John Kerry completes a long pass!

I've been pretty hard on John Kerry on this blog, but today, he really helped his own cause with his speech at Temple University. Up until now, he's been "running the ball" in football terminology, meaning that he's been playing it safe and not taking chances. That works when you're ahead, but I've had the sense that he's behind in momentum. It's time to go for a long pass, and he succeeded.

Instead of muddling around on whether he should have voted for the resolution to attack Iraq, or worse yet, stuff from Vietnam, today he addressed today's national security concerns with specific concrete goals, and was able to highlight the contrast between himself and George Bush.

Some highlights:

Instead of providing our police, firefighters, and ambulance drivers with the equipment they need… instead of protecting ports, trains, subway lines and highways… instead of defending nuclear plants and chemical factories… this President under-funded homeland security. That was the wrong choice.

* * *

I will wage this war relentlessly with a single-minded determination: to capture or kill the terrorists, crush their movement and free the world from fear.

* * *

But tons and kilotons of poorly secured chemical and nuclear weapons are spread throughout the former Soviet Union. Twelve years ago, we began a bipartisan program to help these nations secure and destroy those weapons. It is incredible – and unacceptable -- that in the three years after 9/11, President Bush hasn’t stepped up our effort to lock down the loose nuclear weapons and materials in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere. More such materials were secured in the two years before 9/11 than in the two years after.

* * *

At our seaports we’re physically inspecting only 5% of the cargo coming into America. The Bush Administration is spending more in Iraq in four days than they’ve spent protecting our ports for all of the last three years.

At our airports, there has been some progress, but there is far more to do. According to news accounts, the terrorist aviation list only includes those who are a danger to aviation. This is ridiculous. It should include every suspected terrorist who is a danger to anything, anywhere in our country.

Terrorists used explosives to bring down two planes in Russia. Yet here in America, the system for detecting explosives carried by passengers fails to pass our own government’s tests. And here’s something that makes no sense at all: your luggage is x-rayed when it’s put on the plane, but the cargo on the hold underneath seldom is.

* * *

This is all common sense; but none of it is a priority for the Bush Administration. Here’s what’s on their agenda. Costly new nuclear weapons we don’t need that risk fueling a new arms race. And committing to a missile defense system that could eventually cost $100 billion doesn’t yet work and won’t stop likely threats to our security.

Near here, in the Philadelphia region, there are eight chemical plants where a terrorist attack could endanger a million people. But this President allowed the chemical industry to derail commonsense measures for chemical plant security. As president, I will protect them.

At a time when police officers are more critical than ever to our homeland security, this President gutted the program to put 100,000 new police on our streets. I will restore that funding and make sure the money reaches our first responders.

This is exactly what Kerry needed to say. He's able to point out why Bush's national security plans are deficient (if not misguided) and address what he (Kerry) thinks needs to be done. It would have been better if he had said this three months ago, but better late than never. As long as national security is going to be the focus of the election, these are the issues we should be talking about.

Comments

[Craig]

I'll be very curious to see Prof. Althouse's take on this . . .

[FN84]

Did Kerry complete a long pass, or did he just finish watching Conan the Barbarian?

Kerry: "I will wage this war relentlessly with a single-minded determination: to capture or kill the terrorists, crush their movement and free the world from fear."

Karate master: "Conan, what is best in life?"
Conan: "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women!"

[Tung Yin]

Craig, re Prof. Althouse: it sounds like she'd say, too little, too late. . . .

[Joe Kristan]

After his casual trashing of Allawi, there isn't left he can do to further destroy his credibility as a deft deplomat.

[Tung Yin]

Joe wrote: After his casual trashing of Allawi, there isn't left he can do to further destroy his credibility as a deft deplomat.

I won't disagree. I doubt he'd have more success on the international front than Bush -- I mean, Chirac might pay some lip service, but that's all. On the domestic front, however, I think Kerry has hit upon matters that I've been concerned about for a while, and I'd like to hear Bush's response.

[A. Rickey]

FN84:

Channelling Conan the Barbarian. OK, that's priceless. I'd pay good money to see Kerry say that line.