Bush accuses Kerry of waffling on issues (Agencies) Updated: 2004-02-24 10:25
U.S. President George W. Bush took the offensive on his
re-election campaign Monday, casting Sen. John Kerry as a waffler and warning
that the Democrats would raise taxes, expand the government and fail to lead
decisively on national security.
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks at the
Republican Governors Association reception in Washington Monday, Feb. 23,
2004. [AP]
Previewing his principal re-election theme, Bush made national security the
centerpiece of his revamped re-election speech, explicitly invoking the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He questioned the credentials of the Democrats who
want his job.
"The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have
consequences far into this century," Bush told 1,400 people at a fund-raiser for
Republican governors. "If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will
drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch."
In his 40-minute address, Bush mentioned none of the Democratic presidential
candidates by name, but some of his sharpest criticism was unmistakably intended
for Kerry, the front-runner.
"The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The candidates are
an interesting group with diverse opinions," Bush said. "They're for tax cuts
and against them. They're for NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) and
against NAFTA. They're for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. They're
in favor of liberating Iraq, and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from
Massachusetts." His supportive audience erupted in laughter and applause.
Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter disputed Bush's list of purported
flip-flops. Kerry opposed Bush's tax cuts for the richest Americans and stands
by that; voted for NAFTA and stands by it; voted for the Patriot Act, but
believes the Justice Department is using it to trample civil liberties; and
stands by his vote to authorize force for Iraq, but believes Bush's prosecution
of the war "created a breeding ground for terror" and alienated allies, Cutter
said.
Kerry has yet to secure the Democratic nomination as he and Sen. John
Edwards of North Carolina wage a two-man fight. Kerry holds a significant
lead in the delegate chase, with contests Tuesday in Hawaii, Idaho and Utah, and
a 10-state election, including California and New York, on March 2.
The president has sought to depict himself as above the political fray in
recent months, even as Democrats pummeled him during their primary process.
Monday, Bush signaled he has entered a new phase in which he will strike back,
shelving an old speech in which he said, "the political season will come in its
own time."
The November election presents "a choice between keeping the tax relief that
is moving this economy forward, or putting the burden of higher taxes back on
the American people," he said. "It's a choice between an America that leads the
world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face
of danger."
Bush pledged to improve the economy and "keep our enemies on the run,"
recalling his walk through the rubble of the World Trade Center on Sept. 14,
2001. The Democratic presidential hopefuls "have not offered much in the way of
strategies to win the war, or policies to expand the economy," he said.
Kerry said Bush's plunge into campaign mode signaled the president is
nervous.
"I don't think losing 3 million jobs, having deficits as far as the eye can
go, having 2 million people lose their health insurance, turning your back on
kids in schools and not funding No Child Left Behind ... represents a vision,"
Kerry said in Queens, N.Y.
Edwards also took a swipe, telling voters in Georgia, "The people want this
campaign to be about the future, not the past."
Bush tried to shrug off such criticism Monday as election-year posturing.
"It's going to be the year of the sharp elbow and the quick tongue," Bush told
governors of both parties at the White House.
Bush has kept his eye firmly fixed on re-election since taking office,
tailoring his travels to battleground states, racking up IOUs with fellow
Republicans and raising more than $151 million for his campaign.
What has changed is his willingness to publicly engage in the campaign,
beyond fund raising.
The new address was billed as a preview of his stump speech and came at a
time when he is preparing to launch a multimillion-dollar advertising barrage.
Bush's spokesman, Scott McClellan, said Monday that the president began
filming campaign commercials about two weeks ago in the White House residence.
The ads will air on cable TV around the country and on network stations in
competitive markets, with the slogan: "Steady Leadership in Times of Change."
They begin airing March 4, just two days after the wave of primary elections
that is likely to cement the Democrats' pick to challenge Bush.
Bush's approval ratings have dipped to around 50 percent in recent polls —
some in the high 40s.
Bush, his loyalists and their relatives were maintaining their heavy
fund-raising efforts this week. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney raised
$200,000 in Minneapolis on Monday and another $200,000 Monday evening in
Wichita, Kan.
The president sought to end speculation that he will drop Cheney from the
re-election ticket. Bush joked that he had again appointed Cheney chief of his
vice presidential search committee — and that Cheney had again recommended
himself.
"They don't come any better and I'm proud to have Dick Cheney by my side,"
Bush said.
