FoR some, the debate was in the can a long time ago.. ;-)
Cheney, Edwards Clash Over Iraq in Debate
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20041006/ap_on_el_pr/debate_rdp
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
CLEVELAND - In a debate at close quarters, Democratic Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) bluntly accused Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) Tuesday night of "not being straight with the American people" when it comes to Iraq (news - web sites).
"I'm confident that in fact we'll get the job done," insisted the vice president, who said reconstruction efforts are continuing and elections are scheduled for January. Cheney said it is essential to view the war in Iraq as part of a global war on terror.
The 90-minute debate format encouraged give-and-take, and both men went at it eagerly.
Cheney noted that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) had opposed the first Persian Gulf War (news - web sites), and said it was "part of a consistent pattern over time of always being on the wrong side of the fence."
Edwards said Cheney had previously suggested ties between the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). "You've gone around the country suggesting that there is some connection. There is not," Edwards said.
Cheney, 63, and Edwards, 51, sat a few feet apart around a semicircular table on a stage at Case Western Reserve University. Gwen Ifill of PBS, moderator for the evening, faced them.
It was the only debate of the campaign for Cheney and his Democratic opponent.
Kerry and Bush debated for 90 minutes last week in an encounter widely viewed as a victory for the Democratic challenger. The four-term Massachusetts senator has gained ground in the polls in the days since, narrowing the gap with the president in some nationwide surveys and moving into a statistical tie in others.
Bush and Kerry will debate twice more, on Friday in St. Louis and Oct. 13 in Arizona.
In a reprise of comments Kerry made in last week's debate, Edwards said the United States has paid 90 percent of the costs and suffered 90 percent of the casualties in the war in Iraq.
The figure is "dead wrong," Cheney replied, adding that the Iraqi security forces have suffered almost 50 percent of the casualties. "Your facts are just wrong," he said — again, for emphasis.
Edwards accused the Bush administration of the "height of hypocrisy," saying it had sent troops into war without sufficient body armor and by lobbying to cut their pay.
"It's hard to know where to start, there's so many inaccuracies there," Cheney replied.
Cheney also said of Kerry, "I don't believe he has the qualities needed to be commander in chief."
The Republican said Kerry voted to authorize the war, then voted against an $87 billion aid package for Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites). He said Democratic primary politics were at work at that point. "If they couldn't stand up to pressures that Howard Dean (news - web sites) represented, how can we expect them to stand up to al-Qaida?" he said.
Excerpts From Tuesday's VP Debate in Ohio
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=7&u=/ap/20041006/ap_on_el_pr/debate_excerpts
By The Associated Press
Excerpts from Tuesday's vice presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland:
VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY:
"The effort that we've mounted with respect to Iraq (news - web sites) focused specifically on the possibility that this was the most likely nexus between the terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. The biggest threat we faced today is the possibility of terrorists smuggling a nuclear weapon or a biological agent into one of our own cities and threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. What we did in Iraq was exactly the right thing to do. If I had it to recommend all over again, I would recommend exactly the same course of action. The world is far safer today because Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) is in jail, his government is no longer in power. And we did exactly the right thing."
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (news, bio, voting record):
"It's not just me that sees the mess in Iraq. There are Republican leaders, like (Sen.) John McCain, like (Sen.) Richard Lugar, like (Sen.) Chuck Hagel, who have said Iraq is a mess and it's getting worse. And when they were asked why, Richard Lugar said because of the incompetence of the administration. What Paul Bremer said yesterday is they didn't have enough troops to secure the country. They also didn't have a plan to win the peace. They also didn't put the alliances together to make this successful. We need a fresh start."
EDWARDS:
"We went into Afghanistan (news - web sites) and very quickly the administration made a decision to divert attention from that and instead began to plan for the invasion of Iraq. And these connections — I want the American people to hear this very clearly. Listen carefully to what the vice president is saying. Because there is no connection between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of September 11th — period. The 9/11 Commission has said that's true. (Secretary of State) Colin Powell (news - web sites) has said it's true. But the vice president keeps suggesting that there is. There is not. And, in fact, any connection with al-Qaida is tenuous at best."
CHENEY:
"The senator has got his facts wrong. I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11, but there's clearly an established Iraqi track record with terror. And the point is that that's the place where you're most likely to see the terrorists come together with weapons of mass destruction, the deadly technologies that Saddam Hussein had developed and used over the years. Now, the fact of the matter is, the big difference here ... is they are not prepared to deal with states that sponsor terror. They've got a very limited view about how to use U.S. military forces to defend America."
"A little tough talk in the midst of a campaign or as part of a presidential debate cannot obscure a record of 30 years of being on the wrong side of defense issues. And they give absolutely no indication, based on that record, of being willing to go forward and aggressively pursue the war on terror with a kind of strategy that will work, that will defeat our enemies and will guarantee that the United States doesn't again get attacked by the likes of al-Qaida."
EDWARDS:
"What John Kerry (news - web sites) said — and it's just as clear as day to anybody who was listening — he said: 'We will find terrorists where they are and kill them before they ever do harm to the American people, first.' We will keep this country safe. He defended this country as a young man, he will defend this country as president of the United States. He also said very clearly that he will never give any country veto power over the security of the United States of America. Now, I know the vice president would like to pretend that wasn't said, and the president would too. But the reality is it was said."
CHENEY:
"It's awfully hard to convey a sense of credibility to allies when you voted for the war and then you declared: Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time. You voted for the war, and then you voted against supporting the troops when they needed the equipment, the fuel, the spare parts and the ammunition and the body armor. You're not credible on Iraq because of the enormous inconsistencies that John Kerry and you have cited time after time after time during the course of the campaign. Whatever the political pressures of the moment requires, that's where you're at. But you've not been consistent, and there's no indication at all that John Kerry has the conviction to successfully carry through on the war on terror."