Global Test
Kerry is complaining that his words are being misrepresented. I don't think they are. Here is his quote:
"No president, through all of American history, has ever ceded -- and nor would I -- the right to preempt in any way necessary, to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you've got to do it in a way that passes the, the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people, understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Here's the quote cut down a little bit for clarity:
"No president has ever ceded -- and nor would I -- the right to preempt in any way necessary, to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you've got to do it in a way that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people, understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
And here is my best attempt to translate his actual words into something more succinct (leaving out the part about countrymen, because I don't believe it is relevant to the issue at hand). I know I reworded it some. I attempted to stay as faithful to what he actually said as possible, with the goal of making it easier to read. The final points I make are not based on this (they apply just as well to his actual words), but I think it can help us see better what he said:
"No President has ever given up the right to take necessary preemptive military action to protect the USA. I would not, either. However, if you do it, you have to convince the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Kerry is saying that the President has a right to do it, but that this right comes with a requirement.
Kerry is arguing that because he said he would not cede the right, that therefore you may not interpret the "global test" as a requirement. But that's not true. The President has the right to do lots of things that have preconditions or requirements upon them. And according to Kerry's actual words, the right to take preemptive military action is one of them, and one of those requirements is convincing the world.
Taking his own words, saying that Kerry believes in getting a "permission slip" before acting is perfectly reasonable. Maybe that is not what he meant, but it is what he said.
"No president, through all of American history, has ever ceded -- and nor would I -- the right to preempt in any way necessary, to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you've got to do it in a way that passes the, the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people, understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Here's the quote cut down a little bit for clarity:
"No president has ever ceded -- and nor would I -- the right to preempt in any way necessary, to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you've got to do it in a way that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people, understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
And here is my best attempt to translate his actual words into something more succinct (leaving out the part about countrymen, because I don't believe it is relevant to the issue at hand). I know I reworded it some. I attempted to stay as faithful to what he actually said as possible, with the goal of making it easier to read. The final points I make are not based on this (they apply just as well to his actual words), but I think it can help us see better what he said:
"No President has ever given up the right to take necessary preemptive military action to protect the USA. I would not, either. However, if you do it, you have to convince the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Kerry is saying that the President has a right to do it, but that this right comes with a requirement.
Kerry is arguing that because he said he would not cede the right, that therefore you may not interpret the "global test" as a requirement. But that's not true. The President has the right to do lots of things that have preconditions or requirements upon them. And according to Kerry's actual words, the right to take preemptive military action is one of them, and one of those requirements is convincing the world.
Taking his own words, saying that Kerry believes in getting a "permission slip" before acting is perfectly reasonable. Maybe that is not what he meant, but it is what he said.
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
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