Bush blasts Kerry over intelligence bill

By ^ | 3/8/2004, 2:52 p.m. ET | SCOTT LINDLAW

[freeperfromnj]

DALLAS (AP)

[freeperfromnj]

Bring -- it -- on.

[swarthyguy]

Excellent. Hardball.

[Gordian Blade]

Finally a serious counter-punch to the gut.

[Steely Tom]

Sounds like negative campaigning to me.

(steely)

[drq]

btt

[Russ]

Isn't the word "blast" a bit hyperbolic? Again, any criticism or questioning of Kerry or his record is looked at by the media as "lashing out" "attacking" or "bashing"

[ArrogantBustard]

President Bush on Monday accused John Kerry of having proposed "deeply irresponsible" cuts in intelligence spending just two years after the first attack on the World Trade Center, part of a re-election effort to depict his Democratic rival as weak on national security and the war against terrorism.

This is more like it.

[bobjam]

News to Kerry: you're Senate voting record is fair game, and Bush just cleaned his rifle.

[CWOJackson]

A lot of folks were complaining about the President sitting back and not responding to accusations being made by all the democrat candidates.

I think it was brilliant. Kerry has a lot of negatives and the President has waiting until it's pretty much too late for the democrats to change their mind before firing away.

I'm always amazed at how many people continue to underestimate the President.

[ZULU]

Will this hit the mainstream press? If it doesn't, its wasted energy.

[bogdanPolska12]

Let the debate begin. Is about time President give a right one to this flip flopping kangaroo French looking fry. This stupid media liberal polling means nothing. They have so much on him it is like trying to face a fire without water. I say this; Republican party must go on offensive, one note though. If any one of you ever try to run against your opponent and I mean as a sport would you not conserve your energy for last run to by past your opponent. This I think what President is doing. Kerry is going to get his behind kick really good. Hillary baron is already making noises about Kerry trying to replace another bamboo in DNC. Democrats are basing their charts on trying to win without any cost for them. And end is Check mate by President. I am highly optimistic about outcome, why you may ask answer is simple; Kerry knows one thing he can not denied his own record. Media will try their best however end of line does not end in front.

[finnman69]

WOO HOO. Kerry is going to rant with hyperbole while Bush will bitch slap Botox man with his own record repeatedly.

[BibChr]

Amen! (Though you've got to love the one-sided, textbook AP mindreading.)

Dan

[rintense]

"Once again, Senator Kerry is trying to have it both ways,"

Flip-flopper!

[quantim]

Bush, during a fund-raiser in Dallas, called attention to a 1995 bill that Kerry sponsored to trim intelligence spending

I'm liking this.  Slam your opposition while you're making money!

[rintense]

I'm always amazed at how many people continue to underestimate the President.

Kerry will learn the same lesson that Saddam and OBL learned: Never play poker with a Texan.

[finnman69]

Bush Blasts Kerry Over Intelligence Bill
10 minutes ago

By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

DALLAS - President Bush (news - web sites) on Monday accused John Kerry (news - web sites) of having proposed "deeply irresponsible" cuts in intelligence spending just two years after the first attack on the World Trade Center, part of a re-election effort to depict his Democratic rival as weak on national security and the war against terrorism.

Bush, during a fund-raiser in Dallas, called attention to a 1995 bill that Kerry sponsored to trim intelligence spending by $1.5 billion over five years. The cut was part of what Kerry called a "budget-buster bill" to strip $90 billion from the budget and end 40 programs that he said were "pointless, wasteful, antiquated or just plain silly."

Kerry's proposal, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and calls for a peace dividend after decades of spending to thwart the Cold War opponent, never came up for a vote.

"This bill was so deeply irresponsible that it didn't have a single co-sponsor in the United States Senate," Bush said.

"Once again, Senator Kerry is trying to have it both ways," Bush said, one of the few times recently he has mentioned his rival by name. "He's for good intelligence, and yet he was willing to gut the intelligence services, and that is no way to lead in a time of war."

Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton said the senator's bill was about opposing "business as usual in our intelligence community" and that he has supported $200 billion in intelligence funding over the past seven years — a 50 percent increase since 1996.

"He voted against a proposed billion-dollar bloat in the intelligence budget because it was essentially a slush fund for defense contractors," Clanton said. "Unlike George Bush, John Kerry does not and will not support every special spending project supported by Halliburton and other defense contractors."

Republicans hope to raise doubts about Kerry's ability to fight and win the war against terror, suggesting that his rhetoric does not match his 20-year record in the Senate. Bush on Monday also criticized Kerry for indicating he was uncomfortable "using the word 'war' to describe the struggle we're in."

To fend off such criticism, Kerry has relied in large part on his decorated Navy service in Vietnam.

On Sunday, Kerry accused Bush of "stonewalling" separate inquiries into the events leading up to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as into the intelligence that suggested Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was hiding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (news - web sites). The Bush campaign contends the president is cooperating with investigators.

Later Monday, the president was headlining another fund-raiser in Houston, with the two events pouring $3 million into his campaign account the day before Texas holds its presidential primary. Kerry campaigned in Houston on Saturday.

In between the money events, Bush was to stop by the popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to meet with cowboy champions and peruse the cattle on display. Despite the political benefits of Bush's attendance — it offered a more colorful photo opportunity than the two fund-raisers and allowed him to appeal to the sport's mostly white male fans — the White House considered it an official event. That means taxpayers will foot the bill for at least part of the trip.

"The visit to the livestock show is part of the president's official capacity," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.

Kerry, who has accused Bush of impeding a federal commission investigating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Monday while campaigning in Florida, "If the president of the United States can find time to go to a rodeo, he can spend more than one hour before the commission."

Monday's cash swing opens a week that will also take Bush to Long Island, N.Y., for fund raising. He has collected more than $155 million for his re-election and is closing in on his goal of $170 million. Aides said last week they expect him to stop at that mark, but they wouldn't rule out more.

Bush's home state of Texas, of which he was governor before winning the presidency, remains a bedrock of his political support. It has sent his re-election campaign in excess of $13.2 million, more than any other state, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group. Dallas is among the top five metropolitan areas by volume of donations to his campaign.

[CWOJackson]

LOL!

[bobo1]

LOL!

It didn't surprize me that Kerry was opposed to intelligence.

He is a Rat, isn't he?

Blessings, Bobo

[Rokke]

"Will this hit the mainstream press? If it doesn't, its wasted energy."

I just watched it on CNN. They played Bush's comments moments after playing Kerry's comments criticizing the quality of our intelligence.