Posted on 09/02/2004 11:28:41 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, Friday, Sept. 3 - Roaring back at his Republican rivals, Senator John Kerry called President Bush "unfit to lead this country" for "misleading'' America into war in Iraq and said Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney avoided fighting in the Vietnam War.
"For the past week, they have attacked my patriotism and even my fitness to serve as commander in chief," Mr. Kerry told thousands here at a midnight rally shortly after Mr. Bush accepted the Republican nomination for a second term and questioned Mr. Kerry's support for combat troops in Iraq.
"Well, here is my answer to them," Mr. Kerry said to cheers. "I will not have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could've and who misled America into Iraq."
The Kerry campaign scheduled the event days ago in an effort to reclaim the initiative in the race without letting a single news cycle pass. Mr. Kerry spoke a mere half-hour after the president had ended his acceptance speech, and Kerry aides issued his prepared text even before Mr. Bush spoke.
Mr. Cheney capped a weeklong assault on Mr. Kerry's character and national-security credentials at the Republican convention on Wednesday, saying that he honored Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam but that the senator's 20-year voting record on foreign policy and military issues made him unfit to be president.
Mr. Bush, for his part, depicted Mr. Kerry on Thursday as a tax-raising big-spending social liberal who had defended his vote against an Iraq appropriations bill by saying the question was complicated.
"There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Kerry, criticizing "the anger and the distortion" of the Republican convention, hit back in his toughest appraisal yet of the incumbents' qualifications.
"The vice president called me unfit for office last night," Mr. Kerry said. "Well, I'm going to leave it up to the voters to decide whether five deferments make someone more qualified than two tours of duty."
Mr. Cheney received five deferments and did not serve in the military. Mr. Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard and did not serve overseas.
Mr. Kerry was even harsher in attacking what he called Mr. Bush's "record of failure" as president.
"Let me tell you in no uncertain terms what makes someone unfit for office and unfit for duty," Mr. Kerry said, turning to Mr. Bush. "Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead our country. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this country. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care for four years makes you unfit to lead this country.
"Letting the Saudi royal family control the price of oil for Americans makes you unfit to lead this country. Handing out billions of dollars in government contracts without a bid to Halliburton while you're still on the payroll makes you unfit lead this country.
"That, my friends, is the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney - and that only begins to scratch the surface."
A Bush campaign spokesman, Steve Schmidt, called the remarks "another example of John Kerry's trying to divide America over the past."
"The contrast between the president's hopeful, optimistic vision for the future that is laid out in his acceptance speech versus John Kerry's politics of anger and pessimism will be totally clear to the American people," Mr. Schmidt said.
Mr. Kerry and his running mate, Senator John Edwards, rendezvoused here outside a history museum before they and their wives fanned out on bus trips across the crucial states of Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Mr. Edwards, introducing Mr. Kerry, called the attacks on him amazing. "They'll say just about anything, won't they?" Mr. Edwards asked. "He wasn't wounded quite often enough, is that it?"
Reminding the crowd of Mr. Bush's acceptance speech in 2000, Mr. Edwards recalled how Mr. Bush had "over and over" said: " 'They have not led. We will.'
"Well, let me ask you, have they led us to more jobs? Have they led us to better health care for our people? Have they led us to cleaner air, cleaner water? Have they led us to better schools and education for our kids?
"Here's the truth. They led us from the edge of greatness to the edge of a cliff. And it's time to lead them out of town."
He scoffed at Mr. Bush's repeated references to his "next term" in his speech on Thursday, as the crowd signaled its scorn. "They seem to have forgotten they already had a term."
He listed what he called the administration's failures, five million Americans who have lost health coverage, four million who have fallen into poverty, nearly two million who have lost private-sector jobs and soaring costs for health insurance, college tuition and fuel.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Edwards had said Mr. Kerry's rivals were attacking him because they had achieved so little worth celebrating.
"I can understand why the vice president spent so much of his time talking about John Kerry," Mr. Edwards said at a rally in Norristown, Pa. "It's because he doesn't want to talk about what they did the last four years."
Later, at a community recreation center, Mr. Edwards implored his audience to recall the less strident tone that the Democrats projected at their convention in July- give or take an Al Sharpton - and to compare it with what they saw on Wednesday.
When Mr. Edwards invited audience members to ask questions, one man suggested that the Democrats were campaigning too timidly, a criticism that many Democrats around the country are beginning to raise.
"You're up against the dirtiest fighters in the world," the man said. "If they hit you, you've got to hit back twice. How are you going to handle it the next two months?"
"There's a difference between how you fight and who you're fighting for," Mr. Edwards said, choosing his words carefully." It's one thing to engage in a lot of personal assaults, like some of the things we saw last night. It's another thing to fight with everything you've got for the American people and the people you believe in."
Michael Janofsky contributed reporting from Norristown, Pa.
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Kerry told thousands...yeah maybe 4, if they count the security.
Well, that's it. Mark this day on the calendar because the race is officially over.
Kerry jumped the shark the moment he saluted, and began his final meltdown with that remark.
(Will the last person to leave the Kerry campaign please turn out the lights?)
None of them really looked happy to be there, either. It was like they were watching him deliver his own eulogy.
Maybe off topic but anyone know why the stock futures are tanking? Sure hope its not the jobs number coming out later on today.
I would like to think it would be over. But democrats are like worms, you caught off their head they are still alive. But, he is sure to tick folks off if he goes off half cocked in the next few weeks.
Lt. Kerry:
DISMISSED
I noticed that the Times didn't mention Kerry's gaffe, about how the Red Sox were only 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees, when they're really 3 1/2 back. It may sound minor, but it's a big deal if you're trying to appeal to baseball fans, which he obviously was. Both Yankees and Red Sox fans are mocking him tonight over it.
Sorry about nodding off. Did he actually say anything this time?
I mean besides, "didn't you know I served in Vietnam?"
INTEL guidance was lower...profit taking on a thin market.......just another buying opportunity for stockholders of great US companies
Believe me, when a candidate starts coming unglued and begins spouting kookball remarks like that, it's over.
It wouldn't surprise me if Kerry had (or is having) a mental breakdown. His entire raison d'être has been snatched from his grasp at the very moment when he was most sure of attaining it after all these years.
Watch closely for smoke coming out of his ears.
MIght want to take at look at these polls.
>>It was like they were watching him deliver his own eulogy<<
Indeed.
It's all just so TIRED, isn't it?
The same lefty rhetoric, the Vietnam junk, the whiny democrats whining about negative attacks. Yawnapalooza.
If the jobs numbers aren't great Kerry will be energized--bad news for Americans does that for democrats--but this is going to be a long 8 weeks if I have to see that puppethead Edwards strolling around the stage like an Elvis impersonator with the mic, tellin' all you good people what John "Not So Fast" Kerry and I are gonna do for you all...
I can always understand how someone I don't like could win--I understand why people liked Gore, or Clinton. But putting aside the haters, I can't see why anyone would want this guy to win.
Lt. Kerry:
DISMISSED
Perfect! I'm stealing that for my tagline.
This petty, hypocritical BS is going to backfire on Kerry, Big Time!
Looks like the Dow and the NASDAQ could be down BIGTIME tomorrow morning. Does the jobs number come out before the opening bell?
He needs to moving to a differnt theme. He is ticking off a lot of folks. He needs to tell the country about his medals. He needs to explain his record while in the senate. He needs to tell why he would look like a slob in early 70's, where he spoke of events I will not repeat here. Now he says he was just passing along info. He is out of his mind, and I think the military will not take a shine to him, if he continues on his status quo road map.
Yep...another massive flip-flop.
And here we have Kerry denigrating those who serve in the National Guard. And he's calling Bush "unfit" for command.
Can't wait to see Kerry flip-flop on those two positions.
The guy is melting down. I'm for adding a few more rods to that pile. Who's with me?
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