Angry Kerry lashes out at Bush and Cheney over Vietnam service
story.news.yahoo.com
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AFP) - Democratic presidential contender
John Kerry launched a furious riposte to a Republican
onslaught on his record, accusing George W. Bush and his deputy Dick
Cheney of deliberately avoiding Vietnam War service.
Kerry, speaking at an unusual midnight rally
here shortly after Bush formally accepted the
Republican nomination for president at his
party's convention in New York, launched his
most outspoken attack yet on his rival.
"I will not have my commitment to defend this
country questioned by those who refused to
serve when they could have and who misled
America into Iraq" said the
senator from Massachusetts, a decorated
Vietnam War veteran.
With Kerry and Bush running neck-and-neck
in the campaign for the November 2 vote, the
Democratic candidate was the target of
relentless attacks at the four-day meeting of
the Republican faithful.
At a speech late Wednesday, Cheney held Kerry up to ridicule and said
he had consistently "made the wrong call on national security."
Kerry replied: "The vice president called me 'unfit for office' last night.
Well, I'm going to leave it up to the voters to decide whether five
deferments makes someone more qualified than two tours of duty."
Kerry earned three Purple Hearts for wounds and a Bronze Star and a
Silver Star for valor serving on a gunboat in Vietnam while Bush was in
the Texas Air National Guard. A series of draft deferments kept Cheney
out of military service.
The vice president has said "other priorities" stopped him from going to
Vietnam.
"Let me tell you in no uncertain terms what makes someone unfit for
office and unfit for duty," Kerry continued. "Misleading our nation into war
in Iraq makes you unfit to lead our country.
"Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to
lead this country," he said. "Letting 45 million Americans go without
health care for four years makes you unfit to lead this country.
"Letting the Saudi royal family control the price of oil for Americans
makes you unfit to lead this country."
In a reference to Cheney, a former executive with oil services giant
Halliburton, Kerry said "handing out billions of dollars in contracts
without a bid to Halliburton while you're still on the payroll makes you
unfit to lead this country.
"That, my friends, is the record of George Bush (news - web sites) and of
Dick Cheney, and that only begins to scratch the surface."
"You all saw the anger and the distortion of the Republican convention,"
he went on. "For the past week they have attacked my patriotism and
even my fitness to serve as commander-in-chief.
"We've had insults, we've had anger from Republicans," Kerry said.
"They can't talk about their record because it is a record of failure. And
so all they do is attack."
Kerry unveiled what appeared to be a new slogan at the rally, "A
Stronger America Begins at Home," in an indication that he would begin
to shift more of the focus of his campaign on the faltering economy, a
perceived weak point for the president.
"Four years ago George Bush offered America a plan for our economy,
but once again, he misled America because he told you four years ago
that if we had these great big tax cuts, he was going to create 5.6 million
jobs," he said. "He told you that he was going to create 266,000 jobs
right here in Ohio -- Ohio lost 230,000 jobs."
Kerry also announced that he and his vice
presidential running mate, John Edwards (news -
web sites), would set off Friday on a tour of Ohio,
Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan -- all key election
states -- to press the Democratic campaign.
The Kerry campaign will also launch a series of
television adverts in key states condemning the
Bush record.
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