House Speaker: Al-Qaeda wants Kerry to win

[Stravo]

Hastert's al Qaeda comment draws fire
Idea that terrorists want Kerry to win called 'silly,' 'disgraceful'
Monday, September 20, 2004 Posted: 9:59 AM EDT (1359 GMT)


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Top Democrats slapped back Sunday at a remark by House Speaker Dennis Hastert that al Qaeda leaders want Sen. John Kerry to beat President Bush in November.

At a campaign rally Saturday in his Illinois district with Vice President Dick Cheney, Hastert said al Qaeda "would like to influence this election" with an attack similar to the train bombings in Madrid days before the Spanish national election in March.

When a reporter asked Hastert if he thought al Qaeda would operate with more comfort if Kerry were elected, the speaker said, "That's my opinion, yes."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe called Hastert's comments "disgraceful," saying there was "no room for this in our political discourse."

"And I remind you that, you know, we could have done a lot better," McAuliffe said on CNN's "Late Edition."

"The president of the United States, on August 6th of 2001, was told in his briefing that America was going to be attacked by al Qaeda and they may use airplanes," McAuliffe said, referring to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"He didn't call the FAA. He didn't leave his monthlong vacation. He sat down there."

Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, said Hastert "has joined the fear-mongering choir."

"Let me just say this in the simplest possible terms," Edwards said at a rally in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. "When John Kerry is president of the United States, we will find al Qaeda where they are and crush them before they can do damage to the American people."

Hastert, who as speaker heads the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, showed no sign of backing off his comments.

His spokesman, John Feehery, said Sunday that the speaker's comments "were consistent with the speaker's belief that John Kerry would be weak on the war."

"If John Kerry is perceived as being weak on the war, then of course, his election would be perceived as a good thing by the terrorists," Feehery said in a written response to questions about Hastert's remarks.

"The fact that John Kerry can't make up his mind about the war only strengthens that perception."

Neither the Bush campaign nor the White House had any comment on Hastert's remarks, but Bush has accused Kerry of repeatedly changing his position on the war in Iraq.

The comments followed a remark by Cheney earlier this month that Americans might be subjected to another terrorist attack if they were to make "the wrong choice" in November.

Cheney later said that any president must expect more attacks and that his point had been that he felt Bush was better prepared to deal with the threat.

Some Republicans played down Hastert's comments Sunday.

"I doubt that Osama bin Laden is likely to weigh in on our presidential election," said Rep. Chris Cox of California, chairman of the House Policy Committee and fourth-ranking member of the Republican leadership behind Hastert.

Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska called the remarks "silly."

"I think most Americans understand that, regardless of who's president, the terrorists are still going to be terrorists, and they're going to still target Americans," said Hagel, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees.

"And I don't think terrorists of the world sit around the campfire gauging who's the easier president to deal with."

It was the second time this month that Hastert's comments have provoked a public row.

Billionaire George Soros, a major backer of Democratic causes, asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate Hastert after the speaker suggested in a television interview that Soros got money from "drug groups."

Hastert later said he was referring to organizations to which Soros has contributed that favor drug legalization, but he ignored Soros' demand for an apology.

Analysts differ on just how much the Madrid bombings influenced the Spanish election.

Some say they prompted Spaniards to vote out Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, a key U.S. ally in the Iraq war. Others say Aznar's insistence on blaming Basque separatists, not Islamist terrorists, tipped the electorate against him.

In any case, Aznar's successor, Socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq shortly after taking office.

Its shit like this that makes me wish we could put rolly eyes on thread titles. This is just more of the same nonsense from the other side. Pathetic really. Now I'm just waiting for them to say Jesus wants Kerry to lose.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Kerry isn't fighting the war, AMERICA'S WAR!

If you're not with us, you're against us and against FREEDOM! Cobra Commander won't defeat our spirit!

USA! USA! USA!

[wautd]

Its shit like this that makes me wish we could put rolly eyes on thread titles. This is just more of the same nonsense from the other side. Pathetic really. Now I'm just waiting for them to say Jesus wants Kerry to lose.

Sad for the guy who said that. Even more sad for the people who change their in Bush's favor because of that bs

[Gil Hamilton]

Smooth Hastert, real smooth. Looks like we've got another resignation coming up.

[SyntaxVorlon]

How many major personnel has this administration had to resign to save face so far?

[Bugsby]

Smooth Hastert, real smooth. Looks like we've got another resignation coming up.

Nope. He won't resign because that's exactly what Bush's campaign is. Hastert just made the faux pas of saying it out loud. When it gets down to it, other Republicans will back him on this. And what will register in the meida is not how underhanded this comment is because the public is too jaded to care about dirty politics. What WILL catch is the message that al Qaeda wants Kerry to win, and Kerry slips another few points in the polls.

[Wicked Pilot]

I'm sure bin Laden is terribly sad that since 9/11 1000+ US soldiers have been killed in combat, and one middle eastern nation has been converted from a secular dictitatorship into what will probably be a Shia Islamic theocracy.

[Shinova]

I'm sure bin Laden is terribly sad that since 9/11 1000+ US soldiers have been killed in combat, and one middle eastern nation has been converted from a secular dictitatorship into what will probably be a Shia Islamic theocracy.

If that was his goal, he certainly does think far ahead.



Anyway, the usual dirty politics and media love affair.

[RedImperator]

Why shouldn't Hastert say this? If there's anything this campaign should have taught everyone, it's that negative campaigning, even vile negative campaigning, only backfires if the other guy MAKES it backfire, and the Kerry campaign has proven utterly unwilling or incapable of doing that.

[Ender]

*shrug* It's right up there with Cheney's statement last week.

[Wicked Pilot]

If that was his goal, he certainly does think far ahead.

Why spend millions to send your terrorist across an ocean into America, when Bush will send Americans to you for free? Sure, the kill ratio favors us, but our soldiers don't get their 70 virgins now do they.

[Frank Hipper]

I'm sure bin Laden is terribly sad that since 9/11 1000+ US soldiers have been killed in combat, and one middle eastern nation has been converted from a secular dictitatorship into what will probably be a Shia Islamic theocracy.

...and if you don't back Bush, the terrorists win!

What kills me, utterly kills me, is that this state affairs is surprising to some people, and ignored by some others.

[Talon Karrde]

I don't understand the offense taken at this statement. IMHO, if Hastert thinks Islamic terrorists would rather have Kerry in office than Bush, that's his fair opinion. Looking on the face of things, the comment makes sense, but perhaps shouldn't have been said just because of the outrage it can cause.

When I say the comment makes sense, I am saying it in the spirit that I can understand his point. Look real quickly at the context of his statement. A reporter asks Hastert if he thinks Al Qaeda would operate with "more comfort" under Kerry's leadership. Hastert replies, "That's my opinion, yes." Isn't this more or less what this whole election has been based on in the first place? Who can lead the War on Terror better? To me this seems like a valid opinion, it's just said in a context that people take out of context.

[wautd]

I don't understand the offense taken at this statement. IMHO, if Hastert thinks Islamic terrorists would rather have Kerry in office than Bush, that's his fair opinion. Looking on the face of things, the comment makes sense, but perhaps shouldn't have been said just because of the outrage it can cause.

When I say the comment makes sense, I am saying it in the spirit that I can understand his point. Look real quickly at the context of his statement. A reporter asks Hastert if he thinks Al Qaeda would operate with "more comfort" under Kerry's leadership. Hastert replies, "That's my opinion, yes." Isn't this more or less what this whole election has been based on in the first place? Who can lead the War on Terror better? To me this seems like a valid opinion, it's just said in a context that people take out of context.

*Looks at signature*

oookaaay...

[Talon Karrde]

I don't understand the offense taken at this statement. IMHO, if Hastert thinks Islamic terrorists would rather have Kerry in office than Bush, that's his fair opinion. Looking on the face of things, the comment makes sense, but perhaps shouldn't have been said just because of the outrage it can cause.

When I say the comment makes sense, I am saying it in the spirit that I can understand his point. Look real quickly at the context of his statement. A reporter asks Hastert if he thinks Al Qaeda would operate with "more comfort" under Kerry's leadership. Hastert replies, "That's my opinion, yes." Isn't this more or less what this whole election has been based on in the first place? Who can lead the War on Terror better? To me this seems like a valid opinion, it's just said in a context that people take out of context.

*Looks at signature*

oookaaay...

You disagree with my comments? Instead of trying to make them any less valid by pointing to my political beliefs, disect my argument and tell me where I'm wrong.

[Patrick Degan]

I don't understand the offense taken at this statement. IMHO, if Hastert thinks Islamic terrorists would rather have Kerry in office than Bush, that's his fair opinion. Looking on the face of things, the comment makes sense, but perhaps shouldn't have been said just because of the outrage it can cause.

When I say the comment makes sense, I am saying it in the spirit that I can understand his point. Look real quickly at the context of his statement. A reporter asks Hastert if he thinks Al Qaeda would operate with "more comfort" under Kerry's leadership. Hastert replies, "That's my opinion, yes." Isn't this more or less what this whole election has been based on in the first place? Who can lead the War on Terror better? To me this seems like a valid opinion, it's just said in a context that people take out of context.

*Looks at signature*

oookaaay...

You disagree with my comments? Instead of trying to make them any less valid by pointing to my political beliefs, disect my argument and tell me where I'm wrong.

The remarks are inflammatory for a start. Also, they are based on ignorance. Hastert has absolutely no way of knowing if what he's saying is true and no basis for believing that terrorists would think they could get an "easier ride" from one administration as opposed to another. The sole reason for making such a dumbfuck statement is to fire up the Red Meat crowd who need the next GOP blastfax, FauxNews, and Rush to do all their thinking for them.

[Glocksman]

At a campaign rally Saturday in his Illinois district with Vice President Dick Cheney, Hastert said al Qaeda "would like to influence this election" with an attack similar to the train bombings in Madrid days before the Spanish national election in March.

That much might be true.

When a reporter asked Hastert if he thought al Qaeda would operate with more comfort if Kerry were elected, the speaker said, "That's my opinion, yes."

That's his opinion. Others may differ.
The UK's Ambassador to Italy referred to Bush as AQ's best recruiting sergeant.

Hastert's an idiot on several levels.

Of course McAuliffe's spin doctoring on the August 6 PDB isn't any more principled.

"The president of the United States, on August 6th of 2001, was told in his briefing that America was going to be attacked by al Qaeda and they may use airplanes," McAuliffe said, referring to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"He didn't call the FAA. He didn't leave his monthlong vacation. He sat down there."

I won't rehash this controversy here, but even the Democratic 9/11 Commissioners conceded that this was no 'smoking gun'.