Kerry sees 'plenty of time' to counter Bush camp's attacks on him
Katharine Q. Seelye NYT Tuesday, April 6, 2004
WASHINGTON Responding to concerns in his own party that he may have taken too long off the campaign trail, Senator John Kerry said that he had plenty of time to define himself for voters despite millions of dollars worth of what he termed "the equivalent of nuclear attacks" on television by the Bush campaign that have cast him as a tax-and-spend liberal. "I'll put out a positive message, define myself to people - there's plenty of time here," Kerry said in wide-ranging discussions with reporters of regional newspapers here on Monday, his first day campaigning after minor shoulder surgery. "We have to get out there and make sure people know who I am, what I stand for," he said. "We'll be doing that."
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In the discussions, among Kerry's most extended sessions with reporters in weeks, he suggested that he would not allow himself to be pigeon-holed as a liberal and said that he expected to win some states in the South, although he declined to name them. He cited his history of opposing deficits and his support for overhauling the welfare system, said that his foreign policy would make the United "stronger and safer" than Bush's would and that "I led the fight to put 100,000 cops on the streets of America." He added that he was a former prosecutor and a veteran.
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"I don't fit a stereotype," Kerry said.
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He became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Catholic who supported policies like abortion rights and civil unions between people of the same sex that are at odds with Catholic teaching. "Who are they?" he demanded of his questioner. "Name them. Are they the same legislators who vote for the death penalty, which is in contravention of Catholic teaching?"
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He added: "I'm not a church spokesman. I'm a legislator running for president. My oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States in my public life. My oath privately between me and God was defined in Catholic church by Pious 23rd and Pope Paul VI in Vatican II, which allows for freedom of conscience for Catholics with respect to these choices, and that is exactly where I am. And it is separate. Our Constitution separates church and state, and they should be reminded of that."
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Kerry said he had a strong record on consumer issues that would help limit the appeal of Ralph Nader, who drained tens of thousands of votes from Al Gore in 2000. "I'm going to talk directly to people who in the past have been inclined to support Ralph Nader," he said, adding that he may be meeting with Nader himself.
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The New York Times
< < Back to Start of Article WASHINGTON Responding to concerns in his own party that he may have taken too long off the campaign trail, Senator John Kerry said that he had plenty of time to define himself for voters despite millions of dollars worth of what he termed "the equivalent of nuclear attacks" on television by the Bush campaign that have cast him as a tax-and-spend liberal. "I'll put out a positive message, define myself to people - there's plenty of time here," Kerry said in wide-ranging discussions with reporters of regional newspapers here on Monday, his first day campaigning after minor shoulder surgery. "We have to get out there and make sure people know who I am, what I stand for," he said. "We'll be doing that."
.
In the discussions, among Kerry's most extended sessions with reporters in weeks, he suggested that he would not allow himself to be pigeon-holed as a liberal and said that he expected to win some states in the South, although he declined to name them. He cited his history of opposing deficits and his support for overhauling the welfare system, said that his foreign policy would make the United "stronger and safer" than Bush's would and that "I led the fight to put 100,000 cops on the streets of America." He added that he was a former prosecutor and a veteran.
.
"I don't fit a stereotype," Kerry said.
.
He became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Catholic who supported policies like abortion rights and civil unions between people of the same sex that are at odds with Catholic teaching. "Who are they?" he demanded of his questioner. "Name them. Are they the same legislators who vote for the death penalty, which is in contravention of Catholic teaching?"
.
He added: "I'm not a church spokesman. I'm a legislator running for president. My oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States in my public life. My oath privately between me and God was defined in Catholic church by Pious 23rd and Pope Paul VI in Vatican II, which allows for freedom of conscience for Catholics with respect to these choices, and that is exactly where I am. And it is separate. Our Constitution separates church and state, and they should be reminded of that."
.
Kerry said he had a strong record on consumer issues that would help limit the appeal of Ralph Nader, who drained tens of thousands of votes from Al Gore in 2000. "I'm going to talk directly to people who in the past have been inclined to support Ralph Nader," he said, adding that he may be meeting with Nader himself.
.
The New York Times WASHINGTON Responding to concerns in his own party that he may have taken too long off the campaign trail, Senator John Kerry said that he had plenty of time to define himself for voters despite millions of dollars worth of what he termed "the equivalent of nuclear attacks" on television by the Bush campaign that have cast him as a tax-and-spend liberal. "I'll put out a positive message, define myself to people - there's plenty of time here," Kerry said in wide-ranging discussions with reporters of regional newspapers here on Monday, his first day campaigning after minor shoulder surgery. "We have to get out there and make sure people know who I am, what I stand for," he said. "We'll be doing that."
.
In the discussions, among Kerry's most extended sessions with reporters in weeks, he suggested that he would not allow himself to be pigeon-holed as a liberal and said that he expected to win some states in the South, although he declined to name them. He cited his history of opposing deficits and his support for overhauling the welfare system, said that his foreign policy would make the United "stronger and safer" than Bush's would and that "I led the fight to put 100,000 cops on the streets of America." He added that he was a former prosecutor and a veteran.
.
"I don't fit a stereotype," Kerry said.
.
He became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Catholic who supported policies like abortion rights and civil unions between people of the same sex that are at odds with Catholic teaching. "Who are they?" he demanded of his questioner. "Name them. Are they the same legislators who vote for the death penalty, which is in contravention of Catholic teaching?"
.
He added: "I'm not a church spokesman. I'm a legislator running for president. My oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States in my public life. My oath privately between me and God was defined in Catholic church by Pious 23rd and Pope Paul VI in Vatican II, which allows for freedom of conscience for Catholics with respect to these choices, and that is exactly where I am. And it is separate. Our Constitution separates church and state, and they should be reminded of that."
.
Kerry said he had a strong record on consumer issues that would help limit the appeal of Ralph Nader, who drained tens of thousands of votes from Al Gore in 2000. "I'm going to talk directly to people who in the past have been inclined to support Ralph Nader," he said, adding that he may be meeting with Nader himself.
.
The New York Times WASHINGTON Responding to concerns in his own party that he may have taken too long off the campaign trail, Senator John Kerry said that he had plenty of time to define himself for voters despite millions of dollars worth of what he termed "the equivalent of nuclear attacks" on television by the Bush campaign that have cast him as a tax-and-spend liberal. "I'll put out a positive message, define myself to people - there's plenty of time here," Kerry said in wide-ranging discussions with reporters of regional newspapers here on Monday, his first day campaigning after minor shoulder surgery. "We have to get out there and make sure people know who I am, what I stand for," he said. "We'll be doing that."
.
In the discussions, among Kerry's most extended sessions with reporters in weeks, he suggested that he would not allow himself to be pigeon-holed as a liberal and said that he expected to win some states in the South, although he declined to name them. He cited his history of opposing deficits and his support for overhauling the welfare system, said that his foreign policy would make the United "stronger and safer" than Bush's would and that "I led the fight to put 100,000 cops on the streets of America." He added that he was a former prosecutor and a veteran.
.
"I don't fit a stereotype," Kerry said.
.
He became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Catholic who supported policies like abortion rights and civil unions between people of the same sex that are at odds with Catholic teaching. "Who are they?" he demanded of his questioner. "Name them. Are they the same legislators who vote for the death penalty, which is in contravention of Catholic teaching?"
.
He added: "I'm not a church spokesman. I'm a legislator running for president. My oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States in my public life.
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