KERRY TO DEMS: STOP 'AWOL' JABS AT DUBYA
New York Post ^ | 2/16/04 | DEBORAH ORIN
February 16, 2004 -- Democratic front-runner John Kerry yesterday urged Democrats to stop charging that President Bush went "AWOL" during his Texas National Guard service - a claim being pushed by the party's national chairman, Terry McAuliffe. "I don't plan to do that, and I've asked them not to," said Kerry, a decorated Vietnam vet, during what could be the final presidential primary debate heading into tomorrow's Wisconsin vote.
Still, Kerry claimed Bush failed to apply Vietnam lessons to Iraq, and he referred derisively to "Richard Nixon and his war in Vietnam" - though it actually began under Democratic President Lyndon Johnson or, some say, President John F. Kennedy.
Democrats claim there's no proof Bush did temporary duty in Alabama, but two fellow Guardsmen now say he did, and a commander who'd suggested Bush was a no-show is "getting Alzheimer's."
It was low-key debate where Howard Dean ignored chances to zing Kerry. Rival John Edwards said he'll stay in the race and chided Kerry for talking as if he's already the nominee, saying, "Not so fast, John Kerry."
Kerry rejected the idea that his vote for the Iraq war means he bears some responsibility for it, saying: "The president had the authority to do what he was going to do without the vote of the U.S. Congress."
But Edwards, who also voted "yes" on the war, said "of course" he feels responsibility.