Maybe Kerry?

08.31.2004

I just saw this short online documentary. And. I gotta say: I think it might sway me to vote for Kerry (not the intention of the short film, to be sure, especially the last half of it). Using video clips from various sources (CNN, MSNBC, FOX) where Kerry spoke about Iraq from 2001 onwards, as well as excerpts from printed columns he authored, which convince me Kerry would've done the same as Dubya on Iraq. Wow.

Most interesting where:

"If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement ... even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act."

— New York Times, 9/6/02

Too bad the New York Times doesn't provide free access to its archives; I'd really love to check context. But. Thanks to the internet, here's a blogged copy of that Times editorial column. As expected, the context paints the Kerry position as a bit more nuanced. Kerry agreed that the US has the right to act unilaterally, and that removing Hussein from power & instituting regime change was good policy, he merely disagreed w/ whether or not the Bush administration had yet presented a convincing case for war. I can respect that.

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ADDENDUM: What I find especially fascinating & refreshing about this presidential campaign, is the sheer volume of grassroots political activism — on all sides. Tools like digital cameras, video editing software, search engines, and, of course, blogs, are leveling the political field. It's getting easier & easier for citizen or activist group to get their message across to wider audiences. For $100 a year (or less) anyone can build a website w/ as many potential viewers as cnn.com or nytimes.com. And w/ just a few pieces of hardware/software, anyone can make a campaign ad. I believe it'll transform the democratic political process.

I'll provide only anti-Bush examples, to avoid picking on Kerry all the time: Here's a Pleasure Boat Captains for Truth site, who argue that Bush has misrepresented his partying years as former party friends disavow having partied w/ the prez. Or Cheerleaders for Truth, who ask whether Dubya did actually win his Yale varsity cheerleading letter. Both via JSB.

Posted by Miguel at 03:18 PM

Comments

You should be able to get the NYT article through lexis nexis though, miguel.

Posted by: Melli at August 31, 2004 03:53 PM

Yeah, but you can't link to their finds. And you have to pay. I'm a big believer of the même that information wants to be free. And since I'm pretty handy w/ boolean search engines (gotta love Google!), I try to avoid paying.

Posted by: Miguel at August 31, 2004 03:57 PM