John Kerry: Foreign Leaders Mocked Us Over the Shutdown

State Department

Just how bad was the shutdown for America’s image on the world stage? So bad, says Secretary of State John Kerry, that foreign officials joked about buying him meals.

“I have seen how our allies, our partners and those who wish to challenge us or to do us harm are all sizing us up every day,” Kerry said at an event hosted by Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. “What we do in Washington matters deeply…that’s why a self-inflicted wound like the shutdown can never happen again.”

Kerry added that the shutdown delayed security aid to Israel. “The dysfunction and the shutdown and the simplistic dialogue that came with it didn’t impress anyone,” he said. Continue reading “John Kerry: Foreign Leaders Mocked Us Over the Shutdown”

John Kerry’s 5 scathing attacks at Romney

By KEVIN CIRILLI | 9/6/12 9:05 PM EDT

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry attacked GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s foreign policy Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention. Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Hillary Clinton as secretary of state if President Barack Obama is reelected.

Here are five of Kerry’s best lines:

1. “This is not the time to outsource the job of commander in chief.”

2. “Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago.”

3. “It isn’t fair to say Mitt Romney doesn’t have a position on Afghanistan. He has every position…. Mr. Romney, here’s a little advice: Before you debate Barack Obama on foreign policy, you better finish the debate with yourself.”

4. “For Mitt Romney, an overseas trip is what you call it when you trip all over yourself overseas. It wasn’t a goodwill mission — it was a blooper reel.”

5. “Folks, Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from Alaska. Mitt Romney talks like he’s only seen Russia by watching ‘Rocky IV.’”