Posted on 09/26/2004 8:40:30 PM PDT by justaboutanybody
MADISON, WIS. -- Sen. John Kerry excoriated President Bush on Sunday for saying that he had no regrets about his declaration more than a year ago that the mission in Iraq was accomplished, when the country continues to be in a state of war.
"I will never be a president who just says, 'Mission accomplished.' I will get the mission accomplished," Kerry told a couple of hundred supporters who greeted him in Madison before he went to a Spring Green resort to prepare for a presidential debate Thursday.
Kerry was referring to an interview Bush gave Bill O'Reilly of Fox News in which O'Reilly asked Bush if he would still do the carrier landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln beneath the "Mission Accomplished" banners. At the time, 17 months ago, Bush had referred to Iraq as a "victory" and declared an end to major combat there.
"Absolutely," the president replied in the interview, to air on today's "O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly, apparently surprised, replied, "You would?"
"Of course," Bush said. "I'm saying to the troops, on this carrier and elsewhere, 'Thanks for serving America.' Absolutely. And by the way, those sailors and airmen loved seeing the commander in chief. ... You bet I'd do it again."
In Madison, Kerry held a rally on the tarmac and ridiculed Bush for "insisting that the situation [in Iraq] is improving, that freedom is on the march. ... The president continues to live in a fantasy world of spin."
Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, also mocked Bush on Sunday, telling 1,500 raucous supporters in Lewiston, Maine, that "these people are so out of touch."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Now that is WICKEDLY hilarious!!
I think the poser next to Kerry is drinking a Zima with a straw, served in a mug. Not that there's anything wrong with that.....LOL
That looks more like a poluted lemonaide than a beer & I don't think Mount Horeb is like Madison. Kerry showed up at the bar to watch the Packer game with some of the locals.
Kerry--speaking to "a couple of hundred"; Edwards speaking to a group "of 1500". Those numbers say a whole lot!!
What is with the yellow bracelet Kerry has been wearing lately?
It's a Lance Armstrong braclet. You buy one and the money goes to cancer research. I've seen a ton of people wearing them.
Who drinks beer with a straw? I guess Kerry is getting lonely for Edwards now, since Teresa is probably out looking for a real man again.
I think it's a Lance Armstrong cancer survivor foundation bracelet.
I've seen our President three times in the last month here in Ohio, and my fiance and I got great pictures every time. The last time, we had seats right behind the stage. As gorgeous as GW is, the pics I got from another angle were well worth seeing, and all the women in my family enjoyed them immensely!
No disrespect intended, just had to share that with all the women here!
I think people should reread Bush's speech on May 1, 2003 on the USS Abraham Lincoln. He never said that the mission was accomplished. He said there is much work ahead.
He declared major combat operations over, which were indeed over.
President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/iraq/20030501-15.html
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.)
Our mission continues. Al Qaeda is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations, and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people. The proliferation of deadly weapons remains a serious danger. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. Our government has taken unprecedented measures to defend the homeland. And we will continue to hunt down the enemy before he can strike. (Applause.)
The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost. Free nations will press on to victory. (Applause.)
"Kerry showed up at the bar to watch the Packer game with some of the locals."
Today??????????? Against the Colts? HA! HA! HA!
Colts fan checkin' in!
Ah. I didn't know that.
I thought he wore it because it matched his yellow daisy zipper ornament.
That would be the one.
Someone else pointed it out on another post and I checked:
http://www.laf.org/
And speaking of cancer -- why isn't Kerry releasing his medical records? It is very pertinent to the presidential election.
This can't be. kerry said we're going it alone, and it's all Bush's fault.
The way I understood it, the banner was up there because the mission of the USS Abraham Lincoln was accomplished, and it was returning to its home port.
The next phase is to defeat the Saddam hangers on and the terrorist die hards and set up a democratic Iraqi government. This mission is ongoing and difficult, just as President Bush said after the fall of Saddam's army. I recall he said something like "the road ahead is a difficult one....". So let Kerry say what he wants about this topic... Bush only needs to remind Kerry of the FACTS to defeat his lies.
Maybe Bush could even bring up Boston's embarrassingly s-l-o-w and ridiculously expensive "Big Dig", and tell the American people that Kerry cannot even oversee a construction project in his own city, let alone finish the job of the War on Terror.
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