Hillary's repeated assertion worked

[ProSense]

48% Say U.S. Safer Now Than Before 9/11

rasmussenreports.com
Thu Jun 7, 11:12 AM ET

Forty-eight percent (48%) of Americans say the U.S. is safer today than it was before 9/11. That's up nine percentage points from 39% a month ago.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of Republicans believe the U.S. is safer today. Only 29% of Democrats share that view.

Overall, 38% disagree and say that the U.S. is not safer today than before 9/11.

Voters have grown slightly more confident in the long-term prospects of the War on Terror. Forty percent (40%) of Americans now believe that the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror. That's up from 36% a month ago and the highest level of optimism since November.

more

(emphasis added)

[blm]

1. Imagine if they used their influence to OPPOSE BushInc the last 7 yrs.

.

[Demeter]

2. Don't Go All Lennon On Us, Now. The 60's Are Over

and boy, do we need them back!

[karynnj]

7. You mean "just gimme the truth"?

[Demeter]

10. I Was Referring to Imagine, but Whatever!

[blm]

41. heheh.... it all works these days.

.

[ProSense]

3. Way to step all over reality and the Dems message.

Yay Bush! Unbelievable!

[blm]

5. They did it on ToraBora - did it when Kerry, Dean and Clark called for Rumsfeld to go -

did it when Kerry said terrorism was a law enforcement issue - did it on Iraq withdrawal debate and vote in June 2006.

Stuck close to Bush throughout that time, instead of using whatever pull they had to oppose BushInc and back up those Dems who were sticking their necks out to do so.

[karynnj]

9. What's scary is that if you listen to RW talk radio

They are still ponding in that we are safer because of the strong actions taken. This is dangerous that Hillary is doing this.

1) She should being tying what they did in the 1990s with what Kerry said. They basically used good intelligence and law enforcement. They should have strengthened it with the international money laundering prevention legislation Kerry wrote, but basically their approach was similiar, if a little less muscular. There WERE warning on 911 that should have caused Bush to alert the police and the airlines. The intelligence and this approach didn't fail, Bush, Condi et al failed.

2) None of the top 3 Democratic candidates, including Hillary - not matter how tough she chooses to sound, will be seen to have strong national security credentials if we accept the Republican frame. A study (posted then on DU) found only Clark, Gore and Kerry to have real national security credentials. (Biden may not have been included - and he certainly has foreign policy experience.)

3) The Democrats blew a real opportunity by not combining what Clinton did in the 90s (they did stop some things) with Kerry's terrorism thoughts. When London stopped the plot, we could then have argued that this was the Democratic plan. It would then have been the Democrats were right, not just Kerry was right. Kerry is not running now, so Hillary should have no reason to fear that Kerry being vindicated on this would impact her chances. Only by controlling the framing do we win.

4) From what I saw watching the Commerce committee discuss port security - we are not safer. In NJ, I know Senator Lautenberg was not happy with the 2006 port security bill.

[blm]

6. Revisiting this, I think it's because they SUPPORT the same APPROACH to terrorism

that BushInc takes. Another reason why they were no-shows to back Kerry up on terrorism throughout 2004.

[rinsd]

17. Yes maybe their time would be better spent on party infighting and smearing

:eyes:

[blm]

34. Oh - TeamClinton had PLENTY of time and energy for that, unfortunately.

This talk by historian Douglas Brinkley occurred in April 2004:

http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13354

Whom does the biographer think his subject will pick as a running mate? Not Hillary Rodham Clinton. "There's really two different Democratic parties right now: there's the Clintons and Terry McAuliffe and the DNC and then there's the Kerry upstarts. John Kerry had one of the great advantages in life by being considered to get the nomination in December. He watched every Democrat in the country flee from him, and the Clintons really stick the knife in his back a bunch of times, so he's able to really see who was loyal to him and who wasn't. That's a very useful thing in life."
>>>>>>


http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward


Did Carville Tip Bush Off to Kerry Strategy (Woodward)

By M.J. Rosenberg |

I just came across a troubling incident that Bob Woodward reports in his new book. Very troubling.

On page 344, Woodward describes the doings at the White House in the early morning hours of Wednesday, the day after the '04 election.

Apparently, Kerry had decided not to concede. There were 250,000 outstanding ballots in Ohio.

So Kerry decides to fight. In fact, he considers going to Ohio to camp out with his voters until there is a recount. This is the last thing the White House needs, especially after Florida 2000.

So what happened?

James Carville gets on the phone with his wife, Mary Matalin, who is at the White House with Bush.

"Carville told her he had some inside news. The Kerry campaign was going to challenge the provisional ballots in Ohio -- perhaps up to 250,000 of them. 'I don't agree with it, Carville said. I'm just telling you that's what they're talking about.'

"Matalin went to Cheney to report...You better tell the President Cheney told her."

Matalin does, advising Bush that "somebody in authority needed to get in touch with J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State in Ohio who would be in charge of any challenge to the provisional votes." An SOS goes out to Blackwell.
>>>>>>>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

[flpoljunkie]

4. Not good news for Hillary, if as your post reports, only 29% of Democrats share her view.

[BeyondGeography]

8. You wonder what the hell she was thinking

"The Republicans have made you safer, but I'll make you EXTRA-safe."

The voice of experience speaks. :sarcasm:

[Demeter]

11. You Also Have to Wonder Why Bill Doesn't Smarten Her Up

He could be guiding her through this with so much finesse, but nothing's happening. That marriage must be in name only, by now.

[polichick]

14. Lol

Who are you quoting ~ is that what Obama said??

[BeyondGeography]

24. No, I'm just wondering where HRC goes rhetorically

now that she has conceded the safety issue to the Republicans.

[polichick]

25. Ohhh...

Well it was pretty good ~ so right! I don't know what she was thinking, or who she was playing to.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. Hold on kids. John Kerry himself said "we were safer"

I can't find the exact quote but from Wednesday's NYTimes story:

Mr. Kerry (August 2004)... said that the question of whether Americans were safer since 9/11 was “an easy one,” and that the answer was yes. But he also said the greater issue was that the president’s foreign policy had made the nation less safe over all.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/us/politics/06dems.html?

I'm digging but can't find the full context of Kerry's statement.
I believe, as a former prosecutor Kerry was referring to the law enforcement end of things here within our borders, and as such, one would have to conclude we are safer. As Edwards and Kerry said during the 2004 campaign, protecting us is not really the job of the president- it is the FBI, CIA, etc...

So Kerry meant that, in the immediate we are indeed safer, but in the long run, big picture it is far different.

[BeyondGeography]

13. A classic bit of Kerry right there

We're obviously safer, but the nation is less safe overall. :shrug:

And we wonder why we don't steamroll the Republicans every time.

[ProSense]

15. He said no such thing

Monday August 2, 11:18 PM

Kerry: Bush policies encourage terror recruitment

By Patricia Wilson

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Reuters) - Democratic White House challenger John Kerry said on Monday President George W. Bush's policies had encouraged recruitment of terrorists and failed to make the United States as safe as it ought to be.

With Washington and New York on "high risk" alert after intelligence warnings of al Qaeda threats to attack the New York Stock Exchange, World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Kerry criticized Bush for not moving fast enough to implement the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations.

"Here we are today almost three years after Sept. 11 and we still don't have a national director of intelligence," Kerry told firefighters and first responders in Grand Rapids.

The Massachusetts senator accused Bush of stonewalling creation of the panel that "you had to struggle to empower" and then dragging his feet on embracing proposals that Kerry himself had long ago suggested.
<...>

"I believe this administration, in its policies, is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists," Kerry said in a CNN interview. "I think that we can do better."

He faulted Bush for not reaching out to other countries and the Muslim community, and failing to adequately protect ports as well as chemical and nuclear facilities.

<...>

Kerry repeated the charge later in his public remarks.

"The question we ought to be asking ourselves is not are we safer than we were on Sept. 11, that's an easy one ... sure we can say we're safer," he said. "The question is, are we as safe as we ought to be given the options that were available to us and the answer is no."

link

The NYT continues to misrepresent Kerry's statements. They should know his views by now.

[ElizabethDC]

18. Isn't that just about what Hillary said?

Kerry's quote: "The question we ought to be asking ourselves is not are we safer than we were on Sept. 11, that's an easy one ... sure we can say we're safer," he said. "The question is, are we as safe as we ought to be given the options that were available to us and the answer is no."

And Hillary said, "Yes, we are safer, but we are not yet safe enough." (I'll have to check for the exact quote, but I'm pretty sure that's what she said.)

[ProSense]

19. No it isn't

Kerry didn't say "we're safer." He made the point that Bush has made the U.S. less safe. People can say, as Hillary did, ''I believe we are safer than we were,'' but the reality is Bush has made us less safe because his policies are a recruitment tool for terrorist. He repeated that we're less safe many times, including in the interview at the link.

That was almost three years ago, and to say ''I believe we are safer than we were'' at this point is ridiculous, especially given how much Iraq has deteriorated and information showing a significant increase in terrorism worldwide.

[ElizabethDC]

20. She just didn't clarify the way he did - his quote was much longer

It's hard to elaborate in a debate when you have limited time. She didn't say that Bush had made us safer - just like she didn't say that he had made us less safe. And she made it clear that there is still work to be done. (People keep repeating the first half of the quote, and not the second half, when she said we're not as safe as we could be - I interpreted what she said to be essentially what Kerry's quote said, she just didn't phrase it as clearly as he did.)

IMO, we probably are safer in some areas, if only because the American people are more vigilant. But we're also less safe because more people want to attack us, etc.

[ProSense]

22. Here is the clarification:

posted here.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I'm a big Kerry fan and I know what he said and meant- Kerry said "we are safer"

To paraphrase, he said 'there is no question we are safer, but that we are not as safe as we could be'.
IOW Let's look at it qauntitatively:
If on 9/11/01 we were at 75% of where we should be, and as of 8/04 we were at 90%, then obviously we can be safer.
Kerry was saying 'we are not as safe as we could be', 'there is room for improvement'
On that score you are misunderstanding him.
With regard to Iraq and the military WOT- we all agree (you Kerry and I) that Bush has made us less safe.

[ProSense]

23. Your paraphrasing is incorrect.

He said people can say we're safer. Kerry was running ads that stated "we're no safer today than" on 9/11. This is from one of the debates

KERRY: Jim, let me tell you exactly what I'll do. And there are a long list of thing. First of all, what kind of mixed message does it send when you have $500 million going over to Iraq to put police officers in the streets of Iraq, and the president is cutting the COPS program in America?

What kind of message does it send to be sending money to open firehouses in Iraq, but we're shutting firehouses who are the first- responders here in America.

The president hasn't put one nickel, not one nickel into the effort to fix some of our tunnels and bridges and most exposed subway systems. That's why they had to close down the subway in New York when the Republican Convention was there. We hadn't done the work that ought to be done.

The president -- 95 percent of the containers that come into the ports, right here in Florida, are not inspected. Civilians get onto aircraft, and their luggage is X-rayed, but the cargo hold is not X- rayed.

Does that make you feel safer in America?

President Bush's war on terrorism and Iraq "is not making people safer," says Kerry, a soundbite that is not all that different from Dean's much-ridiculed remark that Saddam Hussein's capture did not make America safer.

[beachmom]

38. This is also about timing. The CIA report that came out that said

we have more terrorists than ever -- when was that? 2005? And specifically al Qaeda in Iraq and how their fundraising has been forwarded to the main al Qaeda group -- that JUST came out this past month.

Look, there are three areas of "safety":

1. Homeland security
2. Killing and capturing al Qaeda members
3. Stopping recruiting of new al Qaeda members

I think #1 has gotten better just because of the fact that 9/11 happened. It made people extremely on the alert -- police, airport security, etc. It's not good enough, but I think it has gotten better from the BOTTOM. Kerry was talking about this, but had a proposal in his platform of doing even MORE security.

#2 went well for a while, when we first went into Afghanistan. However, that situation has now gotten worse, since they're all in Pakistan and Mousharaff had that cease fire with the Jihadists in the NW territory. That was in 2006.

#3 is an ABSOLUTE disaster. The worst it has ever been because of Iraq.

I think we're LESS SAFE, and I think Obama had the best answer on that question. Hillary needs to start reading the newspaper, before the next debate, because she came out either as an appeaser to Bush or hopelessly ignorant.

[blm]

33. At that immediate point in 2004, YES, but, OVERALL a big NO. Big difference.

.

[rinsd]

16. Well then we need to make sure she becomes President.

If she can swing polls that far with a simple proclamation, she can lead the American people anywhere.

[Tellurian]

27. All Hillary has to do is say she was quoting Kerry!

:rofl:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

28. She won't touch Kerry with a 10 footer

after she dumped him like kryptonite after 'dropped pronoun'/botched joke gate.
Fuck her. She is a political opportunist, and she 'stepped in it' this time.

[politicasista]

29. And her supporters are not helping much either

with their constant slams and put downs of good Dems like Kerry or fellow presidential candidates like Obama, all just to promote her. That's a turn off IMO.

[Tellurian]

32. yep, but we don't hold a candle to your personal attacks

against Hillary...you never fail to get on that ole Mule Train..and He-Haw!

[politicasista]

39. I have NEVER personally attacked Hillary

or any Democrat. Don't know what you are talking about. I am always civil. Seems like you guys are always the ones attacking others every time they say something about her that doesn't sit well with you.


I stand by my comments.

[paulk]

42. with all due respect

I've seen just as many "slams and put downs" directed toward HRC by Obama and Kerry people as I have the opposite. There are some people here, from the Kerry camp especially, who carry a large, and to me at least, irrational amount of dislike toward Hillary Clinton.

And I say that as someone who, before I got run out by those selfsame people, used to post quite frequently in the Kerry forum.

[TayTay]

43. ? Who ran you out?

When did this happen Paulk? This is news to me.

[Tellurian]

31. hmmm...

nobody steps init better than Kerry!

Kerry had to apologize to the entire Armed Forces!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

35. No. Kerry didn't have to do shit.

Kerry's done more for our troops and vets than Hillary or Bush ever has.
He apologized because the right wing noise machine, with the back stabbing Hillary's help, played its game.

[Tellurian]

36. But he did!

[politicasista]

40. Exactly n/t

[TayTay]

44. I think he apologized because it became about him

And it was a midterm election in which his name was not on the ballot. He became a distraction, which was unneeded and unwarranted at that time. So, he withdrew from all public appearances.

There was an important midterm election to win. Sen. Kerry had raised more money and made a ton of appearances to promote other Democrats all across America in that midterm race. The goal of electing good Dems to the Congress exceeded the need to clarify the joke. Kerry knew this, so he got off the stage. He did so for the greater good of winning back the Congress for the Dems. At some point, you recognize that the noise machine has created a barrier that you can't penetrate. That is what happened.

[ProSense]

30. "no safer after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks because President Bush took his 'eye off the ball.'"

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 24 -- John F. Kerry detailed his plan for combating terrorism Friday and insisted that the nation is no safer after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks because President Bush took his "eye off the ball."

In a harsh assessment of his rival's policies, Kerry told an audience at Temple University that Iraq has become a haven for terrorists, and he drew a sharp distinction between the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq to differentiate his policies from those of the president.

more

Too bad she didn't, Hillary: ''I believe we are safer than we were.''

[Capn Sunshine]

26. by "safer" does she mean hundreds of thousands of low wage goofballs looking at bags?

Cause , yeah, if "safer" means diverting money that could be well spent getting first responders prepared on the giant clusterfuck DMV known as "Homeland" Security well then, yeah.

[illinoisprogressive]

37. that because the msm always spins for her highness to make her look good.