Bush Campaign Ad Hits Kerry with His Own Words

Reuters ^ | 3-18-04 | Caren Bohan

[Indy Pendance]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush sought on Thursday to paint Democratic White House candidate John Kerry as indecisive, in a new television advertisement that features a clip of the Massachusetts senator talking about Iraq just two days earlier.

In a new example of the early rhetorical brawling that has marked this year's campaign, the Bush camp pounced on Kerry's explanation of a vote against Bush's request last year for $87 billion to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The commercial is slated to run on cable stations across the country. It includes a clip of Kerry telling an audience on Tuesday, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it."

The ad closes with the words: "John Kerry: Wrong on Defense."

The broader context of Kerry's remark -- made in response to an earlier Bush ad -- was his explanation that he supported a version of the $87 billion funding proposal for Iraq that would have paid for it by repealing of Bush's tax cuts on the wealthy. But when that amendment failed, Kerry voted against the bill.

The Republican president has been hammering Kerry for opposing that money, despite his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq, in an effort to portray him as dangerously weak and inconsistent on security issues.

Both candidates are trying to tout their credentials on national security and defense, amid the continuing U.S. war on global terrorism and instability in post-war Iraq.

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, campaigned this week among fellow veterans and Bush on Thursday visited troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

"John Kerry opposed a red-inked, blank check on Bush's failed Iraq policy," Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said in a statement responding to the ad, which he called "misleading."

Kerry has said that one of his concerns about the funding bill was that the Bush administration had not done enough to enlist international help with the Iraq operation.

The Kerry quotation is the same one ridiculed by Vice President Dick Cheney Wednesday in aggressively attacking the four-term Massachusetts senator's voting record.

With the exception of the new quote, the rest of the nationwide advertisement is the similar to one released in West Virginia this week in which a narrator listed such things as body armor and health care for soldiers and suggested Kerry had voted against those when he opposed the $87 billion.

"The same misleading ads that the Bush/Cheney campaign dumped on the people of West Virginia, they are now dumping on the Nation," Meehan said. "The three weeks in a row of Bush misleading TV ads, and millions in cash, can't hide George Bush's record of broken promises and misleading America."

[jigsaw]

Actually, Senator Kerry, I did vote for you, before I voted against you.

[Enduring Freedom]

Like unemployment figures and bankruptcies, you're looking at trailing indicies.

Kerry is beginning to tank.

Enjoy over a cognac or Dubonnet.

[Enduring Freedom]

OUCH!

Love it!

[Enduring Freedom]

Why thank you!

[Enduring Freedom]

Democrats to Kerry: "I did vote for you, before I voted against you."
-- paraphrasing jigsaw

Kerry is going down to the spider hole.

[chance33_98]

I can do that :) Any other ideas (have more on profile page)

[chance33_98]

Refresh and it should magically appear :)

[WVNan]

A couple of "experts" on O'Reilly earlier said that Bush is in serious trouble. Are they misunderestimating him again?

[WVNan]

the clip they are using is from kerry's visit to WV. It will be perfect if they show his audience. They were all grumpty old vets who weren't buying what kerry was selling.

[Enduring Freedom]

Experts offered the world low-fat diets and gave us record obesity and an epidemic of diabetes.

Yes, the experts would be wrong - dead wrong.

4.
More.
Years.

[WVNan]

Long live Atkins. Someone has come out with the low-carb wraps like the ones Subway uses. I bought two packages today at Wally World. Good with chicken salad. Tomorrow burritos without beans.

[Enduring Freedom]

Good for you - getting the results you want?

[Mr. Thorne]

Burritos without BEANS?!

Why that's, that's...

Un-American!

= P

[Jorge]

Funny or not Bush's approval numbers are low and he's in trouble.

I expect that will change. Especially the more people get to see what Kerry is all about.

[FreeKnight]

La Tortilla Factory makes low carb wraps. 5 grams of carb / tortilla. They also make small ones that are great for enchiladas or tacos. I recommend frying them in olive oil first for enchiladas or tacos. Tastes better that way!