05-29-2004 

QUOTABLES:

"We rushed off to war without an adequate plan, without adequate supplies ... without a plan to win the peace," John Kerry said.

"The Nader Campaign is not dialing for corporate dollars, unlike the corporate political duopoly we are challenging," said Ralph Nader.

I saw Old Yeller on TV yesterday – Al Gore.” – Jay Leno, The Tonight Show.

“John Kerry has a new 757 jet to use while he campaigns for president... did you see it on the news? This is a really cool plane. In the event that Kerry starts speaking, oxygen masks fall from the ceiling to keep people awake.” – Jay Leno.

“Kerry told reporters: it’s not my plane, it’s my wife’s” – Jay Leno.

BUSH BEAT

Bush’s Radio Address

Good morning. Monday is Memorial Day and all across America this weekend, people are remembering those who fought for freedom and who gave their lives in service to their country.

Here in the Nation's Capital, Saturday has a special significance as we dedicate the World War II Memorial in the presence of thousands of veterans of that conflict. When it mattered most, an entire generation of Americans stepped forward to fight evil and show the finest qualities of our nation, and of humanity.

The World War II Memorial will stand forever as a tribute to the generation that fought that war, and to the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives. Because of their sacrifice, tyrants fell; fascism and Nazism were vanquished; and freedom prevailed.

Today, freedom faces new enemies, and a new generation of Americans has stepped forward to defeat them. Since the hour this nation was attacked on September the 11th, 2001, we have seen the character of the men and women who wear our country's uniform. In places like Kabul and Kandahar, Mosul and Baghdad, we have seen their decency and brave spirit. And because of their fierce courage, America is safer. And two terror regimes are gone forever, and more than 50 million souls now live in freedom.

Our mission continues, and we will see it through to victory. We have a strategy to defeat our terrorist enemy, and a plan to help establish lasting freedom in Iraq. The stakes are high, and they are clear. The enemy seeks to establish a new haven for terror and violence at the heart of the Middle East. They seek to force free nations to retreat into isolation and fear, yet we will persevere, and defeat this enemy, and hold this hard-won ground for the realm of liberty.

Those who have fought the battles of the war on terror and served the cause of freedom can be proud of all they have achieved. And these veterans of battle will carry with them, for all their days, the memory of the ones who did not live to be called veterans. Each man or woman we have laid to rest had hopes for the future, and left a place that can never be filled. Each was the most important person in someone's life. For their families there is terrible sorrow, and we pray for their comfort. For the nation, there is a feeling of loss, and we remember each name.

Through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we have known the costs of war. And in every generation, it is the best among us who are called to pay that price. Those who have paid those costs have given us every moment we live in freedom, and every living American is in their debt. We can never repay what they gave for this country. But on this holiday, we acknowledge the debt by showing our respect and gratitude.

Thank you for listening.

 Just POlitics

Kerry aides’ sex inquisition

Remember Alexandra Polier? She’s the woman wrongly rumored last February to have had an affair with Sen. John Kerry... the story that led to her being grilled by aides of Kerry’s presidential campaign.

New York magazine is publishing Polier’s story next week, providing her detailed recollections of a panicked pack of Kerry aides, worried the reported affair would curtail Kerry chances of securing the Democratic nomination. According to the soon-to-be-published article, Polier even wonders whether one of Kerry's closest advisers thought the candidate may have been lying when he denied the affair.

According to excerpts obtained by The New York Post, Polier recalls this conversation with Kerry finance director Peter Maroney — a former beau — and press secretary Stephanie Cutter while an unnamed campaign lawyer listened in:

"When had I first met the senator?" Polier says she was asked by Cutter.

"Davos, [Switzerland]."

"Were there any pictures of us together?"

"No."

"Think back, Alex, think hard," Cutter said, both stern and unsympathetic, Polier wrote.

"I thought, 'Wait a minute, I'm the victim here,' " Polier writes.

"Have you ever been alone with the senator?" Cutter continued.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. I think I would remember!"

"What I thought she wanted to ask, but stopped short of saying was, was I sane? Was I going to seek out the limelight? Had I started this to bring Kerry down? Perhaps she also wondered whether her own boss was telling her the truth," Polier recalls thinking after the conversation.

No-Plan Kerry

Sen. John Kerry and the Democrats are continuing to use Memorial Day as the backdrop to lambaste President Bush and his fight on the War on Terrorism. Kerry continues to want to internationalize the war despite the fact that France Germany and Russia are at the center of the kickback scandals that allowed Saddam Hussein to continue his torturous reign.

"I believe that the Bush administration -- and I say this carefully and thoughtfully ... made America less safe, not more safe, with their blustery arrogant foreign policy," Kerry said at a town hall meeting with military veterans and family members.

"I believe our troops are in greater danger today, exposed to more gunfire and more mortar attacks and more ambushes than they had to be if we had done what common sense dictates ... which is to build alliances and share the responsibilities," Kerry said.

Kerry continues to fail to offer any solution to the War on Terrorism other than continuing to not back away from his earlier statement that the war is mainly a police action. He did offer the following to the question of when he would bring the troops home: "I'm going to get our troops home as fast as possible with honor and the job accomplished in the way it needs to be," Kerry said.

Kerry also stated, "I will destroy the terrorists, but I am going to build a bridge to every last country we can so war is the last resort."

Kerry did not answer the question of whether that meant building bridges to rogue nations that supported terrorists or what he would do with Syria -- which is a staging ground for terrorists.

Nader qualifies for funds

Campaign officials said Ralph Nader has raised more than $850,000 to date from 7,800 separate contributions. To receive matching funds, a candidate must raise at least $5,000 in 20 states in donations of $250 or less.

"The Nader Campaign is not dialing for corporate dollars, unlike the corporate political duopoly we are challenging," Nader said in a statement. "We are seeking a broad base of support among the people."

clinton comedies

Will Bill Kill Kerry this summer?

It’s a familiar scenario – politics overshadowing politics. During the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California challenge all but smothered media coverage of the presidential wannabees... as did Hillary Clinton with her “Living History” book release and tour.

But Bill Clinton says the release of his memoirs, “My Life,” this June (and a world-wide publicity tour hyping it) won’t overshadow Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaigning:

"I think that it will not detract in any way," Clinton told the Associated Press. "I hope it will make citizens believe in politics more and believe in the importance of elections more and understand the honest differences between the two parties more."

NewsMax disagrees with the former leader of the free world:

“The expected tidal wave of publicity over Mr. Clinton's book, titled "My Life," is sure to boost nostalgia for the charismatic Democrat, party insiders worry - making Kerry look even more stiff and lackluster on the stump than he already does.”

Look even more stiff and lackluster on the stump than he already does? It’s going to be a long summer...