Posted on 09/25/2004 10:55:12 AM PDT by Mike Fieschko
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.
Bush continued to insist on a mostly upbeat view of Iraq in his weekly radio address Saturday. "The enemies of freedom are using suicide bombings, beheading and other horrific acts to try to block progress. We are sickened by their atrocities, but we will never be intimidated, and freedom is winning," he said. "We're making steady progress."
"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."
That's not to say Kerry hasn't been playing fast and loose with Bush's words.
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."
Bush has a plan for Iraq Kerry just disagrees that it is working. And the president wasn't comparing Iraq's future to that of the United States, only accurately reflecting one recent survey in Iraq and the latest trends in America that asked participants for their assessment of the direction their countries are going.
After campaigning in Wisconsin, Bush settled into his ranch in Crawford, Texas, which will be his base of operations for several days as he crams for the first debate of the presidential campaign, to be held Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla.
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.
Same article posted here http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1226687/posts under a different title. FReepers have been emailing AP and Ms. Loven about the obvious bias in the headline and article since early this morning. Small change, but way to go FReepers! Let's keep the heat on AP about the rest of the article.
This is just about the most disgraceful example of AP bias I can remember. I just sent a complaint to info@ap.org.
According to Polipundit and Power Line, the article's original title was "Bush Twists Kerry's Words on Iraq." But evidently even the AP found that title a little over the top, because they soon changed it to include Kerry as well. But they did not change the substance of the article, and that's what is really offensive.
What an editorial! The author, not Bush, is the one doing the mischaracterizing here.
Sound familiar?
Puts this little hit piece in perspective, eh?
http://www.showmenews.com/2003/Jul/20030721News011.asp
Oops: source above...
See Post#6 for another example of "news" from this reporter...
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."
If he's saying we are less secure then we were with him in power, how is he not saying he prefers that he was still in power over the current situation, which is exactly what Bush said?
Yeah they changed their title. I wonder how many people emailed the author? I know I did this morning. FR strikes again!
heres an email I wrote to PowerLine after I found that they too had noticed this article:
I use AOL and that story came up in my "ALERTS" to me today......I tried to find a place to email that woman and tell her OFF but I couldnt.....I am so glad to read here, today, that someone besides me saw this story........
thanks for calming me down
While I agree on the biased content of Ms. Loven's article, I want to tip my hat to FR. I just recently found FR and started reading. When I saw the Loven's headline this morning I was outraged. Congrats to the FReepers on getting AP to at least balance out the headline.
While I agree on the biased content of Ms. Loven's article, I want to tip my hat to FR. I just recently found FR and started reading. When I saw the Loven's headline this morning I was outraged. Congrats to the FReepers on getting AP to at least balance out the headline.
here is the AOL ALERT I got at 2:30am in my AOL email:
Bush Twists Kerry's Words on Iraq
WACO, Texas (AP) - President Bush opened several new scathing lines of attack against Democrat John Kerry, charges that twisted his rival's words on Iraq and made Kerry seem supportive of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein....
For the full text of this story, click here.
To edit your profile, go to keyword
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now when I click on it it says this:
Want to send this story to another AOL member? Click on the heart at the top of this window.
Bush, Kerry Twisting Each Other's Words
By JENNIFER LOVEN
.c The Associated Press
gosh Im gonna remember everything I wanted to say in a minute...sorry for the multiple posts... if anyone wants a copy of my original AOL email that has that topic, I kept it because I was trying to find somewhere to write to her
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