Nice to see a bit of unity. Gore on the attack. Hillary on the attack. Kerry supporting both.
It's a good day.
Here's a link to Kerrygoddess' site where she has a report on Kerry's trip to Israel, plus photos, plus more links on the ME trip so far:
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/...
Here's a link to the article she references on the Israel trip:
http://www.wfsb.com/...
JERUSALEM -- Next week's election for a new Palestinian parliament could mark a turning point, visiting U.S. Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday, but he warned that participation by the militant Hamas could cause complications.
The unsuccessful Democratic candidate for U.S. president in 2004 elections, making a brief stop in Jerusalem during a tour of the Middle East and Asia, said the Jan. 25 election could start the Palestinians off in a new direction.
"The Palestinian Authority has an opportunity, hopefully, to set a new course for itself," he said. "All of us are going to look forward to the results of these elections and pursue with interest the opportunities they may or may not provide."
The first 10 years of Palestinian rule have been marked by inefficiency, corruption and disorder, worsened by the last five years of violence with Israel. As a result, many Palestinian voters are turning away from the Fatah party of leader Mahmoud Abbas and switching to Hamas, the Islamic movement responsible for dozens of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis.
Kerry warned that Hamas participation could upset relations with the U.S., but it would depend on Hamas actions. "The real question is what will happen afterward," the Massachusetts Democrat said.
If Hamas becomes part of the government, it needs to stop armed attacks, he said, and he would not support a Palestinian government if its members engaged in violence.
(More at link)
-----------------------------------------
And on Blitzer, we have an interview with Kerry where Wolf asks him if he supports what Gore and Hillary have been saying, and he answers in the affirmative.
A partial transcript:
BLITZER: Before I let you go, Senator, because we're almost out of time, a couple of domestic issues that I want to just go through, get your reaction.
Listen to what the former Vice President Al Gore said yesterday on the president's authorization of these secret wiretaps by the National Security Agency, without warrants -- court warrants. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law, repeatedly and insistently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you agree with him?
KERRY: Yes.
BLITZER: So what does that mean, if the president is breaking the law?
KERRY: Definitively. Definitively.
BLITZER: What's the remedy?
KERRY: Well, the president -- first of all, with respect to breaking the law, the law that we passed clearly envisions -- and the reason we created it -- congressional intents could not be more clear here. We created a court. We have that court the power, on moments notice, set up only for the purpose of approving these warrants, to be able to review them in order to protect the constitutional rights of Americans, particularly with the view of what happens when you don't do that. That's number one.
Number two, out of sixteen thousand -- I think -- seven hundred warrants that have been issued, only four have been refused in that entire period of time. And finally, nothing in the law that the administration has pointed to, which the Congress passed to respond to 9/11, where we authorized the use of force, nothing contemplated this kind of constitutional violation. So it is a clear violation of law.
Now, you know, there are any number of different recourses that could be taken. With a Republican Congress, we've had a particularly hard time getting any legitimate recourse taken under almost any circumstances, because we don't have the power to issue subpoenas, we don't have the power to call hearings. So I think we have to continue to present this issue to the American people and I hope the administration will, of its own admission and its own steps, reverse course, admit the mistake, and try to guarantee that the protections
put in place are adhered to.
BLITZER: Senator Specter says he will hold hearings on this next month, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
KERRY: I've heard that, and I hope the hearings are going to be fully bipartisan, that the appropriate people will be called on a bipartisan basis, the Democrats will have the right to have equal numbers of witnesses, and that subpoenas, if necessary, will be issued as appropriate without the chairman having the right to veto them.
BLITZER: I want to also get your comment on what Senator Hillary Clinton said yesterday in going after the Bush administration. Listen to her pointed remark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
U.S. SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): I predict to you that this administration will go down in history as one of the worst that has ever governed our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you agree with her on that?
KERRY: Boy, you're throwing at me -- you're throwing every domestic comment of attack on the administration while I'm over here trying to figure out what's going on, I guess.
I think that administration is one of the most derelict in responsibility in history, sure. I don't disagree with her. I mean, almost every single issue of importance, with a completely apolitical point of view -- look at health care in America. What's their plan? They have no plan.
Look at General Motors and Ford that are facing the potential of bankruptcy and the lack of jobs overseas. What is the plan? They're not even engaged in major discussions to figure out how we move forward.
Look at what's happened to investment in research and development in technology and science and all of the things that create the jobs of the future. Are we going backwards?
The promise of No Child Left behind has been left behind. The environment -- we are literally going backwards.
I mean, I'm not going to run the gamut and the list here, but the bottom line is that we are not as safe in the world as we ought to be, and we are not facing up to our responsibilities at home as we ought to be, and I think history will be a harsh judge of those realities.
The rest of the transcript can also be found on Kerrygoddess' blog here:
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/...
Enjoy.