The
NY Times got a sneak peek at the speech Kerry is giving to the National Guard today. Looks like he's taking off the gloves and pointing out that no, Iraq is
not going so well. Too bad C-SPAN and the cable networks aren't covering the speech, cause it sounds like a good one:
"We owe you the truth," Mr. Kerry said. "True leadership is about looking people in the eye and telling the truth -- even when it's hard to hear."
....
"President Bush came before you and you received him well, as you should," Mr. Kerry said. "But I believe he failed the fundamental test of leadership. He failed to tell you the truth. You deserve better. The commander in chief must level with the troops and the nation. And as president, I will always be straight with you -- on the good days, and the bad days."
Mr. Kerry, whose own combat service in Vietnam and his later role in the antiwar movement have brought him both praise and condemnation from veterans, is in a close race with Mr. Bush, according to several polls. If today's speech to the Guard is any indication, the challenger is not content to cede the commander-in-chief image to the president.
"I will be a president who goes into the Oval Office every morning knowing that it is my job to help you do yours," Mr. Kerry said. "I will fight for you every day, and I will never let you down."
Mr. Kerry said Mr. Bush's address to the Guard Association, where the president expressed pride in his own service in the Texas Air National Guard more than three decades ago, had an unreal quality.
"He did not tell you that with each passing day, we're seeing more chaos, more violence, more indiscriminate killings," the senator said. "He did not tell you that with each passing week, our enemies are getting bolder -- that Pentagon officials report that entire regions of Iraq are now in the hands of terrorists and extremists. He did not tell you that with each passing month, stability and security seem farther and farther away."
Mr. Kerry cited a report in The New York Times that a classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July painted a dark forecast for Iraq's future. Mr. Kerry said the Times report showed that "his own intelligence officials have warned him for weeks that the mission in Iraq is in serious trouble."
"You deserve a president who will not play politics with national security, who will not ignore his own intelligence while living in a fantasy world of spin, and who will give the American people the truth about the challenge our brave men and women face on the front lines," Mr. Kerry said.
No wonder Bush is too chicken to debate. John Kerry won't be signing no goddam loyalty oath.