Word: statement
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...outside with the meter running. KRON thought so little of Kennedy's attack that it snipped it out before broadcasting the interview, but other reporters heard about it, and the headlines flared. The news soon reached Tehran, where the newspaper Ettela'at misguidedly interpreted Kennedy's statement as suggesting a "fundamental shift in public opinion in to the enemy and conceivably even jeopardized the hostages...
State Department Spokesman Hodding Carter called Kennedy's remarks "unfortunate and not helpful." Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, said Carter, "regrets any such statement which shifts the focus of concern away from the hos tages and makes negotiations more difficult." Added White House Press Secretary Jody Powell, trying to sound restrained: "You can see how bloody my tongue is from being bitten...
Republicans were more outspoken. Said John Connally: "I am sure that Ayatullah Khomeini is pleased to hear Senator Kennedy's remarks." George Bush felt that the statement "might endanger the lives of the hostages" and raises "serious questions about Kennedy's judgment on foreign policy." Press comment was strongly unfavorable and occasionally stinging. The Washington Post: "It wasn't right, it wasn't responsible, and it wasn't smart." The Atlanta Constitution: "Kennedy, in a cynical campaign ploy against the incumbent President who cannot respond, has publicly sided with the Khomeini anarchy in Iran...
Apparently surprised by the angry reaction, Kennedy issued a carefully worded statement trying to separate the issue of the Shah from that of the hostages: "Our firm national commitment to the safe release of the hostages does not and cannot mean that this nation must condone the Shah and the record of his regime." Calling for a public debate on whether to grant asylum to the Shah, Kennedy claimed not to be bothered by the hostile reaction: "I think quite frankly that I was right on the issue, and that's what is important." When Vance declared that Congress...
...sole candidate and is nominally able to serve the five years remaining in Park's current term, there were signs that he wanted to limit his tenure in Seoul's presidential Blue House and lead the country's transformation to a genuine democracy. In an acceptance statement to the electors in the capitol's cavernous municipal gymnasium, he said: "I will observe the constitution, safeguard the nation, and strive for increased freedom...