THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE:

Iowa Governor Makes His Case for Stepping Into the National Limelight With Kerry: Tom Vilsack may not have the name recognition of John Edwards or Richard A. Gephardt, but make no mistake: He wants the job badly. (DAVID M. HALBFINGER, 6/27/04, NY Times)

"I've lived in a small town, I've worked in a small town, I've been the mayor of a small town," Mr. Vilsack continues. "I understand the hopes, the aspirations, the frustrations and the anxieties of people who live in communities all over America. If you look at battleground states, many of them have one thing in common: They border the Mississippi, just like Iowa. I know the people of small-town U.S.A."

Tom Vilsack may not have the name recognition of John Edwards or Richard A. Gephardt; he may not have legions of trial lawyers and donors or leaders of big unions lobbying Mr. Kerry to choose him. But make no mistake: He wants the job badly.

Just listen to him audition for a vice-presidential debate with Dick Cheney. How would Mr. Vilsack respond if Mr. Cheney dismissed him as inexperienced in defense and foreign policy?

He starts right in, as if he has already thought this through many times: "With all due respect, Mr. Vice President, with your vast experience in foreign policy, you didn't raise the questions about whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction, you didn't ask questions that would've allowed you to reach the conclusion that maybe there wasn't a nuclear program in full force and effect in Iraq, you didn't ask the questions specifically about what links existed in deed and in fact between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Why didn't you ask those questions? You're experienced - why didn't you ask those questions? Those are questions I would've asked."

Okay, so you've established your ignorance....

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 27, 2004 10:10 AM