Kerryism of the DayThe senator's caveats and curlicues.

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Question: You once opposed mandatory sentences for people convicted of drug crimes.

Kerry: Yeah^₁. There may have been an individual instance where I thought they were too long or didn't make sense.^{₂ 3}
—Time, Feb. 9, 2004

[1] but I voted for them later on

[2] But I've voted for mandatory minimums

[3] in certain instances.

Kerry version:

Yeah, but I voted for them later on. There may have been an individual instance where I thought they were too long or didn't make sense. But I've voted for mandatory minimums in certain instances.

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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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  The senator's caveats and curlicues.
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