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Bush: Russia Siege Underscores Terror Danger
Reuters ^ | September 4, 2004 | Caren Bohan

Posted on 09/04/2004 10:04:19 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio (Reuters) - President Bush said on Saturday that the hostage siege in which 322 people were killed at a Russian school seized by Chechen separatists showed why America has to remain resolute against terrorism.

During a campaign stop in the battleground state of Ohio, Bush emphasized national security, which polls show is his strongest election issue, as he sought to build his image as a strong leader in his bid for another term in the White House.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin called for Russia's security forces to become better at fighting international terror, Bush said the bloodbath half a world away that claimed the lives of 155 school children, was a "grim reminder of the nature of the terrorists we face."

"We saw the horror of terror in Russia and I can just imagine the heartfelt anguish of the moms and dads of those Russian kids," Bush said.

"That is why this country must be strong and diligent and never yielding. We must bring them to justice," he said.

His comments came during a campaign forum at a high school two days after his prime-time speech at the Republican convention as two polls showed him gaining voter support and opening an 11-point lead over Democratic challenger John Kerry.

A Time magazine poll on Friday showed Bush leading Kerry 52 percent to 41 percent and also pointed to strong support for Bush's handling of the war on terror.

A Newsweek poll released on Saturday showed the Bush/Cheney ticket beating Kerry/Edwards 52 percent to 41 percent, with independent Ralph Nader taking 3 percent, representing a 13-point margin bounce for Bush since mid-August.

RESOLUTE LEADER

The polls were taken this week when speakers at the Republican convention focused on the threat of terrorism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and tried to portray the president as a resolute leader who would keep America safe.

Kerry has been working to undercut that image by describing Bush as someone who misled the nation into war with Iraq where no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were found despite the president's assertions that they were there.

Such weapons formed the core of Bush's argument for invading Iraq.

The Massachusetts senator has also tried to play up his own background as a decorated Vietnam veteran to assert that he has the right credentials to set America's national security policies.

As he did in his acceptance speech at the convention on Thursday night, Bush said in Ohio that the United States must remain unyielding in the face of the terror threat.

"You cannot negotiate with the enemy. You can't hope for the best with them. You can't rationalize with them. That's not the way they operate," he said.

Bush officials were reacting cautiously to the Time magazine poll but campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said it showed Bush was heading into the final two months of the election season "on the right foot."

Bush was to travel to Kirkland, Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania later on Saturday.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; Russia; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bush; election; kerry; nationalsecurity; ossetia; terrorism
***In comparing the two presidential candidates, more registered voters think President Bush has strong leadership qualities than Kerry (65% vs. 47%), is more honest and ethical (62% vs. 47%), says what he believes and not just what people want to hear (66% vs. 42%), would trust him to make the right decisions during an international crisis (57% vs. 44%), shares their values (54% vs. 42%), and is personally likeable (67% vs. 59%). In addition, more registered voters think President Bush would do a better job than Sen. Kerry on various issues: terrorism and homeland security (60% vs. 32%), the situation in Iraq (55% vs. 37%), foreign policy (54% vs. 38%), taxes (52% vs. 38%), economy (49% vs. 43%), education (48% vs. 42%), and gay marriage (44% vs. 36%). More people say Sen. Kerry would do a better job than President Bush on healthcare, including Medicare (45% vs. 43%) and the environment (50% vs. 36%). ***Source
1 posted on 09/04/2004 10:04:19 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

So the choice is.. a slightly better health care system and protected forests OR The survival of the United States as we know it... hmmmm thats a hard choice...


2 posted on 09/04/2004 10:15:42 AM PDT by tomnbeverly (Do not let the UN make decisions for the protection of the United States... VOTE for George W. Bush)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

That wimp Drudge has already remove all of the stories relating to this tragedy.


3 posted on 09/04/2004 10:26:23 AM PDT by Andy from Beaverton (I only vote Republican to stop the Democrats)
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To: tomnbeverly

"So the choice is.. a slightly better health care system and protected forests OR The survival of the United States as we know it... hmmmm thats a hard choice..."

Agreed, except of course for the fact that it's unlikely in the extreme that Kerry can/would deliver either better health care (a Hitlery-care clone would certainly worsen it) or "protected" forests.


4 posted on 09/04/2004 10:26:54 AM PDT by hauerf (Disgruntled with incomplete posts)
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To: tomnbeverly

The only one Kerry can lay claim to is the environment. The socialist environmental extremist - property rights bed damned crowd, is Kerry's crowd.

It also shows how deeply the environmental movement has infiltrated the educational system.


5 posted on 09/04/2004 10:28:08 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: tomnbeverly
So the choice is.. a slightly better health care system and protected forests OR The survival of the United States as we know it... hmmmm thats a hard choice...

Yeah! Hmmmmm.........do I want to be buried beneath the pretty trees or sit under them. Hard choice.

6 posted on 09/04/2004 10:29:19 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (Save a Democrat! Vote Republican!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

He's absolutely right.


Nonetheless, coming soon: Wails of leftist horror that the President is politicizing a tragedy.


7 posted on 09/04/2004 10:30:20 AM PDT by Petronski (With what? Spitballs!?!)
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To: DJ MacWoW
"I think that I shall never see
A thing as lovely as a tree."
Oh, never mind.
8 posted on 09/04/2004 10:32:32 AM PDT by Ciexyz ("FR, best viewed with a budgie on hand")
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
representing a 13-point margin bounce for Bush since mid-August.

That must have felt like passing a kidney stone for poor old Reuters.

9 posted on 09/04/2004 10:32:43 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson (Ho, Ho, Ho Chi MInh/Loves John Kerry so vote him in!)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

And for Reuters to use the word TERROR in a headline - the world truly must be coming to an end.


10 posted on 09/04/2004 10:36:06 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Ciexyz
"I think that I shall never see A thing as lovely as a tree." Oh, never mind.

LOL!!! And you're right. The whole point is being alive to see it.

11 posted on 09/04/2004 10:45:01 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (Save a Democrat! Vote Republican!)
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