Sen. Kerry was on Meet the Press this past Sunday. He appeared after former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson had spoken on behalf of the McCain campaign.  Sen. Thompson was still pushing the Republican line that Barack Obama is too new and too inexperienced  to lead this country.  He said of Sen. Obama , "you have a fellow who is the most inexperienced and least qualified from a national security standpoint of any Democratic candidate I've seen in my lifetime."  The Republican closing argument is still one based on fear and a false argument that equates years in Washington with judgment. 

This election is not about fear; it is about the American people and their desire to move beyond partisanship. Senator Kerry explainedwhat had been left out of the argument by Fred Thompson:

You never heard Fred Thompson mention the word middle class.  You never heard him offer one proposal for John McCain as to how he will deal with this economic crisis.  You know, there've been two real presidential tests during this campaign.  The first was the choice of the vice president, and it is very clear John McCain went back on his own promises in the primaries, on Fred Thompson's own promises in the primaries, and chose somebody who has zero national security experience, who by definition is not ready to be ready to be president immediately, which is the very qualification John McCain set up.

Secondly, the second critical presidential moment was the economic crisis.  On 15 September, John McCain said the fundamentals of our economy are sound. That was his judgment.  Three days later, he suspends his campaign and says it's the greatest economic crisis since World War II.  He lurches erratically from one place to another.  He doesn't offer any constructive suggestion as to what you do about it.  Senator Obama did offer those.  In fact, all four of his fundamental principles were passed by the United States Congress and put into effect.  So I think on the two critical presidential decisions in this campaign, Barack Obama has been calm and steady and John McCain has been sort of erratic and, frankly, impulsive.  Now, come to the security issue.  Barack Obama has more security experience than Bill Clinton had when he became president.  He has more security experience than Ronald Reagan had when he became president.  And the fact is, it's not just time and a place, and I love John McCain.  I--I've worked with him, I know him.

 It is time to turn the page on the the failed policies of the Bush Administration that John McCain advocates. Barack Obama offers renewal and a chance to change direction for the country.  Sen. Kerry spoke to this yesterday:

This is a moment for change, Tom.  And I might add, you know, if, if John McCain were elected--you look around the world--this is a man who was the biggest cheerleader for the war in Iraq.  He was wrong about who's fighting whom, Sunni-Shia violence.  He was wrong about us being liberators.  He was the first to stand on an aircraft carrier and say, "Next up, Baghdad." He cannot break the break we need from the, from the Bush-Cheney years.  We've got to have a fresh start for America.  We need to move in a new direction, and Barack Obama brings us that.

Now it's up to the army of volunteers to bring the politics of hope and reason home to the voters. No one here is coasting on complacency. Everyone on the Democratic side knows that we have to work very hard to bring this victory home for the American people.  As Sen. Kerry said yesterday:

The Obama campaign is practicing a cautionary lesson by working, working, working.  I mean, the bottom line is you take nothing for granted.  And I know that the candidate, every member of the campaign, and all of his supporters are taking nothing for granted.  Presidential races tighten up anyway.  That year we had a particular event that pushed it, but I think everybody has to be very cautious here and simply work as hard as possible right up until 8:00 on Tuesday night.

See you all at the phonebanks, the visibilities, the canvassing stations and the ballot box. Together we will bring about the change America needs.

 

###