Going head to head with Bush, who was unveiling his plan for computerized medical records at about the same time, Kerry criticized the administration’s failure to negotiate drug prices or consider drug reimportation.
“That’s how the president who promised to usher in a ‘responsibility era’ proposes to deal with a real health care crisis, even as he seeks to gin up a phony crisis in Social Security,” said Kerry, in remarks prepared for delivery to the nonprofit consumer group Families USA. “It sounds like a cradle-to-grave irresponsibility plan to me.”
Look, I know a lot of people are pissed at Kerry. I know a lot of people have decided it’s “time” to bash him, that now we can finally have that oh-so-productive debate about what a shitty campaign he ran/how the election was stolen/I always hated his hair, that the statute of limitations on party unity have now expired. But honestly, even if I’d hated Kerry, I’d still love this tactic, for one simple reason:
Kerry’s gonna get ink. When he opens his mouth, especially when it’s to whale on Bush with the chair as he’s doing here, reporters will flock. And yeah, there’s gonna be the obligatory “he’s a big, sore loser” comment from the Republican-of-the-Week, and maybe quotes from “some Democrats” saying he should STFU. But the bare fact is that we need to have a Democrat front and center getting media attention and reminding people that if they don’t like Bush’s policies, there’s another way to go. Kerry’s a good guy to have in that job right now.
A.