The NYT has to cover Kerry, but they bury Bush's remarks "after the jump." Look at how they word the lede, to make it seem there was some doubt about what Kerry said. The lede, and then the jump
Bush Attacks Kerry for Remarks on Iraq Troops
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JIM RUTENBERG
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 — For at least a few hours on Tuesday, President Bush had a chance to relive his victorious campaign of 2004, taking a break from a bleak Republican campaign season as he attacked Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts over the war in Iraq.
Mr. Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who was Mr. Bush's opponent in 2004, is not running for any office this year. But the president seized on what he said were Mr. Kerry's disparaging remarks about the troops at a rally in California — and what Mr. Kerry insisted was little more than a botched joke — as he sought to make Mr. Kerry the face of the Democratic Party this fall.
.................In his remarks in California, Mr. Kerry said: "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
Mr. Kerry said that he botched a joke that his aides said had been prepared as follows: "Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."
Mr. Bush, speaking to a cheering crowd at a campaign rally late Tuesday afternoon in a half-empty arena at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, said that Mr. Kerry had insulted the intelligence of Americans troops.
"The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and it is shameful," he said. "The members of the United States military are plenty smart and they are plenty brave, and the senator from Massachusetts owes them an apology."
Mention of Senator Kerry's name drew boos, which were amplified after Mr. Bush quoted his remarks.
Mr. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, called a news conference in which he accused Mr. Bush of twisting his words for political gain. "The White House's attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe," he said. "It's a stunning statement about their willingness to reduce anything in America to raw politics."
Some Democrats, at least, were quick to distance themselves from the man who had been their standard-bearer just two years ago.
"This is an example of politics at its worst," said Scott Kleeb, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Nebraska. "Many of us have serious concerns over the current situation in Iraq, but no one should question the intelligence and dedication of our troops. Senator Kerry's remark was disrespectful and insulting."
Still, at least some of the students who attended Mr. Kerry's speech at Pasadena City College said they did not think the senator was belittling troops. "I don't think he was saying our soldiers are dummies," said Natalie Courtney, 21, the student body president, who said she was an independent. "I think he was saying you have to protect yourself. The current government does not have our best interest in mind. Don't let the government lie to you."
But Charles Huang, 19, a sophomore who described himself as one of the few conservatives at the college, said he was offended by the comment and thought Mr. Kerry did owe American troops an apology.
nytimes.com |
