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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (639488)	10/6/2004 1:35:09 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Respond to of 769670

Bush hits Kerry on national security, economy From staff and wire reports WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — After a shaky debate performance and new controversy over the war in Iraq, President Bush stepped up criticism Wednesday of Sen. John Kerry on national security and the economy. Bush makes a campaign speech Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. By Tim Sloan, AFP Bush, in a speech Wednesday in the swing state of Pennsylvania, contrasted his record with his Democratic rival's, declaring that Kerry spent a Senate career voting against measures to protect the nation and that his economic policies would derail recovery. (Related video: Bush assails rivals on Iraq) "My opponent has a 20-year history of weakness in the United States Senate," Bush said, aligning Kerry with his Massachusetts colleague, Sen. Ted Kennedy. The speech also was an attempt to blunt a new weapons report being released Wednesday that undercuts Bush's rationale for going to war — that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that posed a threat not only to Iraq's immediate neighbors but to the United States as well. Bush said, "My opponent's endless back-and-forth on Iraq is part of a larger misunderstanding. In the war on terror, Senator Kerry is proposing policies and doctrines that would weaken America and make the world more dangerous." On the economy, Bush said, "My opponent is a tax-and-spend liberal; I'm a compassionate conservative." Bush said the senator is proposing higher taxes on more than 900,000 small business owners. "My opponent is one of the few candidates in history to campaign on a pledge to raise taxes. And that's the kind of promise a politician from Massachusetts usually keeps." Stirring the pot further, Paul Bremer, the former U.S. administrator in Iraq, said the United States had "paid a big price" for not having enough troops in the country after Saddam's fall from power. The remark provided further ammunition for Kerry, who argues that Bush has made a series of wrong choices in Iraq. "On Iraq, Senator Kerry has a strategy of retreat. I have a strategy of victory," Bush said. "This nation is determined. We will stay in the fight until the fight is won." The president touched on many familiar themes in his address, saying Kerry would raise taxes on many Americans, damage the economy, and weaken the nation's defenses. Bush particularly focused on what has become his main campaign theme: That Kerry lacked the personal conviction needed to serve as persident. He ridiculed Kerry's complaints that Bush had hurt long-time alliances through unilateral actions. "My opponent's alliance-building strategy: Brush off your best friends and fawn over your critics," Bush said. "That is no way to gain the respect of the world." Bush campaign spokeswoman Nicolle Devenish had said Tuesday that the speech would provide a comprehensive look at two very different records, "one of accomplishment, and one of being on the wrong side of history over and over again." "The president will talk about the choice we face in this election between his commitment to success in the war on terror and John Kerry's record of voting against measures to keep us safe, and attacking policies he once supported," she said. Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said Bush was trying for a redo of last week's debate. "His advisers have spent tens of millions of dollars on a fake John Kerry who they portrayed as weak on security," Singer said. "When they come face to face with the real John Kerry, they don't know what to do." Bush's scowling and annoyed appearance in the debate was widely panned, prompting Bush's campaign to substitute the speech for a re-election event in Wilkes-Barre that was to focus on medical liability reform. It is Bush's 38th presidential trip to Pennsylvania, where he has made the most visits since taking office. Bush lost the state to Democrat Al Gore by fewer than 5,000 votes in 2000, and is he working hard to deny Kerry a victory there. Kerry has visited the state 15 times this year. Recent polls show a tight race in the state. In the final month of campaigning before the Nov. 2 election, both candidates are hitting a new level of harsh rhetoric. This week, Bush said Kerry's foreign policy stands "are dangerous for world peace" and Kerry countered that Bush was resorting to a "blanket scare tactic." Political experts see alarm bells ringing inside the Bush re-election effort. When a campaign "makes changes like this they're worried about something and they have a lot to worry about right now," said David Rohde, who teaches political science at Michigan State University. "Bush had the chance to put the race away in the last debate. That didn't happen," he said. "The situation is particularly demanding for the administration now because of the fact there are only four weeks left to go." usatoday.com