This is going to bite Kerry in the ass.
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What will you do about Cuba?
As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry was ready with the bravado appropriate for a challenger who knows that every answer carries magnified importance in the state that put President Bush into office by just 537 votes.
''I'm pretty tough on Castro, because I think he's running one of the last vestiges of a Stalinist secret police government in the world,'' Kerry told WPLG-ABC 10 reporter Michael Putney in an interview to be aired at 11:30 this morning.
Then, reaching back eight years to one of the more significant efforts to toughen sanctions on the communist island, Kerry volunteered: ``And I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with him.''
It seemed the correct answer in a year in which Democratic strategists think they can make a play for at least a portion of the important Cuban-American vote -- as they did in 1996 when more than three in 10 backed President Clinton's reelection after he signed the sanctions measure written by Sen. Jesse Helms and Rep. Dan Burton.
There is only one problem: Kerry voted against it.
Add this to the Bush ad using Kerry's "Newspeak" about voting for it before voting against it (or ws it the other way around?)".
Then you have the "foreign leader" debacle. Kerry states that leaders want him to win, then a few days later his campaign spokesperson says that they aren't seeking or accepting endorsements from other leaders.
How is Kerry supposed to move forward if his own statements have him moving backwards?
This is looking more and more like Kerry has contracted "foot in mouth" from Dean.
Fortunately for Kerry, there is still quite a bit of time for him to get it together.