John Kerry's Interview with CNN's Aaron Brown October 27, 2003
BROWN: It's a common complaint that candidates for president
oversimplify complex issues in their pursuit of votes. This might not be the
best complaint to hurl at Senator John Kerry, a decorated war hero wounded in
Vietnam, a leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War when he returned. He
voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq, but, last week, voted against the
$87 billion in additional funding.
On the stump, he says he's for winning the war in Iraq, but worries, the
administration's upbeat reaction to the weekend's bombing sound -- quote -- "frighteningly
like the 'light at end of the tunnel' rhetoric of Vietnam." The senator has
written a book, "A Call to Service: My Vision For a Better America," in which,
we can presume, it's all made clear.
We're delighted to have Senator Kerry with us tonight in New York.
Senator, nice to see you.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We hope it is made
clear, Aaron. It's great to be with you.
BROWN: Thank you.
I asked David Gergen this. You may have heard it. Do you worry that your
campaign, all of your -- all the Democratic campaigns are being hijacked by
the Iraqi issue, that no one is hearing anything else?
KERRY: Not in the least, no.
People I'm talking to are deeply concerned about their jobs, the economy. I'm
running because I know how to put America back to work. I think we can hold on
to our manufacturing base, create jobs. We can be more fiscally responsible.
And we can provide health care to Americans, which people are just screaming
about.
Everywhere I go, you hear about the cost of health care and how it's taking
every wage increase anybody gets or even becoming impossible to pay for it. So
the answer is, no, it is not going to squeeze it out. But it is an enormously
important issue for the nation, for the world. And it belongs on the table.
BROWN: It certainly does. Let's talk about some of it.
One of the things I hear a lot about the Democratic candidates is that they do
criticize well, but what would they do different? So, in this postwar period,
what would President John Kerry do that President George W. Bush is not doing
right now?
KERRY: Conduct real and effective diplomacy.
The president has really driven other nations away from us, not pulled them to
us. You cannot go to the United Nations and just demand. You have to work the
process in a way that brings people to our cause. And the president has missed
three opportunities to do that now: when we passed our vote, when they entered
Iraq and Baghdad, and, finally, when he went to the U.N. three weeks ago.
I think you have to turn over to the United Nations genuine authority, ask
them, with a little humility, to be involved in the process of the
transformation of Iraq and bring them to the table for the humanitarian, the
infrastructure and governance -- the governing part of Iraq. If you did that,
that will build the kind of coalition you need in order to deal with the on-the-ground
issues, which strengthen our forces on the ground.
It takes the target off of American soldiers. It reduces the sense of American
occupation. I think, Aaron, it's foreign policy 101, fundamental, that the
United States should not have looked for a way to occupy a Middle Eastern
nation almost alone. And the president's got to find a way out of that.
BROWN: You voted last week against the $87 billion. If your vote had
been the deciding vote, if it had made the difference, your vote, up or down,
would you have still voted against that money?
KERRY: I would never desert the troops. I would never not do what we
need to do to be successful.
But the truth is, if the vote were that close, I guarantee you that, before
they took the vote, they would have worked something out, so that you would
have had a different structure and a different vote. That's the way it works
in the United States Senate. If it didn't, I can guarantee you, as a former
soldier, I'm not going to leave our soldiers without the money they need.
But the fact is, they wouldn't be left without the money, because this money
-- we've already put $79 billion on the table. This money doesn't run out for
several months. So there was plenty of room here to be able to get this right.
I voted the way I voted because the president is going down a dark road which
is going to cost America more money. It is going to put our troops at greater
risk. And the job of the president is to reduce that risk and to maximize the
chances for success.
He may well be successful ultimately going down the road he's going. But the
question for Americans to ask is at what cost in lives and at what cost in
dollars and at what cost in terms of our reputation and influence in the
region.
BROWN: Just quickly, Senator, do you think that the war and the postwar
will be the deciding issue, both in the nominating process and ultimately in
the election?
KERRY: No, I don't. I think it's one.
I think the issue of American security is on the table. But American security
is not just international and national security. It is also job security,
income security, retirement security, health security, education. And I think
that Americans understand that. This election will be fought out on all of
those issues. And they are all front and center in people's minds.
BROWN: Senator, it's kind of strange. You're in New York and I'm in
Washington. It ought to be the other way.
KERRY: Well, no, it isn't. No, it ought to be this way. I like it here better.
You stay there.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Thank you. It's nice to see you, sir. Thank you very much.
