Or slander and libel, for that matter. Since 2004, Sen. John Kerry and Clintonista/Soros outfits like Media Matters have claimed that the charges put forth by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth are lies. Legally they described the charges, particularly those made in Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry by SwiftVets founder John E. O'Neill and Dr. Jerome R. Corsi, as slanderous and libelous. Attorney Bill Dyer of BeldarBlog helpfully reminded Senator Kerry in 2005 of his possible recourse against the authors, since undoubtedly their lies caused his defeat in 2004:

I'm quite sure you'll recall that many of your supporters, defenders, and admirers argued enthusiastically that fall, and even after the election, that you ought to sue Mr. O'Neill, Dr. Corsi, and their publisher, Regnery Publishing, Inc., for defamation - more specifically, for libel based on the book and slander based on their public comments in connection with it.

Fast forward to today, and even Massachusetts' liberal statute of limitations for defamation lawsuits has expired (a few days ago, on August 25). Yet no action from Senator Kerry, who still publicly claims that O'Neill's stated facts are "lies." Perhaps Kerry has forgotten about 2004 (unlikely), or he doesn't have the funds to file a lawsuit (even more unlikely). Luckily, the senator has friends out their like Dyer, who has offered to underwrite Kerry's effort to clear his good name, by helping Kerry sue Dyer himself for defamation, due to the fact that Dyer has republished much of O'Neill's book on his Web site:

Sen. John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, are stopping by the First Parish Church in Cambridge today. The topic for discussion: their book This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future.

If precedent is any guideline, the event should draw a large crowd. Last summer, Al Gore wowed 'em at the Harvard Book Store (which is also sponsoring today's event) for a signing of the book version of An Inconvenient Truth.

And perhaps the junior senator from the Bay State can use turnout to gauge his chances for 2008 ... whether running for senator or running for president.

When John Kerry announced that he was not going to run for the presidency in 2008, everyone figured that he meant it. Now, as reported on April 15 by Colorado's 9NEWS, he could be mid flip-flop (I invented that term, just for him) and might consider running again:

Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) reopened the door to a possible 2008 presidential campaign during a book signing in Denver and then again, in an interview with 9NEWS.

...while answering a question from a viewer on the program YOUR SHOW about why he chose not to run, Kerry said he had decided it wasn't the right time.

"Could that change?" Kerry said. "It might. It may change over years. It may change over months. I can't tell you, but I've said very clearly I don't consider myself out of it forever."

But Kerry has bigger problems than running for the White House right now. A poll released three days ago, conducted in Massachusetts by Suffolk University, shows that Kerry should be more worried about getting re-elected to the Senate, let alone getting elected as president:

Senator John Kerry, who recently left the door open to a Presidential bid in 2008, could have problems staying in the US Senate. When voters were asked whether Kerry should run for another six-year term in 2008 or if it is time to give someone else a chance, just 37% indicated that he should seek re-election while 56% said that it was time to give someone else a chance.

Kerry never ceases to amuse...

A new 7News-Suffolk poll says that 56 percent of Massachusetts registered voters want to give someone else a shot at John Kerry's Senate seat. Only 37 percent say he should run again.

This is clearly bad news for Kerry, and, according the Boston Herald's Wayne Woodlief, "very good news for any well-heeled Republican who might try a run against Long Jawn. Or even for somebody who isn't rich but is [...] 'an aggressive, strong politician' who could see the national GOP open its coffers if Kerry's numbers stay that low. Especially with control of the Senate at stake."

Sure, this offers a very small glimmer of hope for the Massachusetts Republican Party. But, Kerry's vulnerability may also inspire some Massachusetts congressmen with large campaign coffers to take Kerry out in the primaries. Now, if Kerry survives the primaries and the Mass GOP offers a viable candidate to oppose him, the seat could very well become competitive... certainly the most competitive race for Kerry in quite some time.

Maybe last year's infamous "stuck-in-Iraq" comment has caused Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to keep taking controversial positions on controversial issues.

Kerry, according to the Boston Herald, says he would continue to go on Don Imus' radio show -- "as long as it wasn't 'the same-old, same-old'" -- and that the notorious host deserved a suspension, not a firing, for his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

The senator, who has been a guest on Imus' show, said, "To me it was in the hands of the young women and you know they made the judgment that they thought he was genuine and they felt they could forgive him," and added, "I think it was appropriate to pay a price on the airwaves, but I'm not sure that it was appropriate to say you're off forever."

In the years after Al Gore lost the 2000 presidential campaign, Gore steadily became more forceful in his remarks, calling for action on global warming and denouncing the Iraq War. Will Kerry, bested by President Bush in 2004, follow Gore's example?

Well, this is interesting. If you asked me who would be the last person on earth to support Don Imus, John Kerry would've been a contender. But no!

Kerry: "I think that the...you know the punishment has to fit the crime so to speak. I think a long suspension, or a strong suspension met with his appropriate level, given that the team forgave him. To me it was in the hands of the young women. They made the judgment that they thought he was genuine and they felt they could forgive him. And I think it was appropriate to pay a price on the airwaves but I'm not sure that it was appropriate to say you're off forever."

Dominic Carter: "If Mr. Imus has a show in the future would you appear on it?"

Kerry: "It would depend on what the context of the show was obviously. If he goes back to doing the same old same old I'd have trouble doing that, but if it's a different show and he says it's going to be different sure."

Personally I couldn't give a fig about Imus's future, I'm sure he'll be fine. But this is an interesting side of John Kerry, speaking against the anti-Imus media/political correct wing. Is this what John Kerry really thinks or is this just a naked ploy to grab some headlines?

Senator John Kerry told us in January that he would not be running for president in 2008.

He lied.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) reopened the door to a possible 2008 presidential campaign during a book signing in Denver and then again, in an interview with 9NEWS.

The 2004 Democratic nominee told a crowd of more than 250 at the Tattered Cover bookstore in lower downtown Denver that he had no desire to endorse any candidate for the office right now, choosing to wait to see how they addressed the issue of global warming.

...while answering a question from a viewer on the program YOUR SHOW about why he chose not to run, Kerry said he had decided it wasn't the right time.

"Could that change?" Kerry said. "It might. It may change over years. It may change over months. I can't tell you, but I've said very clearly I don't consider myself out of it forever."

When asked whether he expected that decision to change in time for the 2008 race, Kerry said, "If suddenly the field changed or the dynamics of the nation shifted, who knows? You might look at it differently, but I don't see that. I don't foresee that. That's not where I am today and that's not what I'm doing."

I would love to see Senator Kerry take another stab at it. Why not? We could all use a good laugh.

This is the kind of story I wish I could write everyday. Two of our political luminaries, John Kerry and Newt Gingrich, debating the subject of global warming with the cameras rolling, and each man taking pains to listen to, and praise the other in the midst of a philosophical disagreement. How different this exchange played in contrast to the Inhofe vs. Gore showdown last month, which pitted the frothing warming denier against the issue's biggest cheerleader.

This time around, what transpired was a reasoned dialog. Granted, that may have to do with the fact that both Kerry and Gingrich agree that global warming is real and that humans play a significant role in its worsening. Where they differed was on the steps that we should take. Gingrich, who has long been a small-government Republican, put forth the notion the marketplace offered our best hope:

"Regulation and litigation are the least effective methods of getting to solutions," Gingrich said... "Rewarding entrepreneurship and investing in science and technology--reshaping the market with incentives--are the fastest ways to get change."

Kerry agreed that free-market innovation would have to play a major role, but added that it was also imperative to set governmental caps on emissions in the meantime.

"You can't just sit there and say, "Oh, let the market respond," Kerry said. "That's like saying, 'Barry Bonds, go investigate steroids.' Or like saying, 'Enron, you take over the pensions for America.' Not going to happen."

No matter where you come down on this issue, it was refreshing to hear two lawmakers engage one another on substance. I wonder if Inhofe was watching.

Related Stories Previously on 'The Stump':
· Global Warming to End World: Poor Hardest Hit
· White House: Science? What Science?
· Inhofe Eviscerates Self, Again
· James Inhofe Eviscerates Al Gore

It is becoming a pattern. President Bush, just as he did with John Bolton, decided to give Congress the middle finger concerning the job of Belgian Ambassador. You see, your Commander-in-Chief, sensing that he didn't have the votes to get his nominee, Sam Fox, that crucial position, withdrew his nomination last Wednesday, waited until Congress was away on Spring Break, then slipped him in via recess appointment. Earlier I posted the incendiary exchange between Fox and John Kerry, which can be viewed here.

How'd the president's whacking of the Democratic hornet's nest go over?

Chris Dodd: "This is really now taking the recess appointment vehicle and abusing this beyond anyone's imagination. This is a travesty."

John Kerry: "It's sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the objections of the Senate."

So why did Bush think that Fox was the most qualified man for the job so much so that he just had to have him in Brussels, despite Senate objections? Simple. "Fox has donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates and causes since the 1990's." Hooray! Long live cronyism!

John Kerry has been known, to put it mildly, to put his foot in his mouth from time to time. Still, he had to understand what the political effect of his latest revelation about McCain and the VP slot would be. As posted by fellow AOL Blogger Matt Singer, Kerry said that it was McCain who first pursued the idea of running as Kerry's VP.

Singer covers the details well, so we won't go over that here, but what I find fascinating is what Kerry's motivations are here. As noted, Kerry has to understand that this is gigantic bombshell in the McCain campaign. McCain already has huge issues of trust with the Republicans, especially movement, ideologically driven conservatives. Now to find out that McCain was at one point ready to ditch the GOP and all it stood for to run with John Kerry in what could only be an amazing display of self-serving hubris.

Yeah that's going to leave a mark.

Nice scoop by MyDD.com, who have John Kerry on tape saying that political handlers for John McCain approached him regarding the possibility of the senator from Arizona joining the Democratic presidential ticket. This news comes on the heels of reports that John McCain apparently approached Sen. Tom Daschle in 2001 about caucusing with Senate Democrats, wresting control of the chamber away from the GOP (Jim Jeffords beat him to the punch).

The senator's presidential campaign is already reeling from disappointing fundraising numbers for the first quarter. His biggest strength is that he has a huge number of small dollar donors, many of whom probably won't mind that he flirted with crossing the aisle. But as these reports go public, the big money in the GOP will turn off even more.

At this point, Senator John McCain's only remaining path to the presidency may well be as a third party or independent candidate. It's got to be an option his advisors are weighing.

President Bush has pulled the plug on his nominee for the post of Ambassador to Belgium. You may remember the contentious confirmation hearing, in which Senator John Kerry had the chance to confront the president's man, Sam Fox. Fox, it turned out, had donated $50,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth back in 2004, and Kerry had a field day with him.



There was no way Fox was going to get the job. In the words of Chris Dodd:

"U.S. Ambassadors need to be both responsible and credible, and Mr. Fox's support for an organization known to have spread falsehoods illustrates neither."

Gone are the days of the rubber-stamp Congress. Good riddance.

I don't know if John Kerry asked her or if she even would've accepted, but Bob Shrum is claiming she was considered and then they quickly went in another direction:

The New York senator and former first lady was on a list of possible running mates for 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, according to an upcoming book by top Kerry strategist Bob Shrum.

But Clinton was quickly ruled out because quiet polling found she was too polarizing, Shrum writes.

Of course they eventually went with John Edwards, a horrendous choice.

This is just more proof that the 2004 Kerry campaign was the worst run in recent history. He responded late to every GOP attack (and non-GOP attacks like the Swiftboat Vets) and just seemed downright mean at times. If he had chose Hillary, my guess is that he'd be president today. While Hillary could never win the presidency straight-up against Rudy Giuliani or Fred Thompson, she may well have given Kerry the boost he needed by advising him better than the winless Shrum did.

Four years later, Hillary has damaged herself politically with her Iraq vote, her incomprehensible stand since the war started going bad and the continued baggage of being married to Bill. She also didn't have these issues that are driving a wedge between her and the left in 2004 (except being married to Bill), which she has now.

Thank God this guy never became president eh? See the earlier post by Scott here. Since that already hit the high points let's talk about the reaction.

To the righty blogosphere, John Kerry is like a gift from heaven. Everytime he says something, it launches a billion blog posts, because a: It's usually something completely inane, and b: It supports every usual Democratic stereotype.

To the left wing blogosphere, John Kerry is an idiot. Oh not because of what he thinks, it's because he says it out loud. For example:

At an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, John Kerry was asked a question about the U.S. government's relations with Iran prior to the election of Ahmadinejad. Kerry had the audacity to answer the question honestly and correctly recognizing the reality of Americas place in today's world diplomacy. Unfortunately, he failed to couch the answer in phraseology that would prevent the misuse of his thoughts.

Fool! Never say what you really think! Clearly unfit for command. You gotta be sneaky to be a Democrat.

The Boston Globe is reporting that John Kerry will announce later today that he is not running for President in 2008, but he will run for re-election to the Senate next year:

Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, plans to say he will remain in the Senate to recommit himself to efforts to extricate the United States from the war in Iraq. His decision to stay out of the presidential race reflects a realization that he would have had an uphill climb in capturing the Democratic nomination, given the other party heavyweights who are already in the race, according to the officials, who spoke to the Globe on condition of anonymity.

Kerry plans to make his plans known with a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon, and is taping a message to e-mail his supporters to explain his decision

A no-brainer for him, although his ego must be taking a hit. Hillary and Barack are cornering the field right now (in attention and money), and I don't think that Kerry was willing to go through a fact based 'swift-boating' by the Clintons this time around. They would destroy him. And who would be left among the Democrats to protect him?