And the Democrats let him get away.
“Most Democrats and Republicans, including President Bush and Sen. Kerry, agree that we must successfully finish what we have started in Iraq. Now is the time for all who share that goal to make our agreement publicly clear, to stress what unites us. Many argue that we can only rectify the wrongs done in the Iraqi prisons if Donald Rumsfeld resigns. I disagree. Unless there is clear evidence connecting him to the wrongdoing, it is neither sensible nor fair to force the resignation of the secretary of defense, who clearly retains the confidence of the commander in chief, in the midst of a war. I have yet to see such evidence. Secretary Rumsfeld’s removal would delight foreign and domestic opponents of America’s presence in Iraq.”
And this from John Kerry’s left-hand man;
Shamefully we now learn that Saddam’s torture chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management.”
How much less “polarized” and how much more secure would America (and arguably, Iraq) be today, had Joe Lieberman been the presumtive nominee? Americans would have had a sane and rational choice to make between two serious men, who understand that there is a fundamental difference between torture practiced as state policy and torture practiced as punishable criminal activity.
Ted Kennedy cannot tell the difference. And in not officially distancing himself from the elder senator and denouncing his statement, John Kerry is revealing that, at his core, he is still the man who came back from Vietnam to falsely accuse those he served with of committing criminal acts, before Congress, to serve his own political ends.