If he hadn't thrown in the "exceptionally qualified by experience and judgment to be president of the United States" part, I would tend to agree it is just the final act of the plausibly deniable campaign smear Kabuki dance. That phrase, however, has to have Penn and Wolfson reaching for the Maalox. And the earplugs if they're going in to talk to Hillary about it.

I don't know about "sneaky", sounded good to me.

Keep those apologies coming. Bob's will no doubt be later noted as the first of many.

A "backhanded insult?" Isn't that a compliment?

While Kerrey's apology sounds heartfelt, and I have no reason to believe it is anything but, it seems passing strange that these things always seem to involve Clinton supporters.

Listen to this, it basically sounds like he is calling on people to vote for Obama.

It is funny because "You are exceptionally qualified by experience and judgment to be President of the United States" pretty much guts Hillary's whole campaign message ("experience" vs naive, able to lead from day One, etc),

and

"I do not doubt that you would use the power of the Presidency to bring peace and prosperity to as many people as possible on our fragile planet. You inspire my highest hopes for that office’s potential: That it be used as a force for good in America and the world" goes one further and shows what Obama can do what Hillary never could.

I think Kerrey is a closet Obama supporter, deep down, some part of him knows he is much better than Clinton. Yeah, not too good that this is all coming from a Clinton endorser.

Very astute observation jjmargolils. It does make one wonder. Who will be the next supporter to allegedly gaffe and then appologize for two or three news cycles to keep the story alive.

That said, I really like bob kerrey and I was shocked and very disappointed when I heard his comments. They really sounded drafted by the clinton attack machine that the clinton II supporters know and love. However, the letter is really good and maybe kerrey had second thoughts after his comments and changed his mind about playing the clinton II game for them. Also, I am sure the letter was not approved by the clinton II campaign due to its tone and content, unlike his original comments.

I'll be glad when the primary season is over.

It is an honest and sincere letter. I appreciate what Bob Kerrey wrote. He came forward and did the right thing. Time to move on.

the more little deaths by a thousand cuts I discover.

Lost me on that one, goldberry.

I'm from Nebraska, so I know Bob Kerrey (not personally). I never once believed his comments were a deliberate smear. He just doesn't work that way. (He has often told the unpopular truth when lies would have served him FAR better in this state.) He told the honest truth, but it was twisted into something else. I'm sure this letter demonstrates what he really meant.

For the record, I'm a strong supporter of Barack Obama. Not only do I like what I hear from him, I think he'd blow away ANY Republican candidate in the general election. A lot of people (not all Republicans, either) really, really hate Hillary Clinton. I can't imagine anything else that would energize the Republicans as much as her nomination. So I'm certainly not an apologist for her campaign.

agree with savvy and goldberry -- BTW, love the line "the more little deaths by a thousand cuts." A quote?

I don't think he was out to smear Obama as much as deliberately "ping" the campaign to overreact.
Which it did.
;-)

PS. Goldberry, you're so twisty you must meet yourself coming and going. I imagine when someone says "good morning" to you, you can find a half-dozen subtle insults that were REALLY intended, huh?

to WCG
Tell me what other interpretation is there for an apology like this one?
It is the most effusive praise heaped on a candidate that you do not endorse, who has deliberately gone on a rampage and overreacted in order to shut you up.

I think that only Obama addicts who can't see passed his golden aura would take this apology as laudatory. Kerrey is apologizing for his words being mistaken for an insult and then he proceeds to *really* insult Obama.

Kerrey is playing with them like a cat plays with a mouse. I think it's brilliant. Let's see if Obama's campaign circulates it widely or whether they try to bury it. Then we'll know if Obama got the point.

This is a nice apology, and it was needed. These comments from people supposedly reading between the lines tell more about the commenters' biases than anything else. I can imagine in the unlikely event that Bush's campaign ever apologized for the Swiftboat attacks, then some bullying folks would accuse Kerry's campaign of being too sensitive. It's a bully move, and the art of apologizing is one which many blog commenters would be better off learning.

This apology is genuine. You can tell because he didn't say "sorry about the MADRASSA, remark, Madrassa Boy." He didn't mention it at all.

Also, that fact that he says Obama is "free to use the letter in any way you choose" suggests it was a private letter that the Obama campaign chose to release. Can anyone verify that?

It was a private letter and email. The comments were made publicly, the letter should be made public as well.

One thing is for sure, Kerrey and not the campaign wrote this letter. Just compare and contrast it with the crap Shaheen said when he stepped down/was asked to resign:

I would like to reiterate that I deeply regret my comments yesterday and say again that they were in no way authorized by Senator Clinton or the Clinton campaign....I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personal decision that I will step down as the co-chair of the Hillary for President campaign," Shaheen said in a statement released by the campaign. "This election is too important and we must all get back to electing the best qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in this country. That candidate is Hillary Clinton."

Kerrey eviscerated her campaign's only argument against an Obama presidency with a single line:

You are exceptionally qualified by experience and judgment to be President of the United States.

Obama's campaign HAD to release this letter.

Actually, I take Bob Kerry's appology at face value. What he says about Obama in this message is true and, while it may not get as broad a play as his original mangled comments, it's still an honorable way to handle this.

Indeed. Well said. Sen Kerry has shown himself to be a class act.

Keith wrote on December 20, 2007 11:04 AM:
You are exceptionally qualified by experience and judgment to be President of the United States.

Obama's campaign HAD to release this letter.

Well, I don't know about that Keith. I would not have released the letter, EVER. Unless it was to paint Kerrey as duplicious after all,

Obviously 'exceptionally' does not mean BEST qualified or Kerrey would have endorsed Obama over Hillary, no?

I think it is safe to consider the word 'exceptional' here as being used to mean UNIQUEly qualified which fits with the rest of the letter.

Unique is a word that cuts both ways, just like interesting...both must be expanded upon to get the actual judgment being made as the one alone does not singularly connote anything specific, the listener or recipient must query for the true meaning.

This letter makes kerrey just as much of a double talker as Hillary in the debate when she said that she 'understood' the policy and yet she simultaneously said in less than 30 seconds that she did not agree when Dodd blurted 'you said you agreed' Clinton adamantly retorted NO I didn't.

Double talk is an art form. It is all about using words that SOUND agreeably but which actually require clarification to deduce HOW the speaker is using the term as the words alone provide neither a positive or negative connotation...they only sound AGREEABLE.

Seems to me Hillary has mastered this ellipitical art right along with Kerrey and I have often heard Lieberman use the same innoucous agreeable terms as well as Lindsay Graham voice the same agreeable ambiguity. Agreement is all in the minds of the listener not the speaker.

That's why they are called politicians.

Bottom Line Keith,

Obama would be a fool to run with this. Kerrey holds all the cards. Only Kerrey can say what he meant by exceptional and that brings us right back to the muslim scenario, where he gets to reiterate about the billion muslims...see how it works?

Kerrey even sent out bait, by saying use this as you like...if Obama bites and dares to stand on the letter being a validation or affirmation of his abilities Kerrey will yank that run right out from under the false premise of Obama being something muchmoreso than Clinton as he has already endorsed Clinton.

I think it's fair to accept Kerrey at face value here. Sometimes politicians simply end up saying stupid things that come out different than they intended. Shocking, I know!

"It is your capacity to inspire hope that is your greatest God given talent. Without spending a dime of tax payer’s money or changing a single law your presence in the Oval Office will send a clear and compelling message to four groups of people who will be altered for good as a consequence."

There's no way in hell the Clinton machine would allow that sort of language to be used if they were trying to use Kerrey to smear Obama.

Apologize? For what?

On 12/2, Maureen Dowd (a hysterical Obama supporter if ever there was one) wrote a column in which she cited Andrew Sullivan's claim that Obama can move the world past sectarian divide, and quotes Sullivan saying a "young Pakistani Muslim is watching television and sees that this man — Barack Hussein Obama — is the new face of America. In one simple image, America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm.”

Is that not almost exactly the same thing that Kerrey said? That's what worries me most about an Obama candidacy. People won't be able to make the most innocent comments about him without being labeled bigoted by his supporters.

From the news article I read, this is about the original WaPost Sunday article where Kerrey referred to Obama's name as being a plus with the world's Muslims. He said that his father and grandmother were Muslim.

Is that what the fuss is about? Because it's literally a re-phrasing of what was in Dowd's column.

Nope, jodyp, he was on cnn and also said the similar things when he endorsed her going all out to paint a picture of a "manchurian candidate," threw out the madrassa garbage and all the other garbage that has been spun. You had to listen really closely to maybe come to the conclusion that he wasn't smearing. It was very strange coming from kerry. I was quite frankly shocked.

Jody P. After going back to the letter, I think it was only referring to the cnn interview. It was really strange seeing him do what he did. Like I said, I really like kerry and was hoping he would run again for the senate in nebraska. I am glad that he apologized and I think his apology was sincere. I think after he did what he did, his conscience got the best of him.

SarahWest wrote on December 20, 2007 1:52 PM:
I've got to hand it to Sen. Kerrey. This is a masterful example of "smearing through praising" your political opponent if I've ever seen it.

Thank you! I read it exactly the same as you Sarah.

Okay, so if his letter is sincere, if he really meant all of those superlatives, then why did he endorse Clinton over Obama?

It is possible to like vanilla and chocolate you know.

(Throw in Edwards and you've got Neopolitan.)

I guess I am a little late for this comment.... but, what is wrong with everyone? Why do you have to be SO fearful that all you can see is sinister politicians trying to get your man?

I am definitely not a Hillary supporter - but it is because I want a real change. It does not matter to me if it is Obama or Edwards - but I don't have to bash Clinton. The anger, fear and hate are not very endearing as supporters of Obama.