JOHN KERRY ON HIS VOTE AGAINST RICE

This vote is an expression of my determination that we hold the Bush administration accountable.

Dr. Rice is a principal architect, implementer, and defender of a series of Administration policies that have not made our country as secure as we should be and have alienated much-needed allies in our common cause of winning the war against terrorism. Regrettably, I did not see in Dr. Rice's testimony before our committee any acknowledgment of the need to change course or of a new vision for America's role in the world.

On Iraq, on North Korea, on Iran, to name just a few of the most critical challenges, it seems to be more of the same. I hope I am proven wrong. I hope the course will change. And I hope that the Administration will recognize the strength of a foreign policy that has bipartisan support.

I am prepared to work with Dr. Rice and others in the Administration to try to reach agreement on policies that will truly strengthen our security and restore America's credibility on the world stage. And I am confident colleagues on both sides of the aisle are prepared to do so as well.

But, we've got to remain firm in our insistence that those who create policies that don't work have the courage to admit their mistakes and the wisdom to change course.

His vote against the $87 billion, you might recall (if you are intellectually honest), was a vote to hold the administration accountable.

(By the way, I was busy and missed Bush's inauguration speech, but from the way Woodruff Greenfield and co. talked about it, seems like it was more of the same. As in, extravagantly-phrased endorsements of the neoconservative worldview, plus framing the war in terms of the Cold War.)