Kerry: Hard-Hearted Penny-Pinching Liberal?

One is accustomed to hearing liberals criticize conservatives for putting dollars before decency, for worshiping the bottom line and sacrifcing people on the altar of economic efficiency. Sometimes they have a point. Based on the following comments during his recent speech at the University of New Hampshire, however, it appears that John Kerry’s priorities are not characteristically liberal in this regard.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said that when Bush decided to go to war with Iraq, there should have been three overriding priorities.

“Number one, maximizing the possibility of success; number two, minimizing the cost financially to the American people; number three, minimizing the risk to our soldiers, to our young men and women in uniform,” Kerry said. “I believe the president did the reverse in all three. . . . We’re now bearing the enormous burden of that misjudgment.”

Accusing the president of attempting to minimize the chance of success, maximize the cost to Americans, and maximize the risk to our soldiers is standard Kerry fare. But Kerry’s placing saving taxpayer money ahead of saving soldiers’ lives is a bit unusual, for a liberal or anyone else.

Or maybe he was just confused.

Say What? (2)

  1. ELC April 15, 2004 at 2:35 pm | | Reply

    As you may have realized already, John, I have become all-too-familiar with John “F” Kerry’s speechifying. And I’m telling you, I’m honestly starting to think the man is dumb. Seriously. Dumb. When he’s not on script, and sometimes when he is, he says the dumbest things.

  2. Claire April 16, 2004 at 11:33 am | | Reply

    I think Kerry said exactly what he meant, rather than what was politically correct. I think he does value money more than soldier’s lives, in spite of his efforts to continually remind us of his own military service.

    Or else he just wants to be president so bad that he’ll say and do anything to get there. And that kind of ambition is scary. But you see it all too often in career politicos like Kerry and Gore.

    If either of these guys had to hold down a job out in the real world, they’d get themselves fired so quick their heads would spin. And they’re probably be totally confused as to why it happened….

Say What?