Kerry talks politics at JFK

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) criticized the media, blasted President George W. Bush's tax and foreign policies and discussed his own presidential ambition in a public discussion with Boston Globe columnist Thomas Oliphant at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Monday night.

Kerry criticized the mainstream media for contributing to an atmosphere of fear and lies.

"There is something wrong with who is arbitrating the truth," he said. "When fear is dominating the discussion, we have a problem."

Kerry said news conglomerates -- particularly of broadcast news -- were a large part of the problem.

"The corporatization of the media has taken away some of the muckraking," he said.

Kerry also criticized politicians, calling on Washington to increase accountability for decisions.

"The question is how we're going to create accountability in American politics," he said. "We had a saying: My country, right or wrong, when right, keep it right; when wrong, make it right."

Calling Bush's wartime tax cuts a "middle-class squeeze," Kerry said the administration offered too many breaks to the upper class while decreasing benefits for the average family, particularly when it came to education.

"The tax burden of the middle class went up, while the education burden has gone up simultaneously," he said.

Many of the economic dangers facing the United States, however, originate from outside its borders, he said.

"China is growing stunningly. India is growing stunningly," he said. "Production has saved us for a long time but that's diminishing. We've got a problem and that's why so many people on Wall Street are so worried."

In wake of such changes, Kerry called on the Bush Administration to reach out more to the international community and adapt to the forces of globalism.

"This is a moment of unbelievable global opposition, and you look at this as an administration who had to make a repair trip after the first four years," he said. "I think we are a world leader still and the world is waiting."

On the issue of healthcare, the former presidential candidate said religion too often clouded Bush's policies.

"Healthcare is not a faith-based initiative," he said. "It's a right and it's long overdue."

Kerry blamed record budget deficits and Bush's tax cuts for the impending overhaul of Social Security.

"You look at the choices we're facing now with Social Security, but the tax cut that was made permanent over the next 10 years is three times the Social Security gap over that time period," he said.

Kerry said he has not yet considered a second bid for presidency in the 2008 election and preferred to concentrate on the 2006 Congressional elections.