Clinton: Stop talking about Vietnam

[qwerty]

Kerry Enlisting Clinton Aides in Effort to Refocus Campaign
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and DAVID M. HALBFINGER

Published: September 6, 2004

Former President Bill Clinton, in a 90-minute telephone conversation from his hospital room, offered John Kerry detailed advice on Saturday night on how to reinvigorate his candidacy, as Mr. Kerry enlisted more Clinton advisers to help shape his strategy and message for the remainder of the campaign.

In an expansive conversation, Mr. Clinton, who is awaiting heart surgery, told Mr. Kerry that he should move away from talking about Vietnam, which had been the central theme of his candidacy, and focus instead on drawing contrasts with President Bush on job creation and health care policies, officials with knowledge of the conversation said.

The conversation and the recruitment of old Clinton hands came amid rising concern among Democrats about the state of Mr. Kerry's campaign and criticism that he had been too slow to respond to attacks on his military record or to engage Mr. Bush on domestic policy. Among the better-known former Clinton aides who are expected to play an increasingly prominent role are James Carville, Paul Begala and Stanley Greenberg, campaign aides said.

Mr. Kerry's aides emphasized that this was an expansion of the staff for the fall campaign and did not represent another upheaval of the Kerry campaign. Still, several Democrats outside the campaign said the influence of Mr. Clinton and his advisers could be seen over the past few days in Mr. Kerry's attacks on Mr. Bush's domestic policies. They said the Clinton team had been pressing Mr. Kerry to turn up the intensity of his attacks on those policies after a month spent largely avoiding engaging the president.

The installation of former Clinton lieutenants is creating two distinct camps at Mr. Kerry's campaign headquarters on McPherson Square in downtown Washington.

The first is the existing Kerry high command, which includes Mary Beth Cahill, the campaign manager; Bob Shrum, a senior adviser; Tad Devine, a senior adviser; and Stephanie Cutter, the communications director. The second is the Clinton camp, which includes Joe Lockhart, a former White House press secretary; Joel Johnson, a former senior White House aide; and Doug Sosnik, a former Clinton political director. And Howard Wolfson, a former chief of staff to Hillary Rodham Clinton, joined the campaign yesterday.

Members of both camps played down any suggestion of a Clinton takeover of a troubled campaign and insisted there was no tension between the two groups. Still, these days, Mr. Lockhart is stationed in an office on one side of the campaign war room; Mr. Shrum's office is on the opposite side.

On Saturday, Mr. Johnson drew applause from Democrats assembled for a weekly strategy meeting at Mr. Kerry's headquarters when he reassured aides that the campaign had settled on a clear line of attack against Mr. Bush, people at the meeting said. They said Mr. Johnson told the group that the campaign wanted the entire party to heed the new talking points.

"It's very simple," Mr. Johnson said in an interview yesterday, describing what he said would be the template for Mr. Kerry's speeches and advertisements in the weeks ahead. "It's: 'Bush has taken us in the wrong direction. If you want more of the same for the next four years, vote for President Bush. If you want a new direction, John Kerry and John Edwards.' It's not complicated. Failed policies, jobs and the economy, health care."

Officials with knowledge of the Clinton conversation said it came after Mr. Kerry called Mr. Clinton at Columbia-Presbyterian Center of New York Presbyterian Hospital on Friday to wish him well. Mr. Clinton, who was described by advisers as concerned by the direction of the Kerry campaign, thanked him and suggested that the two men talk over the weekend about the campaign, which they did Saturday night.

The telephone conversation, which was described as detailed and expansive, with Mr. Kerry doing more listening than talking, also included Mr. Lockhart, who joined Mr. Kerry's campaign as a senior adviser about two weeks ago. Mr. Lockhart declined to comment on the conversation.

People close to Mr. Kerry said he was receptive to the counsel and was moving to widen his circle of advisers in the face of mounting concern among prominent Democrats about the potency of Mr. Bush's campaign. They noted that Mr. Clinton and his strategists were architects of the only winning Democratic presidential drives since 1976. Even so, some of Mr. Kerry's aides insisted that their seeking help from Mr. Clinton was not a reflection of flaws in their campaign.

Mr. Kerry's aides insisted that the Clinton advisers were augmenting the staff as it headed into a difficult period, and did not represent another instance in which Mr. Kerry was shaking up his campaign staff. Mr. Kerry fired a campaign manager in the primary season. The Kerry aides said that senior advisers, among them Ms. Cahill and Mr. Shrum, remained in their posts.

Still, some Democrats described what was taking place as a slow-motion shake-up as Mr. Clinton's former advisers assume increasingly powerful roles.

Mr. Greenberg, who was Mr. Clinton's pollster in 1992, resigned Tuesday as the pollster for independent Democratic groups that have been running advertisements attacking Mr. Bush so that he would be permitted, under the law, to play a more prominent role in advising Mr. Kerry's campaign.

Mr. Kerry's aides said that a longtime political adviser from Boston, John Sasso, who is working as general manager of the Democratic National Committee, would start traveling with Mr. Kerry as a full-time aide.

Mr. Sasso is said to have history with Mr. Kerry and his respect, enough to be able to give the candidate unvarnished criticism on his performance on the trail.

Mr. Begala, who said he would remain a CNN commentator, said he was delighted with the changes. He added that Mr. Bush had succeeded over the past month in transforming the race from a referendum on an incumbent president to a referendum on Mr. Kerry.

"It was an enormous shift," Mr. Begala said last night. Then, referring to Karl Rove, a top Bush strategist, he added: "And it required the cooperation of the candidate. And you know what? The Kerry campaign is no longer cooperating. Sorry, Karl."

Mr. Clinton's engagement in the campaign is new but hardly surprising. Throughout the 2004 campaign, Mr. Clinton has offered advice to any Democratic presidential candidate who would listen, including Mr. Kerry. And he told Mr. Kerry's advisers before his hospitalization that he would play a major role campaigning for Mr. Kerry this fall. In 2000, Mr. Clinton made no secret of his dismay that his vice president, Al Gore, did not turn to him more for counsel and campaigning help.

The Kerry campaign has become roiled in recent days by criticism - from inside and outside - of its decision to initially resist responding to the attacks on Mr. Kerry's war record by a group of veterans. Members of the Clinton camp as well as some of Mr. Kerry's aides were said to have believed that the slow response hurt Mr. Kerry and contributed to polls in recent days suggesting that he had slipped behind Mr. Bush.

"We talked about this last year, the fact that Republicans would come after his service and the idea that they would come after what he did when he got home," said one midlevel Kerry adviser who is not part of the Clinton camp. "The idea that we got caught flat-footed is just crazy."

Mr. Shrum, in an interview yesterday, called such second-guessing "ridiculous," saying, "We responded within six or seven days.

"I was strongly in favor of responding to the Swift boats when we did or around when we did, and so was Mary Beth," Mr. Shrum said, referring to Ms. Cahill and the advertisements by the Vietnam veterans critical of Mr. Kerry.

While Mr. Kerry's crewmates denounced the advertisements as soon as they were released Aug. 4, Mr. Kerry himself did not address the accusations until Aug. 19.

The notion that the campaign was settling on a new message for the fall came as news to some senior staff members.

"That's really groundbreaking," one senior aide said sarcastically when told about the focus on Mr. Bush's policies outlined by Mr. Johnson. "I think our negative frame should be that George Bush is a liar. He misled the country on Iraq. And then everything else that he lies about, bring it back to that."

Mr. Devine said any lack of clarity of Mr. Kerry's message was due to the campaign's running few advertisements in the past five weeks. He said the polls are showing a downturn they always planned for.

"If you want to deliver a powerful message, you need all the means of message-delivery at your disposal," Mr. Devine said. "Absent those tools and those means it's just harder to deliver that kind of message."

Jodi Wilgoren contributed reporting for this article.

[A18]

Uh, if he does that, he'll lose in a landslide. Bush is the reformer in this election.

Kerry has no agenda, and I wonder why...

Fact: Kerry only introduced 1 piece of legislation in his long career in the senate and couldn't get a single cosponsor
Fact: It was to gut intelligence

[b_rules]

when president clinton gave his acceptance speech in 1996, he began by telling us about the great accomplishments of his administration and great economic statistics.  when president bush gave his acceptance speech last week, he basically rehashed his speech from 4 years ago with some additional information about iraq.  president bush has accomplishing nothing good in his 4 years as president.

this election will be won by whichever campaign can avoid making itself the focus of the campaign.  is it about kerry's lack of accomplishment in the senate or about bush's lack of accomplishment in the white house?

[A18]

Actually, he spent 30 minutes going over the things he did so far. The point was to lay out a new agenda...and by the way, I wonder if you remember 1994?

I can lay the facts out for you if you want, but then please actually respond this time unlike the other threads which just mysteriously never see the light of day again...just to see the same reply in another topic two seconds later.

Recession. Began in March at latest. Talk to an economist and tell him that in two months, Bush's non-existant economic policies (first budget doesn't go into effect until October; tax cuts not yet passed) cauded a recession in two months. When he's done laughing, maybe you'll learn something.

Bush has gotten us out of an inherited recession. That's one of the big accomplishments.

Again, you want to me to list the accomplishments and beat the sh!t out of your argument, or are you just posting stuff you don't believe?

[Fritz]

this election will be won by whichever campaign can avoid making itself the focus of the campaign.  is it about kerry's lack of accomplishment in the senate or about bush's lack of accomplishment in the white house?

One of the most insightful comments I've seen made here...

[A18]

He overthrew two mother ing countries. No accomplishments?! HAHAHAHA. Well, let's start here. So far, Kerry has proposed one bill he couldn't get a cosponsor for. Bush liberated 50 million people...but wait, are they 'occupying' them?

He got us out of a recession. But uh, Kerry wanted to cut intelligence funding...so badly he couldn't get a single cosponsor...

[Democratic Hawk]

He overthrew two mother ing countries. No accomplishments?! HAHAHAHA. Well, let's start here. So far, Kerry has proposed one bill he couldn't get a cosponsor for. Bush liberated 50 million people...but wait, are they 'occupying' them?

He got us out of a recession. But uh, Kerry wanted to cut intelligence funding...so badly he couldn't get a single cosponsor...

Steady on. Effective US presidents are adept in both foreign and domestic policy. I have supported President Bush both on the 'War on Terror', Afghanistan and  Iraq -but ask yourself are such Islamic societies really suitable to the ideals of liberal democracy. From what I've seen democracies are few and far between in the Islamic world - be they friend or foe.

Now Bush's economic policy is something really boast about - NOT! Bush, like his father, has neglected the domestic agenda and, at best, has tried to rectify domestic problems by spending like a drunken sailor. He has failed miserably. In 2001, America had a projected national surplus of $5.6tr and as at 2004, the US national debt sits at $7.22tr. Now that's hardly something to boast about, is it? It's a disgrace.

Getting back to Vietnam, Kerry served honoroubly, and was justly rewarded for his valor and injuries in combat. He came home and campaigned against the war. That's it end of story.

The issues of today and tomorrow is what is important.

Dave

[CARLHAYDEN]

He overthrew two mother ing countries. No accomplishments?! HAHAHAHA. Well, let's start here. So far, Kerry has proposed one bill he couldn't get a cosponsor for. Bush liberated 50 million people...but wait, are they 'occupying' them?

He got us out of a recession. But uh, Kerry wanted to cut intelligence funding...so badly he couldn't get a single cosponsor...

Bush, like his father, has neglected the domestic agenda and, at best, has tried to rectify domestic problems by spending like a drunken sailor.

You really need to learn about what has happened in the United States BEFORE you post.

First, on the domestic agenda, Bush pushed and had enacted education reform (no child left behind) and Prescription Drug for Medicare programs.  Most of the rest of his domestic agenda was stymied by Democrats in Congress.

Second, do you really think a Kerry administration would have spent less on non-military areas?

Finally, yes, I agree with the implicit part of your statement that Kerry would have higher taxes.  I suggest you get him to go public with this (like Mondale did in 1984).

[CARLHAYDEN]

He overthrew two mother ing countries. No accomplishments?! HAHAHAHA. Well, let's start here. So far, Kerry has proposed one bill he couldn't get a cosponsor for. Bush liberated 50 million people...but wait, are they 'occupying' them?

He got us out of a recession. But uh, Kerry wanted to cut intelligence funding...so badly he couldn't get a single cosponsor...

Bush pushed a domestic agenda of education reform (no child left behind) and Prescription Drug benefits for Medicare.

Kerry would have had more domestic spending than Bush.

Kerry would have higher taxes than Bush.

[badnarikin04]

I'd advise the media not to cover every single fricking Jorge W. Kerry does.

Next we'll be hearing about the bounce Kerry gets from choosing silent but deadly farts instead of wet ones.

And then we'll learn about the role of Laura Bush's fingernails in winning over swing voters.

Give me a break. Just one goddamn break.

[A18]

Something very important happened there called a recession.

And regardless of how you feel about him overthrowing those countries, it's still a fact that he accomplished it. Kerry's been a miserable failure in his entire Senate career. I'm sorry, but the man has not gotten one thing done!

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Uh, if he does that, he'll lose in a landslide. Bush is the reformer in this election.

Kerry has no agenda, and I wonder why...

Fact: Kerry only introduced 1 piece of legislation in his long career in the senate and couldn't get a single cosponsor
Fact: It was to gut intelligence

http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d108query.html

look up all legislation sponsored by him. He has 48 this session alone.

[ATFFL]

Uh, if he does that, he'll lose in a landslide. Bush is the reformer in this election.

Kerry has no agenda, and I wonder why...

Fact: Kerry only introduced 1 piece of legislation in his long career in the senate and couldn't get a single cosponsor
Fact: It was to gut intelligence

http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d108query.html

look up all legislation sponsored by him. He has 48 this session alone.

Those are not legislation.  Most are ammendments, some are resolutions.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

4. S.318 : A bill to provide emergency assistance to nonfarm-related small business concerns that have suffered substantial economic harm from drought.
Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 2/5/2003)      Cosponsors (19)
Committees: Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship; House Small Business
Latest Major Action: 4/1/2003 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

7. S.577 : A bill to establish the Freedom's Way National Heritage Area in the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 3/7/2003)      Cosponsors (3)
Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Latest Major Action: 3/7/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

9. S.822 : A bill to create a 3-year pilot program that makes small, non-profit child care businesses eligible for SBA 504 loans.
Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 4/8/2003)      Cosponsors (16)
Committees: Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Latest Major Action: 4/8/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

and more...

[ATFFL]

Ok, I need to be clear here.  I am using the technical term for legislation, not the loosest definition.  The looses definition would include anything considered by a legislative body, which includes motions to adjourn or recess as well as major changes to the nations laws or structure.

The technical term, the one used by those who claim Kerry has not sponsored significant legislation, requires that it be a major change or ammendment to the laws of the nation.

None of what Kerry has sponsored or cosponsored rises anywhere near that level.  He only deals with the minor, niggling details (such as the third of your examples).