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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	7/30/2004 7:15:29 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

...President George Bush denouncing his rival for having "very few signature achievements'" <font color=red>Bush said what?

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	7/31/2004 5:45:22 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Convention success puts Kerry ahead in polls Julian Borger in Boston Saturday July 31, 2004 The Guardian John Kerry opened up a modest lead in the US presidential race yesterday after a four-day Democratic convention in which he cast himself as a cool-headed warrior. A telephone poll published overnight gave the senator a five-percentage point advantage over President George Bush, but that poll was taken before Mr Kerry's nationally televised speech to his party on Thursday. Early signs yesterday suggested that the 45-minute speech, which promised "a smarter, more effective war on terror", with more emphasis on diplomacy, had gone down well with its most important target audience - undecided voters. "These undecided voters came into the convention anti-Bush, but they left pro-Kerry," said Frank Luntz, of the Luntz Research polling organisation, which conducted the survey for MSNBC television. Mr Kerry's generally good reviews and apparent boost in the polls lifted the Democratic party's morale as the candidate and his running mate, John Edwards, launched a coast-to-coast tour of swing states, starting in Pennsylvania, in an attempt to capitalise on the post-convention glow. They are well aware it will be the Republicans' turn, in just over a month's time, to monopolise the airwaves with their own convention in New York. It was clear yesterday that Senator Kerry, who has a reputation of being worthy and wooden in his rhetoric, had surpassed expectations and given a stirring performance. Even before the Democratic candidate spoke, the campaign appeared to have edged slightly ahead of President George Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney, according to an overnight telephone poll by Zogby International. The survey of 1001 likely voters, conducted over the four days of the convention showed the Kerry-Edwards ticket leading the Bush-Cheney one by 48 to 43 percentage points. However, Republican critics pointed out that while Mr Kerry's speech and much of the convention dwelt on his relatively brief spell in Vietnam, it had much less to say about his 19 years in the senate. They cite his 2002 vote to authorise Mr Bush to go to war in Iraq, and his subsequent vote against an $87bn (about £48bn) supplemental funding request for the Iraq war effort. The New York Times agreed that as well as talking about his Vietnam days, Mr Kerry would have "to be careful to devote time to the rest of his resumé as well". But in its editorial, the newspaper agreed with the general post-Boston consensus that: "As an introduction to the candidates, the Democratic convention, on the whole, did its job." The final Boston roundup Reaching hearts through tummies Meals thought to have been served: 165,000 Cups of coffee: 75,000 Coffee: 1,080kg Chocolate bars: 8,500 Deli meat: 2,700kg Tomatoes: 540kg Shrimp: 2,250kg Beer: 3,000 cases totalling 51,300 litres Wine: 1,000 cases Clam chowder: 2,755 litres Cutlery used: 500,000 knives, forks and spoons Biggest winner Barack Obama Before the convention, the Illinois state legislator was best known for a name that rhymes with Osama. After possibly the best speech of the week on Tuesday, he is being talked of as a potential 2008 presidential contender Biggest loser Don Mischer It had all been going so well until the last minute, when the convention producer unwittingly became famous. A CNN microphone was left on when he was screaming for balloons and confetti to come down and wondering aloud to his staff: "What the fuck are you guys doing up there?" Young Americans play Bowie Songs played by the Democrats during the convention included No Surrender, by Bruce Springsteen, and - oddly - Young Americans, by David Bowie, which alludes to dysfunctional and disaffected youth Ben Affleck takes the bus Ben Affleck, a ubiquitous presence at the convention this week, plans to leave Boston by bus on Friday with the newly minted presidential nominee. He will campaign with Kerry and Edwards throughout weekend stops in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Kerry and Edwards plan to cover 21 states during a two-week tour by bus, boat and train. guardian.co.uk

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/2/2004 6:51:08 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81568

On a Roll, Into Swing States Kerry borrows from past lessons with a tour meant to court media, 'persuadable' voters. THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE latimes.com By James Rainey, Times Staff Writer BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - John F. Kerry, keenly aware of the lessons from Democratic presidential campaigns past, is forging across 18 states in 15 days, intent on seeking out friendly local media and "persuadable" voters to build on the attention he gained with his party's nomination in Boston. Kerry has reveled in large crowds across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan in the first three days of his tour. The candidate is plunging into crowds to touch hands, hanging out the window of his midnight blue bus to blow a last kiss to supporters and joking that he felt like the ugly duckling, standing alongside his two new traveling partners - running mate John Edwards and actor Ben Affleck. Behind the fun and optimism the Democrats are trying to project with the "Believe in America" tour, however, are political calculations made in earnest. Kerry strategists took months planning the route that will take the Massachusetts senator across America. ("From Sea to Shining Sea," as a bonus campaign slogan suggests.) Their strategy began with a focus on battleground states, narrowed to counties that might lure favorable coverage from local television reporters and finally pinpointed communities filled with undecided voters. Kerry's odyssey is modeled on tours by Bill Clinton and Al Gore, which helped sustain their popularity after their nominations. It's also in sharp contrast to former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, whose decision to hunker down in his home state after his 1988 nomination was seen as contributing to the loss of his post-convention 17% advantage over George H.W. Bush. Kerry's message - a stronger defense and better alliances abroad, combined with more jobs at home - prompted some swing voters this weekend to give him a serious look. "I'm 34 years old and I've never voted before," said Danielle Evans, an assembly line efficiency engineer, raised in a Republican household, who came to see Kerry and Edwards in Scranton, Pa., on Friday. "I think this year it can make a difference. I hope Kerry will win." Her husband, Jay, a civil engineer, will hit his one-year anniversary without a job today. And he's fed up. "I keep hearing we are getting jobs and the economy is better, and that's a … lie," said Evans, who lives in nearby Wilkes-Barre. "I only got [an unemployment] check for six months, so I'm not even a statistic any more." Bush toured the same region Saturday, demonstrating the importance of the Ohio River Valley. Besides describing the president as a strong wartime leader, Republican surrogates continued waging their primary line of attack: that the Massachusetts senator has a thin legislative record and has waffled on the war in Iraq. All but one of Kerry's seven stops this weekend fell in counties where the Democrats either finished barely ahead or lost to Bush four years ago, generally by fewer than 10 percentage points. At each stop, the candidates piled out of the buses and jumped on makeshift stages, along with their wives, children, Affleck, and local dignitaries such as Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and former Ohio Sen. John Glenn. Sizable crowds greeted the Democrats, including an estimated 15,000 for a late-night rally in front of the brilliantly lighted Capitol of Harrisburg, Pa. Forays into even such conservative-leaning areas (Bush took the surrounding county by 9% in 2000) make sense this year, said Kerry spokesman David Wade. "They have lost a whole lot of jobs and they have many sons and daughters in Iraq whose tours have been extended," he said. He noted that 170,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Ohio "so we think we will do well." Kerry's staff first began discussing in March how to follow the Democratic convention. They settled on the sunny "Believe in America" slogan because, aides said, it was important to express Kerry's values. That emphasis makes sense, said one pollster who has interviewed swing voters in Colorado and Oregon. Swing voters who are focusing on specific issues "already tend to be with" the Democrats, the pollster said, "but people who remain to be convinced are focused on values and the question of 'Who is Kerry?' " When plotting their route around western Pennsylvania, Kerry strategists decided to stop in Greensburg, an hour southeast of the capital. Bush won the surrounding county by almost 6% in 2000, but Clinton's two victories there made it clear the area could be fertile ground for a Democrat, Kerry's aides said. Greensburg also offered a picturesque backdrop, a historic railroad station and the prospect of interviews with Pittsburgh TV affiliates. Despite a persistent rain, about 4,000 people packed a parking lot in front of the stage and dotted a hillside beyond. Kerry drew a roar of approval when he compared Bush to Depression-era President Hoover. It wasn't readily evident from her appearance, but 43-year-old insurance claims agent Vickie Rowe could have been one of the most important people in attendance. She is a coveted swing voter who picked Bush four years ago but now worries about lost jobs and healthcare costs. Rowe called the Democrat's discussion of health insurance reform "big," and said she may jump to Kerry - if he "shows me he could really do something for the people and not just the rich." The tour - which reached into Michigan on Sunday and was to cross Lake Michigan to Wisconsin by boat today - was designed to be inexpensive enough so that local reporters could afford to ride along for at least a day or two. (All news organizations pay their way on such trips.) Such "locals" are greeted warmly by the campaign. Unlike the national media ("You guys look right through this stuff," said one Kerry staffer, "thinking it's all stage-managed"), local reporters tend to give candidates a more positive reception. The Scranton newspaper covered Kerry's appearance with six stories, focusing more on local adulation than 100 people who had to be pulled from the crowd for heat exhaustion. Later, a reporter from a CBS affiliate in Pennsylvania used his eight minute interview with Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, to talk mostly about her days growing up in Pittsburgh. He closed by asking the candidate to come back "when" he is elected vice president. Edwards agreed. A late-night rally in front of the Muskingum County courthouse in Zanesville, Ohio, on Saturday drew one local television station and four from nearby Columbus - with focus on the issues, but at times more on the movie star on stage, Affleck. On Sunday evening, Kerry moved on to Taylor, Mich., where he played softball with firefighters, other locals and children, while Edwards flew to Miami to begin his own three-day swing through Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri. The candidates were scheduled to reunite in Missouri on Thursday and to take on another mode of transportation - a train trip to the Grand Canyon. The landmark promised sweeping vistas for the television crews in tow. But just as important will be the adjacent scenery in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico - all battlegrounds where the hunt for friendly local news crews - and persuadable voters - will continue.

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/3/2004 6:20:12 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Kerry Says Bush Has Not Acted Quickly Enough on Terrorism Defenses The New York Times August 3, 2004 THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE By DAVID M. HALBFINGER GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 2 - Senator John Kerry accused President Bush on Monday of dragging his feet in bolstering the nation's defenses against terrorism and said that he should call a special session of Congress to adopt the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission. "We cannot afford reluctance in the protection of our country," Mr. Kerry said after Mr. Bush announced that he planned to establish a director of national intelligence and a national counterterrorism center, one day after reports of threats against financial centers in New York, Newark and Washington. Senator Kerry also accused the president of "encouraging the recruitment of terrorists" by alienating moderates in the Muslim world, in part through his handling of Iraq - prompting Mr. Bush to retort from the Rose Garden that his opponent showed "a fundamental misunderstanding of the war on terror." The televised back-and-forth between the Democratic presidential nominee and the incumbent president overshadowed Mr. Kerry's campaign trip through swing states for a second straight day. "If the president had a sense of urgency about this director of intelligence and about the needs to strengthen America, he would call the Congress back and get the job done now," Mr. Kerry told reporters at a campaign stop here. "That's what we need to do. That's the urgency that exists in order to make America as safe as possible.'' "The terror alert yesterday just underscores that if we're being serious about this, we have to move on every possible option to make our nation as safe as possible," he added. "The time to act is now, not later." Mr. Kerry said the administration had resisted making needed improvements in the intelligence system. "We have a commission that was stonewalled, that people didn't want to even put into existence, that you had to struggle to empower, that finally has come up with recommendations, many of which I've made over the course of the last few years," Mr. Kerry said. "We need leadership, not followship." Mr. Kerry also ridiculed Mr. Bush for a new line in his stump speech. "They said, when it comes to fighting the threats of the world, and making America safer and promoting the peace, 'we're turning the corner,' " Mr. Kerry said outside a Grand Rapids fire station. "Saying that we turned the corner doesn't make it so, just like saying 'mission accomplished' doesn't make it so." And a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Kerry, James P. Rubin, said, "Why did President Bush flip-flop" on the national intelligence director's post, using a term the Bush-Cheney campaign has tried to affix to Mr. Kerry. "First he was against it; now he's for it," Mr. Rubin said. "Does that sound familiar?" A Bush campaign spokesman, Steve Schmidt, responded, "Facing no bounce in the polls, John Kerry threw away any pretense of a positive campaign today with a prolonged dawn-to-dusk personal attack on the president." Mr. Kerry, who has argued for months that Mr. Bush's post-Sept. 11 conduct of foreign policy has made the United States less safe, also shifted his line of attack. "The question we ought to be asking ourselves is not, 'Are we safer than we were on Sept. 11?' " he said. "That's an easy one. We walk into an airport, there are screeners where there weren't screeners. We've got some air marshals where there weren't air marshals. Sure, we can say we're safer. "The question is, 'Are we as safe as we ought to be, given the options that were available to us?' " he continued. "And the answer is no, and we should be, and I will make us as safe as we ought to be." Mr. Kerry also said repeatedly, starting in a morning interview on CNN, that he believed that the administration was encouraging the recruitment of terrorists through policies that "have resulted in an increase of animosity and anger" at the United States and by failing to reach out to moderates in the Muslim world. He said Islamic religious schools that are believed to be breeding grounds for terrorists "are using our actions as a means of recruitment." He cited a new book by a senior C.I.A. officer warning that the invasion of Iraq only played into Al Qaeda's hands. Told of Mr. Kerry's remarks, Mr. Bush said it represented "a fundamental misunderstanding of the war on terror." He added: "It is a ridiculous notion to assert that because the United States is on the offense, more people want to hurt us. We're on the offense because people do want to hurt us." Moments after Mr. Bush was through, Mr. Kerry arranged his own news conference, where he said that when it came to fighting terrorism, "obviously I'm on the offense," but that the administration was ignoring nonmilitary approaches to fighting terrorism. Later, at a boisterous rally in an overflowing, windblown plaza in downtown Grand Rapids, Mr. Kerry told thousands of Michiganders that he would "fight a more effective, smarter, war on terror that makes our nation safer" by cooperating more with other governments. "I can do it because I understand, No. 1, yes, you have to take it to the terrorists - of course you do," he said. "You've got to know who they are, you've got to know where they are, you've got to be able to go get them before they get us. But to do that, you've got to have the best intelligence in the world, and to have the best intelligence in the world, you've got to have the best cooperation with our countries you've ever had.'' "This administration doesn't know how to do that. I do," he thundered. "I understand that working with other countries is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength." Mr. Kerry also, describing his intentions in Iraq, appeared to shift his emphasis from fixing what he says has been done wrong in that country to withdrawing American troops as soon as possible, though the means is the same: working with allies, involving more countries and reducing the demand for American troops. "I know what we need to do now in Iraq; it's what we should've done in the first place," he said at the rally. "The fact is, it will take new leadership, a fresh start, a new president with credibility to bring people to the table and bring our troops home. That's what we need to do." Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company nytimes.com

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/3/2004 11:12:30 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Kerry Denounces Special Corporate Favors By MARY DALRYMPLE, Associated Press Writer story.news.yahoo.com BELOIT, Wis. - Democrat John Kerry, in a veiled swipe at Vice President Dick Cheney, said Tuesday that he won't dole out special favors to corporations if elected president. "My vice president of the United States will never meet secretly with polluters who want to rewrite the environmental laws," the presidential nominee told a cheering crowd packed into a hockey arena. The barb referred to Cheney, who met with industry officials while drafting proposals for new energy laws. Democrats want more information about those meetings and have argued that Cheney, the former head of the Halliburton Co., had allowed the loosening of clean air and water rules at the behest of corporations. The town hall meeting was billed as an opportunity for Kerry to talk about the economy and his plan to balance the budget. Kerry wants to roll back President Bush (news - web sites)'s tax cuts for families making more than $200,000 annually and rid the tax code of narrow breaks that help powerful companies who contribute to political campaigns. Kerry said he counts $65 billion that goes to corporations "for no really good reason at all." "You go through those pages, ladies and gentlemen, and there's gobbledygook that is hard to interpret," he said. "The only people who can interpret it are the people who paid for it with the campaign finance system." Responding to Kerry's remarks, the Bush-Cheney campaign said the comments on corporations was a personal attack on Cheney. "This is part of his bizarre, personal diatribe that he issued at the convention during his acceptance speech," said spokesman Terry Holt. Holt also argued that Kerry's plan to roll back tax cuts for wealthier taxpayers means a tax increase on small business. "John Kerry's economic plan would derail this economic recovery by raising taxes on those who create jobs in this country," he said. Kerry also promised to cut the federal deficit in half during four years. To do that, he said, he wants the power to veto individual spending decisions made by Congress and to enforce budget caps with automatic spending cuts. The White House last week said it expected this year's federal deficit to reach $445 billion. That's less than the White House budget office previously estimated, but it would still be a record in dollar terms. Kerry's two-week campaign trip through battleground states takes him from Wisconsin to Iowa. His bus caravan may cross paths with Bush on Wednesday as both candidates appear in Davenport, Iowa, around the same time. Bush lost Iowa to Al Gore (news - web sites) by fewer than 5,000 votes in 2000. Kerry stopped late Tuesday at a school gym in Dubuque, Iowa, where he told the audience he could bring back the economic boom of the late 1990s. "All you have to do is measure what we did because in the 1990s we balanced the budget, we paid down the debt," Kerry said. "We lifted up the middle class, and we can do it again. We just need to believe in ourselves." Kerry arrived in Dubuque after stopping at several small towns on rural highways leaving Wisconsin. In Monroe, Wis., the candidate and his wife stopped at Baumgartner's tavern, where Teresa Heinz Kerry ordered a Limburger cheese sandwich with raw onions and mustard on rye bread. Next was the Joseph Huber Brewing Co., the oldest continuously operating brewery in Wisconsin. ___ On the Net:

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/5/2004 3:26:50 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Kerry Says Race, Economics Divide U.S. story.news.yahoo.com By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that America remains a nation divided along racial and economic lines, and pledged to "lift up those who are left out." In an appearance before minority journalists, the Massachusetts senator said he would have jumped into action more quickly than President Bush did on Sept. 11, 2001, when he learned of the terrorist attacks. The president spent seven minutes reading to Florida elementary school children after learning that hijacked planes had been flown into the World Trade Center in New York. "Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whisper in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the president of the United States has something that he needs to attend to," Kerry said. Kerry also ridiculed Bush's claim that the nation has "turned a corner" in an era marked by terrorism and economic recession. "Just saying that you've turned a corner doesn't make it so. Just like saying there are weapons of mass destruction doesn't make it so. Just like saying you can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so. Just like saying 'mission accomplished' doesn't make it so," Kerry said. "The last president who used that slogan, who told us that prosperity was just around the corner, was Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression," he said. In an appearance before a group of minority journalists, Kerry drew applause when he referred derisively to Bush's recent decision not to speak before the NAACP. He said that as president, he would meet with the members of the Congressional Black Caucus (news - web sites), civil rights groups and other minority organizations as part of an effort to build a more united nation. "America is still a house divided, in health status, living standards, access to capital, schools, all the things that make a difference," he said. Kerry cited statistics that 50 percent of black men in New York City are without work, while in some cities 40 percent of Hispanic children are school dropouts. "How can we accept the fact that one of every five Asian-Americans attempting to buy or rent a home faces discrimination?" he asked. Kerry also pledged to "open the doors of the White House to Native Americans." And in an unusual pledge, he said he would prod the nation's news executives to increase the number of jobs for Native Americans in the media. Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign, countered that Kerry is running a "pessimistic campaign" and criticized the Democrat for his vote against the $87 billion aid package for Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Schmidt said that vote "raises serious issues of credibility and his ability to lead our nation in the war on terror." Kerry's appearance marked a detour from his two-week, post-convention campaign swing through battleground states. He was returning to the Midwest later in the day, boarding a train in St. Louis with stops planned in Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Poll indicate Kerry and Bush are running even in Missouri, though strategists with both parties say the state tilts Republican. Bush won the state narrowly in 2000, and his Democratic challenger has visited four times since wrapping up the Democratic nomination. Kerry arranged to campaign with state auditor Claire McCaskill, the newly minted Democratic nominee for governor. She defeated Gov. Bob Holden in Tuesday's primary - a victory that means a polarizing incumbent governor will not be on the November ballot. The same day, Missouri voters approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Bush had hoped to use the issue to increase conservative turnout in November, but Holden countered with a move that had the issue settled on primary day instead. Kerry has been campaigning by bus since leaving the Democratic National Convention. The switch to a train - in Harry Truman's home state of Missouri - was meant to echo the famous whistlestop tour of 1948. Truman won that race in an upset for the ages. By contrast, polls show Kerry and Bush locked in a tight race. Ray Geselbracht, special assistant to the director of the Truman Library in Independence, Mo., said Truman believed he could win the presidency by meeting as many people as possible. Republicans ridiculed Truman's visits to so many tiny towns. Geselbracht said Truman played it as if they were "demeaning small town America."

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/7/2004 5:40:03 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81568

Kerry Plan Seeks Fuel Efficiency, Stability The Democratic hopeful unveils his $30-billion, 20-year proposal for energy independence. August 7, 2004 THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE . latimes.com By Mark Z. Barabak, Times Staff Writer SMITHVILLE, Mo. - With petroleum prices surging to record heights, Sen. John F. Kerry outlined an ambitious plan Friday to lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil in the next 20 years and put Americans in more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. "Folks, we can do better," the Democratic presidential hopeful said, unveiling his $30-billion plan before a crowd seated on hay bales at a family farm outside Kansas City, Mo. Kerry's proposal sets twin goals: that 20% of the nation's electricity and 20% of its motor fuel come from alternative sources such as wind, solar power, soy-based diesel and corn-based ethanol by the year 2020. To achieve that, he called for spending $1 billion a year over the next 10 years to help U.S. automakers retool their factories to build cleaner-burning vehicles. His plan would also provide tax breaks of as much as $5,000 for consumers who purchase those cars and trucks. Anticipating criticism, the Massachusetts senator said he was not trying to forcibly downsize America's motor pool. "You want to drive a great big SUV? Terrific. Terrific. That's America," said Kerry, whose fleet of family cars includes sport utility vehicles. "But don't you think it makes sense to be able to drive one that gets better fuel mileage and is more efficient and saves you money? That's all. That's all we're trying to do." Kerry highlighted his proposals - some old, some new - during the eighth day of a cross-country barnstorming tour taking him from Boston, where he accepted the Democratic nomination last week, to California and up the West Coast into Oregon. The setting Friday was the Smithville farm of Jim and Ruth Nelson in one of the most politically competitive stretches of closely divided Missouri. Four years ago, Al Gore beat George W. Bush by 25 votes out of nearly 80,000 cast in Clay County, a mix of farms, suburbs and a part of Kansas City. Overall, Bush carried the state, 50% to 47%. The Nelsons grow corn and soybeans and raise cattle and a few horses on their 640-acre farm on Missouri's western edge. About 30 minutes away, in Kansas City, Ford is producing the first American-made hybrid SUV, which will run on a combination of gasoline and electricity. The blue-jean clad Kerry, standing before a backdrop of cornstalks, skipped over most of the particulars of his energy plan. Instead, he spoke in broad terms, saying the reliance on renewable energy sources, such as corn and soybeans, would help farmers' pocketbooks while boosting the nation's security. Without using the word Iraq, Kerry suggested that President Bush's foreign policy had driven up the cost of oil by an additional $8 to $15 a barrel - a surcharge "entirely attributable to the instability of the world today." "If we can run a more effective foreign policy … we can tampen down the instability," Kerry said, suggesting energy independence is even more important amid "the war on terror, where much of the focus of that war is in the Middle East." "Guess what else is in the Middle East?" Kerry said. "Oil." Along with pushing for more fuel-efficient vehicles, his plan proposes: o Spending $5 billion over 10 years on a "clean fuels partnership" among government, agriculture and industry to promote research into fuels made from corn, soybeans, agricultural waste and other sources. Another $5 billion would promote jobs in clean-energy technologies. o Spending $10 billion to convert coal-fired utility plants into cleaner, more efficient facilities. o Enacting efficiency standards and financial incentives to cut the government's energy bill by 20% a year and to help states, cities, school districts and consumers do the same. Kerry told the invited crowd of about 150 that his plan would be financed through existing oil and gas royalties, through extending a tax on corporate polluters and through stricter fuel-efficiency standards that would cut the government's energy bill and provide $2 billion a year. The Bush campaign denounced Kerry's proposal, saying it would do precisely the opposite of what he claimed. "John Kerry's record on energy is one of advocating policies that would raise energy prices across the board for working families and businesses, weaken the economy, lower disposable incomes, and cause massive job losses in key industries, as well as making America more dependent on foreign sources of energy," the campaign said in a statement issued before Kerry spoke. "His current efforts to fund renewable energy and conservation follow in large part exactly what President Bush is already doing, and echoes the president's energy plan that Kerry worked to block." Vice President Dick Cheney said this week that the president's energy plan - long stalled in Congress - would increase oil drilling and offer tax incentives to spur conservation, exploration and production. "John Kerry and John Edwards voted no," Cheney said at a campaign stop in Arkansas, citing what he called a significant difference between the Democrats and Republicans. Kerry has opposed the energy bill, in part because it would allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Kerry has spoken for well over a year about lessening the nation's dependence on foreign oil and has repeatedly pushed for increased funding to promote alternative and renewable energy sources. He has also called for streamlining the more than 300 regulations that govern the distribution and sale of gasoline around the country. But the issue has taken on renewed salience with oil trading at $45 a barrel, which experts say will soon translate to higher prices at the pumps.

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/10/2004 10:55:40 AM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Stem Cell Research Gains Political Life Kerry criticizes Bush's limits on the science. And as polls show voters favor less restrictive policies, the president aims to recast his stance. August 10, 2004 latimes.com THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE By Peter Wallsten and James Rainey, Times Staff Writers WASHINGTON - The sleeper issue of stem cell research leapt into the center of the presidential race Monday as Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign attacked President Bush with renewed vigor for limiting the scope of the work and the White House launched a multifront drive to show that the president supported using the science to find cures for debilitating diseases. The Bush administration, stung by evidence that many voters favored less restrictive policies, said the president's fundamental position had not changed. But it sought to recast Bush's image on the highly charged issue by portraying him as a champion of stem cell research, as well as of moral limits on scientific inquiry. First Lady Laura Bush, a top administration science advisor and the chief White House spokesman all emphasized Bush's support in 2001 for the first federal funding of the research. The president provoked controversy at the time by insisting that federally funded scientists work only with existing cell lines and not with tissue derived from new human embryos or eggs. Democrats have long favored a less restrictive policy on the use of embryonic tissues, but Republicans are working to mobilize antiabortion activists and conservatives who oppose the use of human stem cells. At the same time, Bush is trying to attract undecided voters who, polls show, are increasingly supportive of research that advocates say could offer cures for spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other diseases. Poll data suggest public support for stem cell research cuts across party lines. On Monday, vice presidential nominee John Edwards led the charge for the Democrats, saying in an afternoon conference call that a Kerry administration would remove the Bush ban on creating new lines of stem cells. Edwards said it was "against our national character to look the other way while people are suffering," and promised that a Kerry administration would at least quadruple federal spending on stem cell research - to $100 million a year - and remove restrictions so that scientists could work with new lines of stem cells. He said that he and Kerry would make sure that a series of ethical guidelines were followed. The Democrats planned to keep highlighting the issue this week. "There is no question this is a very significant sleeper issue which we are trying to awaken," said Mark Mellman, Kerry's pollster. The White House said Bush's position had been misrepresented and misunderstood. "This president is delivering when it comes to advancing medical research and combating disease," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters. "He is the first president to authorize federal funding to explore the promise and potential of embryonic stem cell research." McClellan's sentiments were echoed in separate remarks by the first lady in Pennsylvania and by former White House advisor Jay Lefkowitz in a conference call with reporters arranged by the Bush campaign. "Although you might not know about it from listening to the news lately, the president also looks forward to medical breakthroughs that may arise from stem cell research," Mrs. Bush said. "Few people know that George W. Bush is the only president to ever authorize federal funding for embryonic stem cell research." The research involves the use of fertilized embryos or unfertilized eggs to create stem cells - master cells that can turn into any tissue in the body, potentially patching spinal chord injuries and forestalling disease. Scientists say they are concerned that Bush's restrictions limit the use not only of fertilized embryos but of unfertilized human eggs that can be activated into stem cells. Ann Kiessling of Harvard Medical School, a leading researcher in the field, said Bush deserved credit for providing the first federal funds to promote stem cell research in 2001. But the president's insistence that the work be limited to cells derived before August 2001 meant that there were only about eight cell lines available to publicly funded researchers in the United States, she said. "If you are going to spend just on those cell lines and not on the other stem cell lines, that is very limiting. That's still a big problem," Kiessling said in an interview. She noted that the cells available for research funded by the National Institutes of Health were not appropriate for therapeutic treatment of humans because they were derived in part through the use of animal cells. The stem cell issue has been debated by scientists and bioethicists for more than three years. But what has catapulted it to the forefront of the campaign are developments that began with the death of former President Reagan, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Recent polls show many voters are closer to Kerry's position than Bush's. Findings released Monday by the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey showed that about two out of three American adults - including more than half of Republicans - favored research using stem cells taken from human embryos. Andrew Kohut, director of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, said the preliminary findings of a poll he was conducting showed intense interest in the issue among undecided voters. "On most issues, swing voters are less engaged than committed voters," Kohut said. In this case, "they're moderates. And a lot of middle-age people are more interested in this than they were a few years ago." While pollsters and Republican strategists say it remains unclear whether the stem cell issue will prove decisive for swing voters, they agree that the White House was stung by the issue's sudden rise in prominence after the death of Reagan, a conservative icon. In a speech at the Democratic National Convention, Reagan's son Ron charged that Bush was standing in the way of medical progress. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who has spoken out against the administration's policy on stem cells, has thus far declined an invitation to attend the Republican National Convention. "The catalyst was Ron Reagan's speech," said a Bush campaign strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "He elevated the issue, elevated it in a way that was not honest and not fair to the president." The White House is worried about voters like Doris Blankinship, a 47-year-old Republican from Orlando, Fla. She voted for Bush four years ago but said in a recent interview that she wondered why the president had "put so much political stuff" on the stem cell question. "I have friends that have juvenile diabetes and have friends that have Parkinson's," Blankinship said. "If something can be done to help them, I don't see why it can't be done…. I don't understand why President Bush is so against it." The White House effort to refurbish Bush's image on the issue coincided with the third anniversary of the president's decision to allow federal funding of some embryonic stem cell research - a compromise intended to allow for scientific progress while allaying concerns of antiabortion activists and religious conservatives who morally oppose the use of human embryos. Bush and his campaign have attacked Kerry for shifting his stances on issues, which Republicans say contrast with the president's resolve. The stem cell question is a point on which the Massachusetts senator holds the less nuanced stance. Presidential spokesman McClellan, speaking from the White House press room, said, "I've seen a lot of misreporting about this issue recently that seems to imply that we put a ban on stem cell research." The first lady contended that the president's critics had not only misstated his position but exaggerated how quickly the research might pay off. "I hope that stem cell research will yield cures," she said. "But I know that embryonic stem cell research is very preliminary right now, and the implication that cures for Alzheimer's are around the corner is just not right, and it's really not fair to people watching a loved one suffer with this disease." Wallsten reported from Washington, Rainey from Los Angeles.

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/10/2004 7:09:21 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Kerry Says Bush Broke Nuclear Waste Vow story.news.yahoo.com By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS - Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry , making a play for a state that supported President Bush four years ago, accused the president of breaking his word with a plan to bury nuclear waste in Nevada. Kerry said the president broke the promise he made in the 2000 race to ensure science and not politics determined his decision whether to ship waste to Yucca Mountain. Bush approved Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear dump site after winning the presidency, even though many scientific studies remained unfinished. "It's about promises kept and promises broken," Kerry said. He made his own campaign promise: "When John Kerry is president, there is going to be no nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. Period," he said. Kerry remained focused on Yucca Mountain while campaigning in Nevada, even as other events dominated the presidential campaign. He let his advisers defend him from Bush's criticism of his stance on the war in Iraq (news - web sites). And he did not speak about President Bush's selection of Florida Rep. Porter Goss (news, bio, voting record) to head the CIA (news - web sites), instead responding by written statement from his campaign headquarters in Washington. Kerry's statement called for quick Senate hearings on Goss' nomination, but kept the heat on Bush to name a national intelligence director and other recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission. For years, Nevada has been fighting plans to move the nation's used reactor fuel to Yucca Mountain. Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt accused Kerry of flip-flopping on Yucca Mountain because Kerry has voted for some measures that included provisions that would have allowed nuclear dumps there. But every time he has faced the simple choice of voting whether or not to send waste to Yucca, Kerry has voted against it. Kerry said he is concerned about the safety and security of storing the waste 90 miles outside of Nevada at a mountain that sits atop the region's major water supply. Kerry also noted seismic activity has been measured at the mountain and could pose a safety threat. Kerry said he would leave waste at nuclear sites around the country while he instructs the National Academy of Science to study how the world should deal with nuclear waste and storage. Kerry and Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., said Nevada voters should choose Kerry for another reason - he saved the life of one of their senators. Kerry and Reid recalled how, on was July 12, 1988, Nevada Republican Sen. Chic Hecht was attending a weekly GOP luncheon in the Capitol when a piece of apple lodged in his throat. Kerry, running late for the corresponding Democratic luncheon, was just getting off an elevator when he saw Hecht buckled over in the corridor. He rushed over and performed the Heimlich maneuver. "I suspect that I was late for that meeting and I walked out of that elevator because there was a higher power that said that was the moment that I was blessed to be there for Chic Hecht," Kerry said. ___

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/11/2004 6:35:55 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Kerry courts senior voters, takes aim at Bush health care policy story.news.yahoo.com HENDERSON, United States (AFP) - US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry decried President George W. Bush's health care policy, saying Americans are paying too much for medication while neighboring Canadians are able to buy cheaper prescription drugs. Kerry tackled an issue dear to older voters before a group of retirees in this Nevada town, where he criticized a system that stops the importation of cheaper drugs. Opinion polls put health care among the top concerns of US voters. Many seniors in the United States travel to Mexico or Canada to pay less for their medication. The United States does not have a universal health care system covering all Americans. "We ought to be able to import lower cost drugs," said the Massachusetts senator, who will face the Republican president in the November 2 election. Kerry said the Bush administration is allowing big companies to "get a big windfall." "It's the wrong priority for America," he said. "Why are Canadians able to buy those drugs and you pay top prices?" "I thought these people (in the Bush administration) were the ones who believed in the market place, in fair competition," he said. "This is not fair competition, this is monopoly." Since the start of his campaign, Kerry has said his first proposal as president would be to reform the health care system. "For nearly four years, President Bush (news - web sites) has failed to take meaningful steps to bring down rising health care costs," Kerry's campaign said in a statement. "While he has given millions away to HMOs (health maintenance organizations) and pharmaceutical companies, families have been squeezed by rising premiums, seniors have suffered trying to get their medicine and small businesses have struggled to compete and create jobs." A Time magazine poll this week showed 11 percent of Americans say health care is their top concern. It ranks fifth behind the economy, Iraq (news - web sites), terrorism and "moral values." A Zogby International poll in July showed health care was in third place behind the economy and terrorism, while Iraq ranked fourth. According to Time, 54 percent of Americans say Kerry would handle health care better than Bush (36 percent). "When I am president, we will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy and the connected and the elected -- it is a right for all Americans," Kerry said at last month's Democratic National Convention. In December, Bush signed into law a bill reforming the country's Medicare system, which covers seniors. The new law offers partial reimbursements for prescription drugs, but Democrats say the law does not go far enough.

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/15/2004 7:18:16 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

"Kerry's campaign seized on a Congressional Budget Office report released yesterday that showed that one-third of the president's tax cuts over the past three years have gone to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. ''What I'm talking about is fairness, fundamental fairness," Kerry told voters at a morning block party near the liberal enclave of Eugene. ''Over the last four years, the burden of taxes has shifted from the wealthy to the middle class." On top of his folksy rhetoric about making the tax code more progressive, Kerry also depicted middle-class life under Bush as one big tax hike, with the rising costs of oil, increased tuition, and health care all contributing to a loss of take-home pay for most workers." Article: Bush, Kerry following the same campaign trail By Rick Klein and Anne Kornblut, Globe Staff Date:August 14, 2004 Reference:http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2004/08/14/bush_kerry_following_the_same_campaign_trail/

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/23/2004 11:38:17 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Kerry stays well ahead in Illinois By Rick Pearson Tribune political reporter Published August 23, 2004 When Republican leaders and activists gathered at the State Fairgrounds in Springfield last week, one of the most unsettling pronouncements about the fate of the state's GOP came from central Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood. "Our party is not dead," LaHood told a rally at the fair's officially designated Republican Day. "Our party is alive." That LaHood felt the need to declare a political organization built by Abraham Lincoln still had a pulse was a telling reminder of the sagging fortunes of the Illinois GOP, and one borne out by a new Tribune/WGN-Ch. 9 poll showing Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry continuing to hold a strong lead in Illinois over President Bush. Coupled with the weak showing thus far put up by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes in his race against Barack Obama, the results signal a second straight statewide election in which Republican candidates fare poorly. The survey of 700 registered voters who said they are likely to cast ballots Nov. 2 shows that the number of voters who identify themselves as Democrats is as high as it has been in any point over the last 15 years. The poll, conducted Aug. 13-16 by Market Shares Corp. of Mt. Prospect, shows Democratic presidential contender John Kerry with a 14-percentage-point lead over President Bush as the incumbent heads toward his formal renomination at the Republican National Convention at month's end. The survey has an error margin of 4 percentage points. Kerry's lead over Bush in Illinois--52 percent to 38 percent--is identical to the support the Massachusetts senator received in a Tribune/WGN-Ch. 9 poll in mid-February, even before the Democrat had wrapped up his party's nomination. With more than two months still to go before Election Day, only 5 percent of voters surveyed say they are undecided while 4 percent said they would vote for another candidate. Those numbers are in line with then-Vice President Al Gore's 12-percentage-point Illinois victory over Bush in the 2000 presidential campaign. And they are down only slightly from the 16-percentage-point lead Kerry held over Bush in a Tribune/WGN-Ch. 9 poll conducted in May. Bush's support, meanwhile, has remained unchanged since February. Kerry's robust lead coupled with image problems and in-fighting suffered by the Illinois GOP have led both presidential campaigns to downplay efforts in the state and concentrate resources in places where the race is closer, including neighboring Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. The survey found the number of voters in Illinois who now call themselves Democrats stands at 42 percent, compared to 29 percent who identify themselves as Republicans. That 13-percentage-point advantage for Democrats matches the highest point the party has ever reached in Illinois voter preference in Tribune/WGN-Ch. 9 polls conducted since 1989. Those numbers indicate that Illinois Republicans have a long way to go to overcome a residue of scandal left from former Gov. George Ryan's tenure in office. Additionally, the survey results show the party may be suffering from its stumbling efforts to mount a challenge to Democrat Obama in the November race for Illinois' open U.S. Senate seat. March GOP primary winner Jack Ryan quit the race in June, and party leaders had a difficult time finding a high-profile candidate to replace him, finally settling on a non-Illinoisan, outspoken conservative Alan Keyes of Maryland. Republicans and Democrats alike traditionally hope that strong candidates at the top of the ticket will act as a draw to bring out voters who will then back party candidates for lesser offices. That could be difficult for Illinois Republicans this year, because Bush is viewed unfavorably by about half of Illinois voters and slightly more than half disapprove of the job he has done in the White House. Still, one-third of all voters, including 28 percent of independent voters, say they believe Kerry's opposition to the Vietnam War after he returned to the United States as a decorated veteran will diminish his ability to serve as commander in chief. Kerry's military service and his post-service activism against the war has become a prominent issue in recent days due to the activities of a Republican-aligned group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group has aired TV ads contending Kerry did not properly earn military decorations he was awarded and has attacked him for accusing U.S. troops of atrocities in Vietnam. T he controversy has prompted Kerry to return to the airwaves in battleground states earlier than planned to counter the criticism. Kerry's campaign also has filed a complaint with federal election officials, contending the Bush campaign was illegally working in concert with the swift-boat group in its attacks on the Democrat. The Bush campaign has denied any coordinated effort with the group and has said it believes Kerry served nobly in Vietnam. Still, the poll found that 64 percent of Illinois voters said they believed the president and Vice President Dick Cheney were "not qualified" to question Kerry's war record, given that Bush served a controversial stint in the Texas National Guard during Vietnam and Vice President Dick Cheney obtained deferments to avoid military service. Overall, the poll found Kerry continuing to hold a strong lead among voters in Chicago and in the Cook County suburbs, while Bush held a 2-percentage-point advantage in the Republican-laden collar counties and Downstate. While Kerry's support among independent voters has fallen from 48 percent to 42 percent since the May survey, Bush's support also has fallen among the same voting group from 39 percent to 35 percent. Any Republican candidate in the state needs a strong showing from independent voters, as well as their GOP base, to overcome the Democratic advantage coming out of Chicago. The ballots of independent voters are even more important given the polarized atmosphere surrounding this election. Fully 92 percent of those who call themselves Democrats say they will vote for Kerry while 90 percent of self-identified Republicans say they will vote for Bush. Because so many Illinois voters say they have made up their minds so early in the race, the survey shows that both sides are faced with trying to appeal to a slim 13 percent of the Illinois electorate who are undecided or who say they could change their minds--suggesting yet another reason why Bush and Kerry are choosing to focus their resources elsewhere. The survey revealed sharp differences in the issues that voters consider to be priorities. Kerry supporters cited job losses and unemployment, health care and the war in Iraq as their top three concerns while Bush supporters countered with the threat of terrorism in the United States, moral values and issues, and taxes. A majority of voters said they approved of Bush's efforts to protect the country from further terrorist attacks. But a majority also disapproved of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq with voters divided sharply along partisan lines on the issue. Among independents, 55 percent disapproved of Bush's Iraq strategy compared with 36 who approved. On the home front, 57 percent of voters said they disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy, compared to 35 percent who said they backed the president. Tribune/WGN-Ch. 9 polls conducted for the last two years have shown more voters than not disapproving of Bush's economic program. - - - Bush lags in state FEBRUARY George W. Bush: 38% John Kerry: 52% MAY George W. Bush: 38% John Kerry: 54% AUGUST George W. Bush: 38% John Kerry: 52% chicagotribune.com

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/24/2004 2:48:15 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Kerry Says Bush Weakens Middle Class story.news.yahoo.com By Carol Giacomo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democrat John Kerry said on Tuesday President Bush had weakened the middle class and accused his campaign of using "fear and smear" tactics to avoid debating the real issues facing Americans this year. In a pre-emptive strike ahead of next week's Republican National Convention to be held in New York, the Democratic presidential candidate urged voters not to believe all they hear from Bush and his party and said Americans must make a fundamental choice at a critical time in the country's future. Kerry said Bush's campaign and his allies have "turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can't talk about jobs, health care, energy independence and rebuilding our alliances -- the real issues that matter to the American people," Kerry said. "They have no plans, no positive vision and no understanding of an urgent and undeniable truth -- a stronger America begins at home," he told a supportive audience at Cooper Union, a college for artists, architects and engineers. With 70 days to go before the presidential ballot, the Massachusetts senator aimed to get beyond an election year controversy over his Vietnam War military service fueled by a group of anti-Kerry veterans with ties to Bush allies and other Republicans. Kerry charged that Bush is "hiding behind front groups, saying anything and doing anything to avoid the real issues that matter like jobs, health care and the war in Iraq." The controversy over how Kerry won some of his war medals has recently dominated the neck-and-neck race for the White House as both candidates try to portray themselves as the best man to lead the United States in its war against global terrorism. Bush's own record during the Vietnam war has also drawn criticism from some Democrats who have accused him of going absent without leave from the Texas Air National Guard, citing gaps in his attendance record. Republicans on Tuesday again urged Kerry to join Bush in calling for end to all advertising by groups outside the main political campaigns, including those critical of the president. "The moment of truth for John Kerry has come and gone hundreds of times, and he has passed up every opportunity to condemn efforts by his campaign and supporters to divide America by who served and how," said Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot. Kerry struggled to refocus the debate on his agenda ahead of next week's convention when Bush will be renominated by his party and will preview his plans for a second four-year term. "The fundamental choice we face comes down to this: Because a strong America begins at home, as president, I will be a champion for the middle class and those struggling to join it," Kerry said. "But this administration has weakened our middle class, weakened our economy, neglected the crisis of health care and turned away from the American dream of growth and opportunity for all. Every step of the way, George W. Bush has put the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans," he added. Kerry predicted the Republican get-together would be filled with "slogans and personal attacks." The Republicans "are going to say that we've turned the corner; that the job is getting done. They are even going to claim, as they already have, that this is the best economy of our lifetimes," Kerry said. "I believe the American people are smarter than that. You can't cover up reality with a few empty slogans. You can't lead America by misleading the American people," he said. Kerry said he didn't believe "four years of lost jobs, lower wages, higher health care, higher tuitions and tax cuts for the few are the best we can do. America can do better. And we will."

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/27/2004 1:27:22 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Kerry Promises to Protect Consumers story.news.yahoo.com By MARY DALRYMPLE, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - With promises to curb credit card fees and protect home buyers and military families from unfair lending practices, Democratic candidate John Kerry is making a pitch aimed squarely at voters' checkbooks. "By putting in place strong consumer protections that hold lenders accountable, we can put billions of dollars back into the pockets of middle-class families struggling to make ends meet, help families climb out of debt and build a better life for their children," Kerry said in remarks prepared for delivery Friday in Daly City, Calif. Kerry's proposals ask financial companies to disclose more information to customers, including requiring that credit card bills display the number of months it would take a customer to pay off the balance by making the minimum monthly payments. Other proposals would block credit card companies from changing the interest rates on purchases retroactively and require them to notify customers before raising their interest rates. Kerry said President Bush gets too many campaign contributions from the financial industry to make the changes that consumers need. "For four years, George Bush has put narrow interests first while hardworking families pay the price," he said. The Bush-Cheney campaign countered that Kerry's campaign benefits, too, from financial donations. "For John Kerry to attack over support from bankers when he is the No. 1 Senate recipient of banker donations over the past 15 years just demonstrates his willingness to say one thing and do another," spokesman Matt McDonald said. The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign donations, shows that President Bush has received $586,225 from the financial industry during this election season, compared with the $92,751 donated to Kerry. In the Senate, Kerry leads this cycle in contributions from commercial banks and is the No. 2 recipient of contributions from finance and credit card companies. Bush's re-election campaign also noted that the president signed a bill to help protect consumers from identity theft that also provides consumers free credit reports and sets up a national fraud-alert system to minimize damage once a theft has occurred. To curb credit card fees, Kerry wants to bar lenders from allowing consumers to charge over their limit and then charging a fee without approval from the customer. The Democratic candidate also wants to put some limits on sub-prime loans, which help customers who don't qualify for prime credit rates get loans. The new curbs would limit penalties for paying down the loan faster than scheduled, along with fees and points charged for financing arrangements. Two financial products would be virtually banned - loans that let the customer pay only interest up front, on the grounds that they pay off the entire principle at the end of the term, and insurance that requires homeowners to pay upfront instead of monthly installments. Kerry drew on research by Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, whose recent book, "The Two Income Trap," lays out proposals for limiting financial industry practices that squeeze the middle class. "Without a strong middle class, we are not a strong country. Without a strong middle class, we're not a strong democracy," she said. ___

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/28/2004 2:01:02 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Kerry, Greenspan Differ on Social Security Sat Aug 28, 9:24 AM ET By MARY DALRYMPLE, Associated Press Writer story.news.yahoo.com SEATTLE - John Kerry ) doesn't talk much about Social Security on the campaign trail, but he laid out some thoughts for a voter in Everett, Wash., who doubted that the government retirement program is really in trouble. "We've made little fixes, little jots and jags here and there, that have been able to change it," the Democratic presidential candidate said, noting that Social Security has survived 20 years of predictions that its demise is around the corner. Those words of reassurance struck a much different tone than the warning issued by Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Chairman Alan Greenspan (news - web sites) earlier Friday when he said that, even under the most rosy economic assumptions, the government has promised more Social Security benefits than it can deliver to retiring baby boomers. "If we delay, the adjustments could be abrupt and painful," Greenspan said in Jackson, Wyo., at a Federal Reserve conference on the challenges posed by an aging population. The first wave of the nation's 77 million baby boomers begins retiring later this decade, a phenomenon that government experts say will mean fewer workers paying into the system that funds retirement benefits for a growing and graying population. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (news - web sites) reported this summer that Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes in 2019. The same report calculated the program won't become insolvent until 2052, but Greenspan and others say policy-makers should start thinking about the retirement wave now. "The baby boomers will be starting to retire under the next president's watch," said Maya MacGuineas, executive director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Kerry said Friday that the best way to ensure Social Security's future is with policies that bolster the economy and raise workers' wages, letting them contribute more to the program. "I guarantee you, the first best thing to do to protect Social Security is to put America back to work in jobs that pay more," he said. MacGuineas said she disagrees with Kerry's assessment that a few minor changes here and there will keep the system afloat, and his position that a stronger economy can solve Social Security's problems. "Those are pretty darn large tweaks we're talking about," she said, adding that economic growth alone won't bolster the program because workers' benefits increase as their wages rise, increasing the future obligations of the system. A number of government studies have come to the conclusion that the baby boom wave will force the government to cut benefits, raise taxes or push back the retirement age to preserve the benefits. Kerry ruled many of those options out. "I will never privatize Social Security. I will not cut Social Security benefits. And I will not raise the retirement age," he said. Peter Diamond, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (news - web sites), said he agrees with Kerry's assessment that the program can be saved with relatively minor changes, but his plan envisions small tax increases and small benefit reductions to make that happen. In a book outlining possible revisions to the program, Diamond said he offered both benefit cuts and tax increases to make it acceptable to Republicans and Democrats. "It's in the category of nips and tucks," he said. "There are no huge, radical changes."

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/28/2004 7:34:29 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 81568

Democrat Urges Better Reservist Benefits story.news.yahoo.com FARGO, N.D. - National Guard and Reserve soldiers deserve better health care and other benefits from the federal government, said North Dakota Democrat Rep. Earl Pomeroy . In his party's weekly radio address Saturday, Pomeroy said Congress should pass a bill he introduced to provide them increased benefits. "These soldiers don't want out," Pomeroy said. "They just want to make sure families don't suffer as a result of their service." The National Guard and Reserve Fairness Act would provide for increased access to TRICARE, the military health care system, and more education benefits through the GI Bill, Pomeroy said. The legislation also has incentives for employers who continue to pay Guard or Reserve soldiers after they are deployed. "At a time when we are asking so much of the members of our National Guard and Reserve, we have to take action to increase these benefits provided in return for their courageous service," Pomeroy said. Forty percent of National Guard and Reserve soldiers between the ages of 19 and 35 do not have health insurance, Pomeroy said. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed worries about the stress on reservists. Rep. Duncan Hunter (news, bio, voting record) of California, Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said last month that the ratio of Reserve to active-duty soldiers in Iraq (news - web sites) was increasing. It's the first time Pomeroy has been selected to deliver the radio address. Some of his colleagues suggested he talk about the No Child Left Behind Act to coincide with the start of school. "I said I would do it if I get to talk about the National Guard and Reserve Fairness Act," he said after taping the address at the Fargo American Legion club. "This is my mission."

To: Mephisto who wrote (39107)	8/30/2004 6:34:08 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Kerry Would Offer Special Iran Deal, Says Edwards story.news.yahoo.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If elected U.S. president, Sen. John Kerry would offer Iran a deal allowing it to keep its nuclear power plants if it gave up the right to retain bomb-making nuclear fuel, Kerry's vice presidential running mate said in an interview published on Monday. Sen. John Edwards ( told The Washington Post that if Iran did not accept this "great bargain," this would confirm the Islamic state was building nuclear weapons under cover of a nuclear power initiative. If Iran rejected this proposal, Kerry would ensure European allies were prepared to join the United States in imposing strict sanctions against Iran, Edwards said. "If we are engaging with Iranians in an effort to reach this great bargain and if in fact this is a bluff that they are trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, then we know that our European friends will stand with us," said the North Carolina Democrat. Such an offer to Iran would signal a shift in U.S. diplomatic relations with Iran, which were severed after the 1979 revolution. President Bush (news - web sites) included Iran in his "axis of evil" along with North Korea (news - web sites) and Iraq (news - web sites). A senior Bush administration official said the United States and European powers Britain, France and Germany are in agreement "that there can be no resumed dialogue with Iran unless it returns to full suspension" of its nuclear program. "Iran has no legitimate requirement for nuclear reactors, uranium enrichment or plutonium production capability. Its huge oil and gas reserves belie a need for even one reactor, let alone several," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Bush has called the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran intolerable, and the official said, "We believe (the issue) should be considered by the (U.N.) Security Council," which could impose sanctions. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), said earlier this month that Iran's noncompliance should be referred to the Security Council in September, but diplomatic sources in Washington said this may slip to late November, following the U.S. presidential election. Asked about Kerry's plans for Iran, Republican Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said this might be a decent idea if the United States were dealing with a "more trustworthy adversary." "I think if you made any agreement with them there would have to be the most strict inspection regimen which they're not allowing at this time. I'd be a little skeptical about how trustworthy they would be," McCain told CBS. Edwards accused the Bush administration of abdicating its responsibility for the Iranian nuclear threat to the Europeans, who have retained ties with Tehran. "A nuclear Iran is unacceptable for so many reasons, including the possibility that it creates a gateway and the need for other countries in the region to develop nuclear capabilities -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, potentially others," Edwards said.