Say Anything Blog

Ted Kennedy is the latest in what has become a line of Democrats to get a smack-down on their historical revisionism.

Here's the transcript:

[RUSSERT, reading quote:] We know [Iraq is] developing unmanned vehicles, capable of delivering chemical and biological warfare agents ... all U.S. intelligence experts agree that they are seeking nuclear weapons. There is little question that Saddam Hussein wants to develop them. ...In the wake of September 11th, who among us can say with any certainty, to anybody, that those weapons might not be used against our troops or against allies in the region? Who can say that this master of miscalculation will not develop a weapon of mass destruction even greater -- a nuclear weapon. ...

RUSSERT: Are those the statements you're concerned about?

Kennedy: Well, I am concerned about it, and that's why I believe that the actions that were taken by Harry Ried in the Senate last week, when effectively he said that we are going to get to the bottom of this investigation....

We've got to get to the bottom of it. And that is what the Democrats stood for on the floor of the United States Senate last week. That was a bold stroke, one that has the overwhelming support of the American people. It is about time that they got the facts on it, they haven't got them to date, they deserve them and they'll get them.

RUSSERT: But Senator, what the Democrats stood for on the floor of the Senate in 2002, let me show you who said what I just read: John Kerry, your candidate for president. He was talking about a nuclear threat from Saddam Hussein. Hillary Clinton voted for the war. John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry. Democrats said the same things about Saddam Hussein. You yourself said quote "Saddam is dangerous, he's got dangerous weapons." It wasn't just the Bush White House.

Youch.

I think Teddy needs to go stand in the corner with Senators Levin, Rockefeller and Rep. Hinchey.

I do have one question though: Why did it take the media so long to start doing this stuff? This duality from Democrats on the pre-war intelligence issue has existed for a while now, yet they've rarely been called on it. Now that the President has begun pushing back the media decides to come along for the ride?

Update:

Video of this exchange now available here.