Posted on 08/03/2004 3:05:58 PM PDT by quantim
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats rolled out a "Bush truth squad" Tuesday to state the facts as they see them and challenge the president's assertions at every turn of the campaign.
Nearly 20 members of Congress, a retired general supporting John Kerry and other partisans joined in a pledge to "tell the whole truth" when President Bush doesn't. The facts they brought forward at their launch, however, were selective.
"For George Bush, the truth hurts," said Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the former presidential candidate and a member of the squad. He accused the president of demeaning Kerry's record in Congress and misrepresenting the reality on jobs, health care, the deficit and more.
Each party routinely dogs the other's candidate with "opposition research" quietly fed to the news media that offers practically point-by-point rebuttal to the claims of the day. In forming its squad, the Democratic National Committee was putting prominent faces behind the effort.
The Democrats said they will challenge Bush wherever he goes, whether they appear in the same city or say something from afar. A contingent plans to set up shop in New York for the GOP convention at the end of this month, just as Republicans got in their digs from Boston during last week's Democratic convention.
Bush "says one thing and does another," Texas Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said at the squad's introduction. "He's not been a person of his word."
Retired Gen. Merrill A. McPeak, a Kerry supporter and squad member who was Air Force chief of staff during the first Persian Gulf War, said he wants to hold Bush accountable for his record in the Iraq and terrorism wars, including the president's "premature claims of mission accomplished" in Iraq.
"Truth is on our side," Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee asserted repeatedly.
But some of the facts presented Tuesday were highly one-sided.
The squad's case against Bush included a "Tale of Two Lives" video juxtaposing flattering statements and pictures of Kerry's past with a Bush history sprinkled with phrases such as, "Avoids Vietnam," "Absent from Duty," "Is Investigated for Insider Trading."
The video tells viewers that Bush lost a race for Congress while ignoring that Kerry did, too.
Asked how that conveys "the whole truth," DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera said, "the whole truth is in the backup," meaning supporting papers that viewers don't see. The background papers acknowledge Kerry narrowly lost a 1972 race for Congress.
Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, issued an indictment of Bush's economic record at the squad's news conference but didn't have all his numbers right.
He blamed Bush for losing 3 million jobs. Although jobs in the manufacturing sector are down by about 2.7 million since Bush took office, employment overall has fallen by 1.1 million in Bush's time.
Jim Dyke, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, dismissed the Democratic effort, arguing that Kerry has been inconsistent on Iraq and intelligence issues and the squad's "mission has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with the truth."
"The GOP created a truth squad to call us out on our lies.. What do we do?"
"I have an idea, lets make our own 'truth squad' and distort Bush's record."
>>> Franks says it was his suggestion to say "mission accomplished".
Yeah, but the words did actually come out of the President's mouth -- and unlike the WMDs the truth about where we stood over there was not concealed by the terrorists. I am all for shifting blame when necessary -- but the Franks thing probably doesn't help.
Operative words highlighted. In other words, their spin on the facts.
Hilarious!
Speaking of truth squad.....has anyone ever seen the three
citations for the 3 Purple hearts - Kerry got? I would
like to see or hear them...a one paragrph synopsis of each
one and the mandatory witnesses? Let's talk about the
truth,the whole truth,and nothing but the truth..Jake
Let them have Gen McPeak. I retired from the AF in 96, and about the only thing this guy was known for was changing the AF dress uniform into an air line pilot uniform. I don't mean to put down air line pilot's uniforms, but the Air Force was part of the Army up till 1947, and their uniform was basically a blue version of the Army dress uniform and I also spent 7 years in the Army. Maybe the General could assist Kerrey in a new set of "Earth tone" clothes.
Bruce Kurtz
Maybe we shouldn't worry, the Democrats are going to have to hire Republicans to staff anything with truth in the title.
Same song, umteenth verse. We've been down this road before.
It hasn't worked previously and it won't work now.
The irony is incredible!
Who's the squad leader? Clinton?
Watch what happens when we tell the "truth."
"For George Bush, the truth hurts," said Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri
George Bush has always been very good to Gephardt; and this is how they repay him? Wonder what Gephardt is getting in return.
The squad's case against Bush included a "Tale of Two Lives" video juxtaposing flattering statements and pictures of Kerry's past with a Bush history sprinkled with phrases such as, "Avoids Vietnam," "Absent from Duty," "Is Investigated for Insider Trading."
This is good to know, isn't it; now that we see that all bets are off, there are a LOT of things we can bring up about Kerry.
Let's start with "Sends girl friend to Africa" and "Tried to avoid going to Vietnam in 1996" and "Lied about Purple Hearts."
I would like to see some enterprising FReeper put together a list of ALL of the ideas/statements/slogans that the sKerry campaign has stolen from Bush/Cheney. e.g.: Bring It On; Hope/Help; sKerry's speech at the dim con where he almost sounded like a pubbie.
Wow. It took only three paragraphs to find the first lie.
I don't recall her saying exactly that, though it could certainly be inferred. What I recall her saying on the subject was something about how neat it would be to drive a Mars lander over to the lunar landing sites...as if the Moon and Mars were one place.
For George Bush, the truth hurts," said Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri
Gephardt should know. Maybe someday he'll understand that the truth about himself is that he's a 3rd rate politician at best.
They came up with this truth squad and they can't list one thing that hasn't been true. Instead they spread their rumors and innuendos without any facts. What a joke.
At least the article actually portrayed this pretty fairly.
Nothing, NOTHING regarding the Iraq War ticks me off more than this deliberate lie.
The President did indeed stand under a banner reading "Mission Accomplished" on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The banner referred to the carrier having accomplished its mission.
Here is what the President said:
Thank you all very much. Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. (Applause.) And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.
He was hardly inferring that the work was over. As he said later in the same speech:
We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. (Applause.)
The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq. (Applause.)
President Bush never inferred that the mission was "accomplished." Far, far from it.
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