Who's the Idiot?

I'm starting to think that either John Kerry is an idiot (in the clinical sense) or he thinks the voters are idiots. Let's take a look at some of his campaign verbiage from today to illustrate what I mean.

Kerry said that Bush sent troops to the "wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Now forgive me if I'm wrong but didn't Kerry vote to give Bush the authority to send troops to Iraq? Maybe Kerry can plead that he didn't have the proper intelligence at the time but, again forgive me if I'm wrong, didn't Kerry sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee? Maybe the problem is that Kerry didn't get the intelligence because he missed more that 76% of the Committee's meetings. Or maybe Kerry is just trying to throw anything up on the wall in the hope that it sticks?

What Kerry may not realize is that statements like this will come back to haunt him in the debates. I can already hear the question; "Senator, you have said that the President sent our troops to the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time but you also voted to give him that authority - how to you reconcile these two seemingly opposing positions?" Whatever he says - Bush should mop up with the rebuttal (maybe even breaking out some classic Reagan, "Well there you go again John.")

Kerry also said, "We want those troops home, and my goal would be to try to get them home in my first term."

What about the troops in Japan, Germany and South Korea? Are you going to bring those troops home too? Or are you just saying that Iraq is a quagmire and we will pullout whether the job is done or not? You do realize that you just told the terrorists that A: they just have to play a waiting game with us and B: you have no real stomach to stand up to them.

I know Kerry is mired in the Vietnam era but that's no reason for the rest of the country to be placed into a Land of the Lost time warp like the Marshall family. Senator - you do recall the fall of Saigon - right? Do the words "boat people" or "killing fields" ring a bell with you? How about the words "those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it"?

There are about 1.2 million Vietnamese in the US. I saw a recent poll that said that 9 out of 10 Vietnamese in California are against Kerry. I think a well done commercial showing the last chopper out of Saigon while a voice-over explains that Kerry wants to do to Iraq what we did Vietnam (cut and run) would be effective in getting out that vote.

Kerry called the coalition of nations working in Iraq "the phoniest thing I ever heard."

I think Kerry should be reminded that 131 non-US soldiers have died in Iraq since the fighting began.

Kerry is a cur for making that remark but I take my solace in the fact that this statement will also come back and bite him in the ass at the debates.

Kerry added. "This president rushed to war without a plan to win the peace, and he's cost all of you $200 billion that could have gone to schools, could have gone to health care, could have gone to prescription drugs, could have gone to our Social Security."

Now I don't have the numbers in front of me but isn't one of the Democrats biggest complaints that Bush ran up a $200 billion deficit? So this $200 billion Kerry speaks of for Iraq - wouldn't that have not been spent so that we wouldn't have a deficit? Or is Kerry saying that $200 billion deficits are OK just as long as the money isn't going to the military (or by extension homeland security because I notice he didn't mention that). Which is it John?

Summary

I think what we are witnessing is an attempt by Kerry to energize the same base that made Howard Dean the front runner in the primaries. The thinking probably runs like this "the only way to win is to make sure we get out our base and hope for a drop off in their base - maybe from overconfidence (staying home) or maybe from disillusionment possibly from increased body bags from Iraq (MAKE NO MISTAKE - KERRY IS ALMOST BEGGING FOR INCREASED US CASUALTIES IN IRAQ IN OCTOBER).

What Kerry may be overlooking are the facts that:

1. Dean eventually lost the primaries mainly because his stances were beyond the pale.

2. Many centrist people (both Democrat and Independent) don't vote in the primaries but will vote in November and these new positions and allegations diminish Kerry greatly in their eyes. They want a reasonable person they can trust not a moonbat.

3. Iraq is NOT Vietnam

4. Eventually Kerry will have to face the music for his statements and positions. He hasn't had a real interview since August 1st (Jon Stewart doesn't count). If he doesn't come clean with much of this stuff like his medical records (Clinton's heart attack emphasizes the need for full-disclosure) and his military records (it's form 180 John - if you want I can mail it to you) - if he doesn't come clean with this stuff - he's going to get crushed by the collective weight of his baggage at the debates.

The only conclusions I can reach are either A: John Kerry is an idiot (and has no clue on how to run a national campaign) or B: the Democrats are planning an October surprise of Kerry stepping down (maybe for medical reasons) and John Edwards taking over in his place.

Now I know that "B" sounds very "tin foil hat"-like but it would explain why Edwards has been the invisible man while Kerry turns himself into the human torch. Of course the simpler and more reasonable explanation is that John Kerry is just an idiot.

EDIT: Bob made a remark in the comments that I thought should be shared, "Kerry's not a complete idiot, he is a work in progress."

Heh heh