HART: TAKE THIS DEFENSE TO HART

The blogger, TalkLeft, "had the opportunity to sit down with" ex-Sen. Gary Hart (D-CO) "for thirty uninterrupted minutes" on 2/13 "and discuss his recent San Francisco foreign policy speech, and the concerns of some ... that one line of the speech might be construed to be anti-semitic." Hart "doesn't talk in code. If he had a problem with a particular group, he'd come out and say it."

The "focus" of Hart's speech "was not War with Iraq, although Hart certainly mentioned it. The speech was about American's foreign policy role in the 21st century. ... His point was that where there is a difference between what is in
America's best interest and what is in the best interests of the homeland or country of origin of another group, America's interest must come first in shaping foreign policy. "

Hart, a "strong supporter of Israel for over 30 years," was "not referring to Jewish Americans. ... He was talking about America's long-term foreign policy role in the 21st century. His comment applies equally to Cuban, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Greek and Turkish -American citizens. He was talking about all
Americans, wherever we come from" ( TalkLeft, 2/13).