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TIME
If I could get back to politics—KERRY
I don't talk politics.
TIME
People's views of the strength of your leadership have declined
in the past few weeks. Is this in part because you were slow in
responding to the Swift Boat ads? Do you wish you had been more
aggressive?
KERRY
No, I think we did absolutely fine, and I think we are doing
absolutely fine. I think this is a close race, and it's going to be a
close race. I think we are doing extraordinarily well. If anybody had
told me we'd be points apart from the sitting President of the United
States, well, would you have believed them?
I feel very confident in where we are and confident about the
direction of this race. And the American people are beginning to
listen and listen carefully.
TIME
What did you think of the speech of your Democratic colleague
Zell Miller at the Republican Convention?
KERRY
Everybody has the right to give a speech. I didn't see it, and
I haven't
read it. I didn't see one minute of the convention.
TIME
Our latest poll indicates that terrorism has become the No. 1
issue for voters.
KERRY
I will fight a more effective war on terror, and over the next
weeks the American people will see the phoniness of the Bush efforts.
They haven't done port security; they're cutting cops; they haven't
taken assault weapons off the streets. Firehouses are opened in Iraq;
they're shut in the United States. Port
security: 95% of our containers come in, and they are uninspected.
The fact is that these guys talk tough, but they haven't done what is
necessary to make America as safe as it can be. There have been more
terrorist incidents around the world in the last months than any time
in recent history. Whole parts of Iraq are under the control of
terrorists, and they never were. Afghanistan is exporting drugs like
opium like never before, and whole parts of the country are under the
control of the Taliban and terrorists again.
We're in a stronger place than I've been in any campaign I've ever
run before. You looked at the polls; there
wasn't one of you who said I'd be the nominee. Well, I'm going to win
this race because Americans want better leadership.
As we get into those cold days of October and people's juices begin
to flow and they measure us one to one, I'm
confident that my record of fighting for this country since I was a
young man is going to eclipse the disastrous choices that have been
made by George Bush.
TIME
One question that has left the President at a loss for words is
whether he has had regrets. Do you?
KERRY
I've made mistakes, and I've done things that I regret, sure. I
regret voting for Justice Scalia. I regret that any of us put faith
in what the President said about how he would take America to war.
TIME
Are you surprised at the bounce Bush got out of his convention?
KERRY
I don't know what you're talking about in terms of the Bush
bounce. This is a very close race, and I'm not somebody that runs
around worried about polls. If I did,
I wouldn't have gotten up last December. Polls don't mean anything to
me right now.
I feel really good. We're on an even playing field, and our folks are
stoked. All over the country we've got an enormous amount of energy,
people are organizing, and I just think the choice is very clear. The
Supreme Court of the United States is at stake. After-school programs
are at stake. Health care is at stake. Social Security is at stake.
Jobs are at stake. The character of our country is at stake—whether
we're going to have people who traffic in fear instead of real
solutions.
TIME
It sounds as if you think the Bush strategy is based on scaring
the country.
KERRY
I think they are trying to do everything possible to divert
attention from the real issues in front of the country, and their
entire strategy for six months has been distorting my record and
attacking me because they don't have a record to run on.
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