Posted on 09/25/2004 1:29:39 AM PDT by The_Victor
WACO, Texas - President Bush (news - web sites) opened several new scathing lines of attack against Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites), charges that twisted his rival's words on Iraq (news - web sites) and made Kerry seem supportive of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). It was not unlike the spin that Kerry and his forces sometimes place on Bush's words.
Campaigning by bus through hotly contested Wisconsin on Friday, Bush sought to counter recently sharpened criticism by Kerry about his Iraq policies:
_He stated flatly that Kerry had said earlier in the week "he would prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today." The line drew gasps of surprise from Bush's audience in a Racine, Wis., park. "I just strongly disagree," the president said.
But Kerry never said that. In a speech at New York University on Monday, he called Saddam "a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell." He added, "The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure."
_Bush attacked Kerry for calling "our alliance 'the alliance of the coerced and the bribed.'"
"You can't build alliances if you criticize the efforts of those who are working side by side with you," the president said in Janesville, Wis.
Kerry did use the phrase to describe the U.S.-led coalition of nations in Iraq, in a March 2003 speech in California. He was referring to the administration's willingness to offer aid to other nations to gain support for its Iraq policies.
But Bush mischaracterized Kerry's criticism, which has not been aimed at the countries that have contributed a relatively small number of troops and resources, but at the administration for not gaining more participation from other nations.
_Bush also suggested Kerry was undercutting an ally in a time of need, and thus unfit to be president, when he "questioned the credibility" of Iraqi interim leader Ayad Allawi.
"This great man came to our country to talk about how he's risking his life for a free Iraq, which helps America," the president said in Janesville. "And Senator Kerry held a press conference and questioned Prime Minister Allawi's credibility. You can't lead this country if your ally in Iraq feels like you question his credibility."
Bush repeated the attack later in the day and Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) echoed the message in Lafayette, La. "I must say I was appalled at the complete lack of respect Senator Kerry showed for this man of courage," Cheney said.
Kerry's point was that the optimistic assessments of postwar Iraq from both Bush and Allawi didn't match previous statements by the Iraqi leader, nor the reality on the ground, and were designed to put the "best face" on failed policies.
"Facts can be stubborn things," said Kerry spokesman Phil Singer. "When there's a gap between the reality and the words coming out of the White House, we are going to point them out."
That's not to say Kerry hasn't been playing fast and loose with Bush's words.
Just Friday, the Kerry campaign sent an e-mail to supporters entitled "He said what?" citing Bush's remark that he had seen "a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America."
The e-mail from campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill accused the president of having "no plan to get us out of Iraq" and thinking "the future of Iraq is brighter than the future of America."
Bush has a plan for Iraq — Kerry just disagrees that it is working. And the president wasn't comparing Iraq's future to that of the United States, only accurately reflecting one recent survey in Iraq and the latest trends in America that asked participants for their assessment of the direction their countries are going. After campaigning in Wisconsin, Bush settled into his ranch in Crawford, Texas, which will be his base of operations for several days as he crams for the first debate of the presidential campaign, to be held Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla. The first practice session was expected to take place Saturday night, with Sen. Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record), R-N.H., playing the part of Kerry for a couple of hours and a slew of Bush's most senior White House aides and outside advisers on hand, spokesman Scott McClellan said.
A P
Arab Propaganda
Hey, that was actually "fair and balanced" coming from the AP.
Hey AP .. you're gonna need a new set a knee pads after that article
didn't take much "twisting" to make him sound bad did it?
Kerry is just "twistin' in the wind"
This is editorializing and not a news piece.
I strongly agree.
This is editorializing and not a news piece.
I strongly agree.
If anybody at CBS ever gets fired because of the forged documents, they'll have an AP job waiting for them.
The headline of this story could just as easily be: ASSOCIATED PRESS HACK TWISTS BUSH'S WORDS ON KERRY
You strongly agree...times two!
No doubts here. They've shown their true colors before, but the "booing" story went over the top and SEARED their bias in my mind.
The love of instant information...thanks!
Dubya is just trying to let JFK know that he doesn't hate him, and to help him save face, is twisting his words into believable comments to make the race interesting.
It will however still be a Bush landslide!
al-JazAP
So deductive logic as practiced by a Republican is now regarded as twisting words by the paleomedia. I'm thinking we need an AP internal investigation concurrent with the one at See BS.
Who twists what?
Bush is a piker compaired to Kerry's message-twisting-in-the-wind campaign and his out and out lies.
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