Kerrey Says Clinton Would ‘Risk Disaster’ as Nominee

Preaching from his new platform as a winner in the presidential race, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey set his sights on rival Bill Clinton on Wednesday with a blunt warning that Democrats “risk disaster” if they nominate the Arkansas governor.

“I will tell you today, Bill Clinton should not be the nominee because he will not be able to win,” Kerrey told a group of college students here hours after his first primary victory in South Dakota on Tuesday.

“This is a truth that is largely unspoken, but it is a truth almost universally believed,” he said. Against the Republicans, “I think he is going to get opened up like a soft peanut.”

On the campaign plane before he arrived, in the speech at Spelman College--a private black women’s school in Atlanta--and at a press conference after the speech, Kerrey took on Clinton in the Southerner’s home territory, saying that Clinton consistently blames others when faced with controversies over his own conduct. He cited the unsubstantiated allegations of marital infidelity, criticism of Arkansas’ environmental record and questions about Clinton’s Vietnam-era draft status.

Kerrey, a Vietnam veteran who won the Medal of Honor and lost part of his leg to a North Vietnamese grenade, contrasted his record with that of Clinton, who obtained a draft deferment in 1969 on grounds that he would join the ROTC at the University of Arkansas. A few months later, Clinton gave up the deferment and wrote a letter to the colonel in charge of the program, explaining his opposition to the Vietnam War and his role in protests against it. In the letter, he said he regretted misleading the colonel and had decided to accept the draft after all, to maintain his “political viability.”

Clinton was never drafted, however, because he got a high number in a subsequent draft lottery. Clinton released the letter after ABC News obtained a copy; he said he suspected that Republicans had something to do with leaking it.

Kerrey said he does not object to those who decided they were against the war and did not want to participate in it.

“But that’s not what we have here” in Clinton’s explanation of his draft status, Kerrey said. “This is an effort to say, once again, my draft board did this to me, or this was an honest mistake or the Republicans are trying to do this to me. There was an evasion of responsibility.

“It should not surprise you to discover that it was the men and women who went to Vietnam who suffered . . . and, all of a sudden, in this campaign, the sympathy is going to someone who didn’t go,” Kerrey said at the press conference.

On the campaign plane earlier, Kerrey also alluded to the controversy: “I’m going to describe with no shame, with no need to defend my own experience, my record and how that relates to getting the job done. Imagine me debating George Bush in the fall. He answered the call in World War II. I answered the call in Vietnam. . . . We are going to be talking about duty to country here.”

He also characterized Clinton’s environmental record as “lousy” and accused the governor of blaming the federal government.

Clinton responded during a campaign trip in Denver. “Sen. Kerrey, I don’t think, did much of a service for the debate today. I don’t think it’s a good thing to try to divide the party or the country over the Vietnam War. . . . He’s better than that. . . . I hope tomorrow he’ll wake up his old self.”

He added: “Those of us who were opposed to it, whether we served or not . . . I think did this country a service. . . . It was a wrong policy, it weakened the nation, it weakened the military and I think we need to be looking toward the future now. . . . “

In an earlier statement issued by the campaign, he also questioned Kerrey’s electability. “It appears that Bob Kerrey, like George Bush, would rather play politics with patriotism than address problems here at home. That’s what George Bush will do in November, when he points out that Bob Kerrey opposed the Persian Gulf Operation Desert Storm even after the conflict began.”

Clinton supported the Gulf War, which is still highly popular in the South and in Georgia, where Clinton is favored in Tuesday’s primary.

The contretemps came a day after Kerrey scored a convincing victory in South Dakota, finishing with 40% of the vote to Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin’s 25% and Clinton’s 19%. Kerrey headed South to try to dispel an image he acquired in New Hampshire of a candidate who has difficulty connecting with the voters. There, in the first primary, Kerrey finished a distant third to former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas and second-place finisher Clinton.

But at Spelman College, Kerrey also seemed to have difficulty connecting with his audience. A large number of the 150 faculty and students there did not applaud during his speech, and a few left in the middle. Apart from his comments on Clinton, Kerrey spoke about veterans’ affairs, his proposal for a national health care program and the opportunity for resolving domestic problems that have been created by the end of the Cold War.

Afterward, several students complained that what Kerrey said was irrelevant to black women. “He’s not talking to veterans,” said Traci McAllister, a junior at the college.

None of the students questioned mentioned Kerrey’s comments on Clinton. Some said they were disappointed that the senator did not focus on the economy.

“My opinion is that the speech was very good, but as far as economic policies, he just skipped right over it,” said senior DeVon Sudler from Chester, Pa. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for one of these candidates to say--what are they going to do for the economy?”

Many of the students were apparently undecided about whom to vote for on Tuesday. But at least one student came away impressed.

“He’s not presenting a facade; I thought he was honest and sensitive,” said Jennifer D. Williams, a junior at Spelman. “He cares about the country and where it’s going.”