HOME / kerryisms: The senator's caveats and curlicues.

Kerryism of the DayThe senator's caveats and curlicues.

By William SaletanPosted Friday, June 4, 2004, at 1:51 PM ET

What did he say? (For instructions on how to read a Kerryism, click here.)

"I actually did vote for the $87 billion1."

—Huntington, W.Va., March 16, 2004 (on appropriations for Iraq)

[1] before I voted against it.

Kerry version:

"I actually did vote for the $87 billion—before I voted against it."

Got a Kerryism? Send it to .

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William Saletan is Slate's national correspondent and author of Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War. Follow him on Twitter here.
Photograph of John Kerry by Marc Serota/Reuters.
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