By Brad Friedman on 9/21/2004, 8:14pm PT  

While I found John Kerry's appearance on Letterman last night less than impressive, and largely a wasted opportunity, he seems to have more than made up for it today at my alma mater, NYU.

Here's a couple of notable paragraphs in a speech that was entirely notable. Especially in light of the smoke blown by Bush at the U.N. (speaking of wasted opportunities!) where he received a predictably unimpressed...well, downright chilly reception.

I'd encourage you to check out Kerry's whole speech today. Particularly you Bush fans who have no idea what Kerry really says about anything. So here's just a few on-the-money thoughts from him today:

"Today, President Bush tells us that he would do everything all over again, the same way. How can he possibly be serious? Is he really saying that if we knew there were no imminent threat, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to Al Qaeda, the United States should have invaded Iraq? My answer is no --- because a commander in chief's first responsibility is to make a wise and responsible decision to keep America safe."
...
"He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens. By one count, the president offered 23 different rationales for this war."
...
"This president was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences. The administration told us we'd be greeted as liberators. They were wrong. They told us not to worry about looting or the sorry state of Iraq's infrastructure. They were wrong. They told us we had enough troops to provide security and stability, defeat the insurgents, guard the borders and secure the arms depots. They were wrong. They told us we could rely on exiles like Ahmed Chalabi to build political legitimacy. They were wrong. They told us we would quickly restore an Iraqi civil service to run the country and a police force and army to secure it. They were wrong. In Iraq, this administration has consistently over-promised and under-performed. This policy has been plagued by a lack of planning, an absence of candor, arrogance and outright incompetence. And the president has held no one accountable, including himself."

Mr. Bush, you got served.

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