Nonsense about "Nuisance"

Part of me just wishes Kerry would keep his mouth shut. Sometimes, he can be punchy and effective. Sometimes it is like listening to someone's grandfather tell you a story. The more anyone blathers on, the more he or she says that can be used against him.

In NY Times magazine article, Kerry said:

"We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance… I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life."

Why did he need to say this? All he needs to say on terrorism is: We will crush the terrorists. Any way. Any how. Period. And, I have a plan...

But, for some reason he could not help himself and has to wax philsophical on the issue. We hope terrorism becomes like prostitution, a nuisance? Not only is he sounding silly, but he has also offended thousands of hard-working hookers. They vote too, Senator. Anti-gambling as well? He basically alienated all the libertarians who like having a good time.

That said, he is not entirely wrong and out of his mind. How can anyone claim 100% victory. My complaint is not about 100% substance, but mostly rhetoric.

Basically, it sets him up to charges that he will not take the terrorism threat seriously an do everything necessary to fight it. Here is how Bush responded today:

"I couldn't disagree more. Our goal is to not to reduce terror to some acceptable level of nuisance, our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive, destroying terrorist networks and spreading freedom and liberty around the world."

The bottom line is that Bush's election hinges on manipulating Kerry's words in ways that sow distrust and fear in the electorate. And, he has been very effective at it. The less, and the more poignant the Senator says, the better. The time to be ponderous is not when speaking to a Times writer during a hard fought election.