Despite accusations, Kerry's position on Iraq has been consistent

[papau]

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9743513.htm

Despite accusations, Kerry's position on Iraq has been consistent

By Thomas Fitzgerald

Knight Ridder Newspapers



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sen. John Kerry set his jaw, and even sighed at one point, as he confronted anew the confusion over his stand on the Iraq war, a fog that has enveloped his candidacy for months.


"I have one position on Iraq," Kerry insisted this week during a rare news conference. "One position."


In fact, he's right, his image as a "flip-flopper" notwithstanding.


Kerry voted in October 2002 for the congressional resolution that authorized President Bush to go to war in Iraq. He now says that the invasion was not justified and has made the United States less secure.


These positions are not contradictory, but his attempts to explain the distinction between them are often complicated, and they have given President Bush an opening to caricature Kerry as a flip-flopper. However, beneath the torrent of campaign verbiage, Kerry's position on Iraq for the past two years has been consistent and defensible - just difficult to sell in a sound-bite world.


Kerry always called for a broad international coalition to confront Saddam Hussein, and going to war only as a last resort. Like most senators, he thought Bush needed the authority - it passed the Senate 77-23, and Kerry was one of 29 Democrats who supported it.


But once Bush got the authority, Kerry believes, he misused it. <snip>

[DinahMoeHum]

1. Apparently, the San Francisco Chronicle thinks so, too.

Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/23/MNGQK8TI8O1.DTL

:kick:

[coloradodem2005]

2. I'm glad this is coming out now.

We can put this flip-flopping meme to rest once and for all. Along with the swiftboats bullshit.