Outside the Beltway

Kerry Foreign Leader Flap

James Joyner · Wednesday, March 17, 2004 · 2 comments

Steven Taylor and Dodd Harris both have good comments on the brouhaha over Kerry’s statements that foreign leaders prefer him over Bush.

This reminds me of the various little fibs Al Gore got caught in during the 2000 campaign, in that they are not only only rather embarrasing but that, even if believed, add essentially nothing to the candidate’s luster.

First, as both Steven and Dodd demonstrate, of course Kerry claimed foreign leaders are pulling for him.

Second, while Kerry is backpeddling furiously on this one now that he’s being asked to name names, it’s rather obvious that a whole lot of foreign leaders would prefer Kerry–or, indeed, Charles Manson–to George W. Bush. That’s true whether any of them actually told Kerry so.

Third, no American outside the extreme Left is going to vote for a president on the basis of the endorsement of foreigners.