(CNN)—Sen. John Kerry said fellow veteran John McCain’s military background doesn’t necessarily mean he would be a good commander in chief.
“John McCain can run around all that he wants right now talking about his military experience,” Kerry told CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux, “but he made the wrong judgment about Iraq, he has a foreign policy that has made us weaker.”
He added that the last eight years have been a failure in foreign policy, “and John McCain has supported it in its entirety.”
McCain himself has acknowledged his support of the war in Iraq could cost him the presidency.
Pointing to former President Ronal Reagan’s lack of military experience, Kerry explained presidents have overcome not having a military background by knowing who to ask questions of, and surrounding themselves with people who do share military experience.
Kerry, who endorsed Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential run earlier this year, said military experience has value, but judgment means more. “[Obama] has a very clear vision on how to make America stronger,” the Massachusetts senator said.
UPDATE: A Republican National Committee spokesman blasted Kerry's comments. “John Kerry has absolutely no credibility on Iraq. Kerry’s attacks on Iraq ring hollow considering his inability to offer a consistent much less coherent stance on the issue," said RNC spokesman Alex Conant in a written statement. "Kerry would be better off trying to explain why Barack Obama broke his promise and voted against troop funding for our men and women in uniform.”
–CNN's Emily Sherman
From CNN Politics
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Kerry and Obama also had a foreign policy that made us weak by funding this senseless war. This guy is a joke.
And you john have made the Democratic Party weaker!
Your comments don't count anymore. Sticks & stones. At least he held his party. Much said about you.
I voted for John Kerry in 2004 (both in the primary and general election), and I would gladly vote for him again. Kerry in 2012!
His this treasonous p.o.s. still around. Go away you fool.
Bravo, Sen. kerry. It's amazing how nobody in the media challenges the absurd notion that being a prisoner of war qualifies one for commander-in-chief. Anybody can get captured. Big deal! Three times he misspoke about Sunnis and Shias, Either he doesn't know the difference or he has too many senior moments. We lose either way!!!
It always appears to me that Kerry is going to fall asleep when he speaks. Sleepy John Kerry has a nice ring to it.
If you don't like Kerry's comments....just wait 15 minutes and he'll change his mind
McCain's foreign policy made us weaker???
And Obama will do a better job?...with his all his years of experience...and with the below type of policy leanings:
From Ayman al Zawahir in an audiotape broadcasted recently by a radical Islamic website:
Al-Zawahiri defended a December attack in Algeria - hospital sources said it killed 60 people - because one of its targets was a United Nations building and the "United Nations is an enemy of Islam and Muslims,"
From Barack Obama’s campaign website:
"The best way to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing."
Here is a clue...al Qaeda does not recognize the authority of the UN and has historically treated them as a western entity and thus directed numerous suicide bombings against UN interests.
The terrorist organization will fight this convention tooth and nail and can only be contained via a strong military presence on the ground. Yet Obama promises to have all troops out after 16 months….something has to give????
Referring to the foreign policy of the last eight years, John Kerry said "John McCain has supported it in its entirety.” That is wrong and Kerry knows it is wrong.
In 2002, John McCain, like John Kerry, voted in favor of the use of force resolution in Iraq. Since then, John McCain has fought with the Bush administration frequently about the conduct of the war in Iraq. If the Bush administration had listened to McCain up till now, the situation would be much different.
John Kerry's use of Ronald Reagan as an example of a president without military experience is almost laughable. When did Ronald Reagan become one of John Kerry's role models. I say almost laughable because, for what it's worth, unlike Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan joined the military, and objected when the Army Air Corps kept the well-known actor in Hollywood when he actually joined to serve like anyone else in World War II.
Finally, after his "swiftboating" in 2004, John Kerry of all people should not be putting down John McCain's military experience.
Concur Kerry has no right to talk and McCain has clearly made his foreign policy clearly different then current administration. And everyone seems to forget the dems have had control of congress for the past 3 yrs and haven't done anything except blame their failures on the bush admin fully.
That's why you invited him to be your VP?
Yes, McCain is not going to help us!!! That is for sure.
America, Evangelicals, Catholics. Read MY Lips NO MORE REPUBLICANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NO NO NO NO NO NO MORE
REPUBLICANS FOR ANY OFFICE.
dont worry when they start to tell America about MRS Cindy Mccain and her tales of drunkiness and Drug use he will sink like the Titanic.
She is a pure lush just wait till the General!!!!!!
DEMS are JUST waiting blow the tires off the straight talk express!!!
FUNNY!! Kerry asked Mc Cain to be his VP back in 2004. What a loser! He stabs his buddy in the back, probably hoping Obama will make him VP. Loser!
Democrats really blew it this year.
What a hypocrite... John Kerry ran in 2004 solely on his flawed military career. Does he know when to keep his mouth closed?
Mr. Kerry,
You are a war hero with a clean record in politics. The GOP managed to spin and beat you in the 2004 election despite Bush being their candidate.
How will Obama win against the GOP with a bad political record, member of a church that harbors Hamas extreme Islamic groups, blames America for 9/11, racist issues and Obama's friends are under indictment for criminal activities?
Mr. Kerry if you could not win with all your credentials and good history, how will Obama win against the GOP attack machine? Obama has no chance.
You and I both know HIllary is the only one that can win the presidency.
He still looks like Herman Munster
First Kerry asks McCain to be his V.P. running mate in 2004, now he's swift-boating him?! Which way is it? Hey FLIP FLOP SUPREMO, were you FOR McCain before you were against him? ! ? !
Please, oh please, let Pennyslvanians have some common sense and vote to put Obama down the alley with all the other gutterballs that are being thrown by him and his lame surrogates. Hillary Clinton can dance circles around all these democratic has beens like Kerry, Bill "Judas" Richardson and Jimmy Carter. They are the tired old establishment! We want real change, not flip flopping and scary ghosts of candidates past!
I was a big supporter of Kerry last time, I am disappointed with his choice this time. Kerry you lost all my respect.
Kerry is just smart. I'll take flip-flopper over stay the course.
The Flip-Flopper is now telling McCain that he is wrong on judgement on Iraq war vote. Hmm....Senator Kerry, did you also not vote for Iraq war? Where is your judgment? Before you open your mouth, think twice. You have no credibility when you question McCain's war vote. yes, you can attack his policies but not his war vote. It's simple, you did too. Now, for all those surrender Obamaniancs, you think Obama will withdraw from Iraq immediately as he is promising to YOU (not us, he is not talking to us anyway!!), he will not be able to do that. the generals will oppose that and he knows what his "brothers" in Rwanda went through only 1000 times worse this time. This will be most disasterous decision he ever will. Al-Qaeda will be right here. Just Democrat congress could do nothing, the Democrat Obama will not be able to do anything. He is promising you empty promises. Wake up. But anyway, I am not worried much, he will lose big time, BIG TIME friends.
He is right just because McSame was a POW for 51/2 years does not make him an expert on foreign policy matters. America is always at some risk from extremists from hostile nations , so there is no win or lose situation, thats where attempts at diplomacy come into play.
Hi I am Hillary Clinton.
I will raise your Taxes.
I will control you more with more Government.
I will make you go to the Doctor and wait in line for 4 hours to have that doctor perscribe you drugs for a sore throat.
Oh by the way, I am also going to take your hard earned money and give it to some one who doesn't want to work.
I am going to make you pay for Illegal Immagrants Health Care, and Education also. And you will like it!!!
I am Hilary Clinton, I approve this message and you have No Choice but to approve this message.
Hi I am Barack Obama.
I agree with everything Hilary said except I am a Black Man not a White Woman.
I am Barack Obama, I approve this message but my Bestest Buddy Pastor Wright doesn't.
Okay then. We all know that Kerry is boring and inconsequential. On a more important note. The evil Clinton machine has succeeded in getting Randi Rhodes kicked off of Air America Radio. What a sad shame. Randi was the only one on Air America worth listening to.
His foreign policy is so weak that Kerry wanted him on his ticket. Democratic foreign policy has no teeth and can be counted on to accomplish almost nothing when it comes to the oppressive and dangerous nations of the world. Certain parts of this world only understand the language of force, not the language of love and happiness for all. That part of the world just happens to be the majority of the Middle East as well as parts of the Far East.
With the Democrats we got a deal with the North Koreans under which they completed their nuclear program and still got money from the deal. We ran from Somalia when we got bloodied, we ran from Lebanon when the barracks got bombed, we sat on our hands while Americans were held in Iran, we failed to trade for Obama even though he was known to be a real threat at the time and a host of other things. So the Democratic party should think long and hard before trying to act like they know squat about foreign policy since they only know how to use the carrot and not the stick.