Kerry in Philly: Advocates of Iran deal outgunned by opponents

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     U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference following a meeting with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015 in Doha. (Brendan Smialowski/pool photo via AP)

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference following a meeting with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015 in Doha. (Brendan Smialowski/pool photo via AP)

    Secretary of State John Kerry makes a pretty persuasive case for proposed nuclear deal for Iran, but check out the national Quinnipiac poll released Monday, and you see strong disapproval of the agreement.

    Kerry spent a few minutes on the phone with me this morning, and when I asked why voters are so skeptical, he said that’s because of heavy TV advertising by opponents of the agreement.

    “Millions of dollars have been spent, and we the government don’t spend money, can’t spend money,” Kerry said. “There’s not a commensurate amount of energy being put into support for it, so it’s just a disparity in who’s hearing what.”

    I also asked him to respond to New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez’s assertion that the deal is “based on hope,” and why both the Labor and Likud in Israel oppose the deal.

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    You can hear his answers to those and other questions by playing the audio above.

    Kerry is in Philadelphia today for a speech on the Iran deal at the National Constitution Center. It begins at 11 a.m., and according to the State Department will be streamed live on www.state.gov.

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