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

To: sea_biscuit who wrote (49875)	9/22/2004 7:18:50 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 81568

no doubt. Kerry slams Bush on Social Security scam: Kerry warns against privatizing Social Security during Florida stop BY TODD J. GILLMAN The Dallas Morning News WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - (KRT) - Back to back hurricanes kept John Kerry out of Florida for more than a month. So as roofers hammered away nearby and across the state, Kerry returned to the eye of the 2000 recount storm to hammer the president on Iraq and retirement security. "George Bush's guess work on privatizing Social Security is going to cost $2 trillion," he said, playing off the president's statement a day earlier that the CIA's July assessment of conditions in Iraq amounted to "guess work." West Palm Beach, an area filled with retirees, was the final stop on a two-day catch-up tour of Florida. He joked about visiting Orlando the night before, holding a rally not far from Disney World and, in particular, the Fantasy Land attraction. "The difference between George Bush and me is that I drove by it. He lives in it," Kerry said. Since his last visit Aug. 20, Kerry had avoided Florida for fear that a visit would strain local police and come off as crass - and because, frankly, voters had more immediate concerns. Indeed, the hurricanes - first Charley, then Frances, then Ivan - put overt politicking on hold for weeks. With so many people driven from their homes and left without power and phone service, polling has been impossible. But as president, Bush has been able to make three hurricane-season visits, the most recent on Sunday. As Kerry was forced to stick with other battlegrounds, Bush toured battered neighborhoods by helicopter, car and foot, offering words of encouragement and $2 billion in emergency relief. "It's definitely hurt Kerry, both in what he can't do because he's not the president, and because he's not able to show his face," said Seth Levy, a West Palm Beach resident who runs a medical business. On the other hand, Levy said as he awaited the Kerry town hall meeting, "Bush's visits were 99 percent political." But he and others backing Kerry are inclined to forgive the prolonged absence. "We had no power for 10 days. ... No phone, no electricity, nothing," said John Mullen, a union official from Boca Raton. He added that the president's visits only left him with a bad taste. "He's just showing up for photo ops." His wife, Sofia Mullen, who owns a jewelry business, said Bush's failed policies on such vital issues as rising medical costs will overshadow Kerry's hiatus from the land of orange juice and hanging chad. "You still have seniors choosing between eating and buying medicine," said Mullen, whose 90-year-old dad lives with the couple. "We're speaking out of experience." Kerry, nursing a hoarse throat with copious swigs of water, promoted his plans for Social Security and Medicaid - staple issues in a region rich with retirees. But he also pressed his attack on Bush's credibility, accusing him of misleading the country on Iraq and on his own health care plans. And, appealing overtly to the heavy Jewish vote in South Florida, Kerry said that not only could he do a better job than Bush to keep Israel safe, but he would also push harder at "holding Arab countries accountable" for international terrorism perpetrated by their citizens. ---