Stuck On Stupid

SEN. KERRY: No. What he was saying is they’re trying to scare you. They’re trying to scare the American people. And, believe me, I’m an expert on how they do that. They are engaged in character assassination, even John McCain’s partner in a number of initiatives in the Senate, Russ Feingold, said yesterday, “They’ve decided they can’t win on the issues, so now they’re going to try to destroy his character.” And that is exactly what this ad is calculated to do.

MR. BROKAW: But it’s not, it’s not just…

SEN. KERRY: The New York Times–well, but let me just…

MR. BROKAW: Yeah.

SEN. KERRY: Tom, The New York Times said this is the low road express. John McCain himself, you just quoted him, John McCain said, “I want to have a campaign not of insults, but of ideas.”

I mean, Joe, what’s the idea in that?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well…

SEN. KERRY: What is the idea–no, wait, let me just finish. What is the idea…

SEN. LIEBERMAN: The idea is that Barack Obama’s not ready to lead, and he’s against offshore drilling.

SEN. KERRY: Well, I’m going to come to that. I’m going to come to that.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: That’s pretty direct and clear.

SEN. KERRY: No, it doesn’t mention not ready to lead…

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Yes it does.

SEN. KERRY: …and it doesn’t mention offshore drilling. What it talks about–it tries to insinuate that his celebrity is somehow all he has. Now, I’m going to get to the other, but this is, you know, this is a complete contradiction in John McCain. John McCain has said he wants a campaign of ideas, not insults. John McCain has said the American people want a campaign that’s respectful.

Even you, Joe, 10 years ago, you went to the floor of the United States Senate, and you said that our public life is coarsening. You said that the society’s values are shrinking. That’s an ad that plays to the worst instincts in America, which is to diminish someone’s character.

MR. BROKAW: But what the senator–but…

SEN. KERRY: And then Karl Rove turns around, and Karl Rove brings up another statement, saying, “Obama’s like the guy at the country club with the beautiful date and a martini and a cigarette in his hand.” What are they trying to do? They’re trying to say to America, “Somehow, he’s not like you. He’s not like us.” Now, last point, Joe brought up…

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Joe doesn’t work for the McCain campaign, that’s the first thing that’s…

SEN. KERRY: Well, they just hired Karl Rove’s top protege to help produce these kinds of ads. And, believe me, they talk to Karl Rove. All right?

MR. BROKAW: Let me just ask, when Senator Obama responded, he didn’t talk just about his character. He also talked about his appearance, and that’s what prompted the McCain campaign to say he’s playing the…

SEN. KERRY: Yeah, but the McCain–everybody has commented, Tom…

MR. BROKAW: I mean, when he, when he was talking about a dollar bill or a five dollar bill, he wasn’t talking about whether he was not wearing a wig and wooden teeth.

SEN. KERRY: No, he was talking–what he was talking about is this campaign to scare about the person, and that’s what they do. They try to scare about the person. They try to attack the character. They can’t win on health care. They can’t win on the economy. Eighty-five percent of the people in the nation know the country’s moving in the wrong direction. They can’t win–in fact, and I want to take Joe on on this, he just said the question is, is he ready to lead? Barack Obama has proven that he has the right judgment. What people are electing here is a president who has the judgment to do what’s right for America. Barack Obama is right about Iraq. Now George Bush, Prime Minister Maliki think we ought to set a deadline. He was right about Afghanistan. John McCain has been the slowest person to come to the question of Afghanistan and adding more troops. He was right about Pakistan, that we ought to have the ability to go in and take out a terrorist. And John McCain criticized him for taking that position. He’s been right about North Korea and Iran and the notion that we ought to negotiate. Now the Bush administration is negotiating. The Bush administration has moved towards Barack Obama, not John McCain. And John McCain’s judgment has been wrong, and it’s dangerous for America.

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