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Kerry: Blow Osamaâs brains out
EFL. Hat tip LGFThough he always has opposed the death penalty, Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday that the Sept. 11 attacks made him realize that he would want to "blow Osama bin Ladenâs brains out." Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, makes an exception for terrorists in his otherwise unflinching opposition to capital punishment. That exception, he said, was sealed by the realization that war had been declared against the United States that balmy autumn morning more than two years ago. "That status of war led me to find it impossible to suggest I wouldnât want to blow Osama bin Ladenâs brains out and treat him as an enemy," he said in an interview with the Tribune while visiting the Chicago area for several campaign stops. "I walked out of the Capitol and said, `Weâre at war."â said Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran. "That was my instant reaction as I looked in the air for another airplane that was heading toward us. I think you destroy the enemy." Thatâs what he says now. But wait a few days⊠The death penalty is a subject that Kerryâs political opponents have tried to use against him over the past two decades, to little effect. Other Democrats have not been so fortunate. In 1988, presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis suffered great political damage when he said during a televised debate that he would not want to impose capital punishment even if his wife were raped and murdered. From that point, being in favor of capital punishment was seen as an important marker for Democratic candidates who wanted to appear tough on crime. In 1992, for example, Gov. Bill Clinton dramatically traveled to Arkansas just before the New Hampshire primary for an execution. The national debate over the death penalty has heated up anew after numerous high-profile investigations proved that Death Row inmates had been wrongly convicted, most notably in Illinois. Those cases have prompted a re-examination of capital punishment, though a clear majority of Americans continue to favor it. According to the Gallup Organization, which has been polling on the subject for more than five decades, about 70 percent of Americans favor the death penalty. "The public likes the death penalty for psychological revenge reasons," said Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll. "Kerry is out of sync with mainstream America on that, no question about it." President Bushâs campaign has held out Kerryâs evolving position on the death penalty as just one more in a string of flip-flops to portray him as unprincipled, indecisive and blowing with the political winds. Thatâs it exactly. Except that if Kerry gets elected then Theresa Heinz-Kerry will be the strongest wind. Exit Uncle Sam, stage left. Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-03-10 |
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