FOX's Wallace echoed GOP talking point that Kerry is inconsistent on Iraq
Written by Nicole Casta
Published
On the September 26 edition of FOX News Sunday, host Chris Wallace echoed the GOP talking point that Senator John Kerry has contradicted himself in his position on the Iraq war. Later in the program, Wallace reasserted under the guise of fact his opinion that Kerry has “walk[ed] away from statements he's made over the last two years.” In repeating his claim that Kerry has been inconsistent on Iraq, Wallace completely disregarded the dissenting view of his guest, Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), who said that "[t]here's nothing at all contradictory" in Kerry's Iraq statements.
Wallace stated: “This week, John Kerry became the anti-war candidate, in some cases, seeming to contradict what he said earlier in the campaign.” He then asked Biden to reconcile Kerry's recent statements with what Kerry said last December when he was running against former Vermont Governor Howard Dean in the Democratic primary. Biden responded to the question by stating that Kerry has been “totally consistent”:
BIDEN: There's nothing at all contradictory. At the time [last December], the assumption was when Saddam Hussein was knocked out that we'd act rationally and we'd manage the situation in Iraq and there wouldn't be chaos. And the fact of the matter is that we have traded a dictator, who in fact no one wanted to stay ... and it's resulted in chaos because of the incredible mismanagement, as [Senator] Dick Lugar [R-IN] said, of this president [George W. Bush]. ... Kerry's happy he's [Saddam Hussein] gone. Kerry would have done everything to get rid of him, but he would not have mismanaged and sent so many mixed signals as this administration has. So the end result is, today, we have something close to chaos in that region. That's totally consistent.
While beginning a panel discussion later in the show, Wallace failed to acknowledge Biden's dissenting point of view, instead simply restating his assertion that Kerry has reinvented himself on Iraq:
WALLACE: John Kerry became the anti-war candidate this week, really going after George W. Bush's policies on Iraq and the war on terror. And to a large degree, walking away from statements he's made over the last two years. How much of a reinvention is going on here and can John Kerry get away with it?