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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: YourKing who wrote (76027)	10/9/2004 7:08:33 AM
From: John Carragher	Respond to of 793777

BUSH COMES ON STRONGER (nypost) By DEBORAH ORIN, STEFAN C. FRIEDMAN and VINCE MORRIS October 9, 2004 -- ST. LOUIS — An aggressive President Bush last night painted John Kerry as unfit to lead America in time of war — and Kerry shot back at their slugfest second debate that Bush's campaign is "a weapon of mass deception." "I don't see how you can win in Iraq if you don't believe we should be there in the first place," Bush said, as he accused Kerry of flip-flopping from pro-Iraq war to anti-war to win the Democratic primaries. Kerry zinged: "The president didn't find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq so he's really turned his campaign into a weapon of mass deception" to bombard voters with ads painting Kerry as a flip-flopper. Bush also scoffed at Kerry's claim to offer a middle-class tax cut, saying: "He's going to tax everyone here to fund his programs. That's just reality." But Kerry quickly jumped at the chance when a questioner challenged him to make a pledge against any tax hikes on people earning under $200,000, saying, "Absolutely. Yes. Right into the camera. Yes." Bush shot back: "Here he says he's going to be a fiscal conservative all of a sudden. It's just not credible. You cannot believe it. And of course he's going to raise your taxes." Two quick polls rated the debate a virtual draw — an ABC News poll found 44 percent rated Kerry the winner, while 41 percent picked Bush, a turnaround from the first debate, which was rated a big win for Kerry. A CNN poll found 47 percent rated Kerry the winner and 45 percent said Bush came out on top — but the president made significant gains during the debate on Iraq and terrorism and was rated, by a slim margin, more believable and likable. Before the debate, Kerry was favored as the better man to handle Iraq by a 50 to 46 percent margin — but afterward Bush was favored by a 53 to 46 percent margin in the CNN poll. Bush was rated tougher on terrorism by a 7-point margin before the debate but that grew to a 17-point edge afterward — 56 percent said Bush would be tougher versus 39 percent for Kerry. Kerry was scored the clear winner by a focus group of 20 swing voters run by GOP pollster Frank Luntz — but it didn't change a single vote in the group though 14 said Kerry won, 3 said Bush won and 4 called it a toss-up. At times during the matchup, Bush seemed to be almost shouting but he grew quiet and reflective during a discussion on stem cell research when he argued against expanded embryo research on "ethics" grounds while Kerry said it offers hope. There were a few light moments — when Kerry claimed that Bush "got $84 from a timber company" and thus counted as a small business, Bush replied quizzically: "I own a timber company? That's news to me. Need wood?" When Kerry claimed he's for a ban on partial-birth abortion even though he voted against it — because he said the legislation needed to allow exceptions when the health of the mother is at risk — Bush replied: "I'm trying to decipher that." Bush welcomed a chance to rule out a military draft, noting the "rumors on the Internets," and said: "We're not going to have a draft, period. The all-volunteer army works." The heart of their debate was Iraq and the war on terror, the issues that now appear to be driving the presidential race. Kerry denied that he's "wishy-washy" and insisted: "The president wishes he could convince you that I have changed my mind. He can't come here and tell you that, so what does he do? He's trying to attack me. He wants you to believe that I can't be president." Bush retorted: "I can see why people think he changes positions a lot, because he does. He said he thought Saddam Hussein was a grave threat and now he says it was a mistake to remove Saddam Hussein from power."