John Kerry, on his book tour, ran into some 9/11 conspiracy theorists. YouTube captured it all.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a major leader of one of the two parties to tell these folks they’re full of baloney. But Kerry didn’t quite do that.

One cited some professor who was allegedly “forced into retirement” who, the questioner claimed, tested the dust at ground zero and found chemical compounds that proved a controlled demolition

Kerry responds, “That’s a new one to me… Obviously I’m open to anything that’s based on fact and evidence, and if somebody has evidence, I’ll take a look at it.” (I note Kerry’s expression seems appropriately skeptical.)

Then as a questioner goes on about genetically modified food, the use of depleted uranium in Iraq, and “chemtrails over major U.S. cities,” and Kerry keeps nodding, I presume because he doesn’t want to get into it with that guy.

Then the guy asks John Kerry about whether there’s ever been a formal investigation of Building 7 being “brought down” by demolitions crews on September 11, 2001, and World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein.

It’s not quite as bad as the conspiracy theorists claim, that Kerry “confirmed” that it was brought down. But it’s not quite a “oh, please.” Kerry says:

“I don’t believe there’s been a formal investigation. I haven’t heard that, I don’t know that. I do know that, uh, that wall, I remember, was in danger, and I think that they made a decision based on the danger, that it had of destroying other things that they did it in a controlled fashion.
Uh, you know, he’s part of the construction, reconstruction effort, the memorial, the use of the land, etcetera. There’s been a long tug of war going on in New York, I am not following every aspect of it… but I’ll check what the story is. I’ll take a look at it, based on what you said. You are the first people, anywhere in the country, who have brought this to my attention.
The guy claims that the 9/11 Commission Report didn’t even address WTC 7, and Kerry says, “Let me find out about it, I don’t know enough about it, it’s not in our book, etcetera, and if you go to the back of the book, folks, you’ll find a whole listing of web sites…”

Theresa Heinz Kerry seems to roll her eyes at the guy as he finishes his question.

Kerry didn’t concede anything about a conspiracy, but he seemed to agree that Building Seven of the World Trade Center was brought down by authorities as a safety precaution. This is false, and it is disturbing that Kerry didn’t seem to know any better.

Here is Popular Mechanics assessment of WTC 7. A key portion:

Demolition experts tell Popular Mechanics that wiring a building the size of WTC7 for clandestine demolition would present insurmountable logistical challenges. That issue aside, there’s a clear-cut engineering explanation for why the building fell the way it did. Trusses on the fifth and seventh floors of the building were designed to transfer loads from one set of columns to another; with the south face heavily damaged, the other columns were likely overtaxed. In engineering terms, the “progressive collapse” began on the eastern side, when weakened columns failed from the damage and fire. The entire building fell in on itself as the slumping east side dragged down the west side in a diagonal pattern.

I recommend this Bill Whittle essay on conspiracy theorists.