Bush Twists Kerry's Words on Iraq (AP Barf Alert)

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."

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."

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.

When Clinton was president he had 17 [Patton Boggs] people in the administration. Patton Boggs, headed by one of the most influential Washington lobbyists, Thomas Boggs, and which employs about 400 attorneys.

Lanny Davis, who left as special White House counsel in February to resume his position as a partner with the powerhouse Washington lobbying and law firm of Patton Boggs.

Rodney E. Slater, served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation since 1997, came to Patton Boggs after serving in the cabinet of President William Jefferson Clinton.

Tommy Boggs is the chief lobbist of Patton Boggs and his clients include EXXON, ARCO, B.P., MOBIL and SHELL and he is a close golfing friend of Bill Clinton.

Cokie Roberts brother is Thomas H. Boggs, Jr. He is of the law firm, Patton, Boggs, and Blow. Partner in that law firm was Ron Brown, the late Commerce Secretary.

Cokie's father, Hale Boggs, a former Democratic House Whip who was the product of a corrupt Louisiana political machine that dates back to Huey Long. Boggs was made a member of the Warren Commission.

Cokie's mother Lindy Boggs was appointed by President Clinton in 1997 as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican). She was the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana and in 1976, the first woman to chair a national political convention, presiding over the nomination of President Jimmy Carter.

“It’s a lot more fun to go to the movie room at the White House and watch movies with the president,” says Boggs. “Especially because Clinton used to like movies so damn much.”

Two of Boggs friends, Carl Bernstein and Tom Brokaw.

Clients...

# George Soros's Open Society Institute

# Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.[9]

# Assn of Trial Lawyers of America

Patton Boggs lobbies for such heavyweights as AOL Time Warner, Mars Corp. and Sony. Its roster of about 225 lobbying clients also includes major trade associations and state and local agencies.

Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., one of its principals, is known as a prominent Democrat. He is considered one of the capital's most well-connected and influential lobbyists.

Patton Boggs' has more than 170 registered lobbyist employees.

Partners at one of the nation's most powerful lawyer-lobbyist firms, Patton Boggs, are said to be embroiled in an internal debate over the firm's representation of Saudi Arabia.

But the real ire has been raised by a series of national radio ads produced for what is described as a coalition of Arab-American groups by Qorvis Communications, in which Patton Boggs owns a 15% stake. The ads call for Israel's "withdrawal from the Palestinian land it has unjustly occupied for years," but make no reference to the suicide bombings.

In Georgetown's East Village, Roger Ballentine and his wife Jennifer Loven have sold their quaint two bedroom semi- detached Federal house at 1346 29th Street, N.W. The buyers who were represented by Trudi Musson, an agent with Sarah Gorman Real Estate, paid $501,000 for the cozy, freshly painted home featuring hardwood floors, a wood burning stove, an updated kitchen, and a quaint stone-walled garden with flowering shrubs and a fountain.

Ballentines now reside in in what can only be described as a Chevy Chase classic, complete with a front porch swing, a beautiful yard and a white picket fence. The charming house has an updated kitchen, three bedrooms and a finished basement. The Ballentines purchased the property at xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx for $735,000.

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