Tina Smith: “I have been privileged on a number of occasions to be in that chair when Senator Kennedy was speaking. I say this with…”

“I have been privileged on a number of occasions to be in that chair when Senator Kennedy was speaking. I say this with affection and admiration. Senator Kennedy has been clear from the beginning of this conflict that he is against the war in Iraq, and I respect his clarity. But it is interesting that while the senior Senator from Massachusetts has been entirely clear and entirely consistent, the junior Senator from Massachusetts, the Democratic nominee, could not have been in more confusion, leaving the American people in a greater sense of chaos than words could make possible. It is amazing, interesting, that we have in Senator Kerry a decorated Vietnam veteran, and yet we have in Senator Kerry a man who now is falling in the polls who faces tonight an opportunity to clarify for the American people his position on Iraq. With plummeting poll numbers, it has to be asked, why has his fortunes as a war hero and veteran been so reversed? I find the answer in the Good Book in a verse where Paul says: For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? I do not know that there is a more certain sound than Senator Kennedy. I cannot imagine a more uncertain sound than Senator Kerry.”