John Kerry, according to a Reuters story that got a lot of attention yesterday, claims that foreign leaders are telling him that he's their preferred candidate:
"Kerry opened another front against Bush on Monday when he said foreign leaders have told him privately that they are eager for him to win. "They look at you and say, 'You've got to win this, you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy,' things like that," he said in Florida, Reuters reported. Kerry declined to name those leaders."
That's because, as Hugh Hewitt notes, no one has been able to substantiate a recent meeting between John Kerry and any foreign leader. Since Kerry isn't elaborating, we can assume one of two things: either Kerry is lying, or Kerry is telling the truth.
Option 1: Kerry Lied -- If Kerry lied, then this is an egregious lie. It would be a lie designed to hide a particular weakness of Kerry's -- that his foreign-policy approach would leave the US weaker internationally by tying our ability to act to the whims of countries like France and Russia, two countries that made a fortune off of Iraqi kickbacks from the oil-for-food program. It demonstrates yet again Kerry's propensity for saying whatever he thinks will sell at the moment instead of standing for something and sticking with it. Like I posted earlier -- Clinton without the charm.
Option 2: Kerry Told the Truth -- If Kerry really is in clandestine communication with foreign leaders and discussing changes in American foreign policy under his proposed administration, then he is interfering with the foreign policy of the current administration, which may be an actionable offense, depending on the circumstances. It certainly would demonstrate his willingness to subordinate the country's security and interests to his own political ambitions. Nations currently negotiating on trade and security with the Bush administration would suddenly have incentives to stop, or to issue hard-line demands with no flexibility, assisting Kerry's election effort in order to get a better deal in 2005. Such contacts during presidential campaigns are so inappropriate that it's hard to believe Kerry bragged about them. That's why I'm betting on Option 1.
Kerry needs to answer for his statement and detail exactly what contacts he had and their nature so that we can understand what damage has been done to our foreign policy as a result. His failure to do so either demonstrates his lack of honesty or his avaricious pursuit of his ambitions above the national interest.
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