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

Don't shoot the messenger.

[TheStateChief]

86. Wait A Second...

If you were John Kerry and there was nothing to this story would you react in the monotone manner in which he did? Would you say "there's nothing to it?"? Or would you, as an earlier poster mentioned, start up this interview by saying "Before we get started, Don, I want to address the lies that the right-wing are trying to smear me with" and instead of offering up a non-denial denial would you say "I want to be perfectly, absolutely clear: absolutely NO aspect of what was quote-unquote reported is true - there was no affair with a staffer, there was no attempt to usher anyone out of the country, and frankly, if I weren't running for president, I'd be on the phone with my lawyer right now making sure that a libel lawsuit was filed TODAY!"

Instead, we get, "there's nothing to it." Someone is going to start asking more probing questions and if he doesn't answer or if it turns out there was a woman and he just didn't feel like getting into the details (truth) this "denial" will come back to bite him.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[w13rd0]

90. Yeah, not exactly the response...

...one would expect from someone who says "bring it on" all the time. Kerry handles attacks in the same nuanced way he handles any issue on which he can sit an ass cheek on each side of the divide.