March 17, 2004

Speech by Dick Cheney

Vice President Dick Cheney delivered a very hard-hitting speech today. The Whitehouse website has the transcript here Some excerpts -- he wound up talking about John Kerry's Presidential bid: bq. In one of Senator Kerry's recent observations about foreign policy, he informed his listeners that his ideas have gained strong support, at least among unnamed foreigners he's been spending time with. (Laughter.) Senator Kerry said that he has met with foreign leaders, and I quote, " who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy they look at you and say, 'You've got to win this, you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy,' things like that." End quote. bq. A few days ago in Pennsylvania, a voter asked Senator Kerry directly who these foreign leaders are. Senator Kerry said, "That's none of your business." (Laughter.) But it is our business when a candidate for President claims the political endorsement of foreign leaders. At the very least, we have a right to know what he is saying to foreign leaders that makes them so supportive of his candidacy. American voters are the ones charged with determining the outcome of this election - not unnamed foreign leaders. (Applause.) And one more (emphasis mine): bq. I leave it for Senator Kerry to explain, or explain away his votes and his statements about the war on terror, our cause in Iraq, the allies who serve with us, and the needs of our military. Whatever the explanation, whatever nuances he might fault us for neglecting, it is not an impressive record for someone who aspires to become Commander-in-Chief in this time of testing for our country. In his years in Washington, Senator Kerry has been one vote of a hundred in the United States Senate - and fortunately on matters of national security, he was very often in the minority. But the presidency is an entirely different proposition. The President always casts the deciding vote. And the Senator from Massachusetts has given us ample doubts about his judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital issues of national security. Kerry does not have the constitution to be a President. He aspires to Presidency but he is not Presidential material. A few days ago, I wrote here about the possibility that the Democrats are knowingly picking a very weak candidate with the idea of running Hillary Clinton in 2008. Their thoughts would be that Hillary is not ready quite yet but she would have four years in which to get her face out in the public eye. Interesting idea... Posted by DaveH at March 17, 2004 8:07 PM