Democratic presidential hopeful and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry defended his vote authorizing the war in Iraq again Monday night during a live broadcast of ‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’ from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

‘It was the right vote, but the president did it in the wrong way, and he’s still doing it in the wrong way,’ Kerry said of President George W. Bush’s handling of military action in Iraq.

Last October, Kerry voted for the resolution that allowed Bush to send troops into the country without United Nations support, a vote for which he has been criticized throughout his campaign.

Pressed on the first question from Matthews, Kerry said the president should not have invaded Iraq without exhausting diplomatic options.

‘The United States of America should never be perceived as, or should never go to war because we want to,’ he said. ‘Go to the U.N. properly, go through the inspections process, build a legitimate international coalition.’

Kerry criticized the Bush administration’s foreign policy record.

‘This is the worst planning that I’ve seen for a major military operation of this kind in years, and I think the president and Secretary [of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld should be held accountable,’ he said.

‘Young American men and American women in uniform should not be held hostage ever to America’s dependency on foreign oil,’ Kerry added.

In a standing-room-only gathering with supporters in Harvard’s Kirkland House before the show, Kerry, a Yale University graduate, joked with Harvard students, took questions and outlined his policies.

‘I’ve always said it takes a good Yalie to represent Harvard,’ he said.

Kerry also lamented the recent Red Sox loss, telling the audience, ‘You’re too young to know what the full measure of the curse means, but knowing the Red Sox, you’re going to get there.’

Kerry took Bush to task for his record on jobs. He said even Harvard students could have trouble finding jobs after graduation, adding, ‘The one person in the United States who deserves to be laid off is George W. Bush.’

The candidate said he would reverse Bush’s tax cuts for those in the highest brackets and use the money to fund education and health care. He said his health care plan would allow Americans to buy into the same health plan federal employees, including members of congress, have.

‘Every family’s health care in America is as important as any politician’s in Washington, D.C.,’ Kerry said.

He also said he would offer full tuition at public universities to students who committed to two years of military service.

Members of the Hardball audience said they were impressed with Kerry’s performance.

‘He was a lot more confident than I think I’ve seen him on television,’ said Katie Zingarelli, a freshman at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.

‘I thought he came out very strong,’ said College of Arts and Sciences junior Dan Hoffer, vice president of Boston University for John Kerry. ‘Chris Matthews gave him a run for his money, and I thought he maintained himself very well.’

Hoffer said approximately 60 BU students came to watch the show.

Heidi Buchanan, a third-year student at Northeastern University, defended Kerry’s vote for the Iraq resolution.

‘The president presented it completely differently, and that’s why he voted for it,’ Buchanan said.

However, not everyone was pleased with Kerry’s performance.

Activists from the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador passed out fliers before the event urging audience members to ask Kerry his position on the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, an international trade agreement that would loosen restrictions on trade in the western hemisphere.

Laura Melnik, a third-year student at Northeastern, said she wanted to ask Kerry about the trade agreement, but she said Hardball producers did not allow her.