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Bush, Kerry spar over leadership in Iowa
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-21 08:48
US President Bush and challenger John Kerry accused each other of misjudging
the stakes and lacking the leadership to deal with Iraq and terrorism as they
campaigned 60 miles apart Wednesday in Iowa, a state Bush narrowly lost four
years ago.
"The next commander in chief must lead us to victory in this war and you
cannot win a war when you don't believe you're fighting one," Bush said in Mason
City, a northern Iowa farming community. "My opponent also misunderstands our
battle against insurgents and terrorists in Iraq, calling Iraq a `a diversion
from the war on terrorism.'"
Kerry, campaigning in Waterloo, said Bush failed to grasp what the United
States faces in Iraq, where more than 1,100 U.S. soldiers have been killed. "If
President Bush cannot recognize the problems in Iraq, he will not fix them. I do
recognize them and I will fix them."
With time running out before the Nov. 2 election, national polls say the race
is very close, with some showing a slight advantage for Bush. Polls in key swing
states like Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin also show the two candidates running
about even.
Iraq and terrorism dominated the debate Wednesday as Bush focused on Iowa,
Minnesota and Wisconsin — all states that went against him four years ago and
where polls show him in a close race with his Democratic rival.
After Iowa, Kerry concentrated on Pennsylvania before heading to Ohio. Four
years ago, Bush lost Pennsylvania and won Ohio; this year the race is tight in
both states.
"The president says he's a leader. Well, Mr. President, look behind you,
there's hardly anyone there," Kerry said, pointing out considerable allied
opposition to the war. "It's not leadership if we haven't built the strongest
alliance possible and if America is going almost alone."
Saying Bush was trying to focus the election on national security, Kerry
said, "I welcome that debate. I believe a president must be able to defend this
country and fight for the middle class at the same time."
Bush, trying to depict his opponent as lacking the credentials to be
commander in chief, said Kerry was guilty of "a fundamental misunderstanding of
the war we face and that is a very dangerous thinking."
He said the threat posed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian terrorist who
has pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and is believed behind beheadings in
Iraq, "shows how wrong" Kerry's thinking is.
"If Zarqawi and his associates were not busy fighting American forces, does
Senator Kerry think he would be leading a productive and useful life?" Bush
asked. "Of course not. And that is why Iraq is no diversion."
Keeping the focus on terrorism, Vice President Dick Cheney said he was
concerned terrorists will try to disrupt the elections, as they did with train
bombings in Madrid last March.
"I think if they could get off a shot, I expect that they may well try it,"
Cheney said in an interview on Fox News Channel. "But at this stage to say we've
got specific evidence of an attack that's going to happen during a particular
window — no, we can't say that."
While Kerry and Bush traded charges, there was a moment of embarrassment —
and an apology — from the senator's wife over her remarks about first lady Laura
Bush.
Teresa Heinz Kerry, in an interview published by USA Today, had said she
didn't know if Laura Bush had ever had "a real job." She apologized for having
forgotten about the first lady's 10-year stint as a schoolteacher and librarian.
The White House, meanwhile, came under criticism from Kerry's camp for a
flurry of pre-election speeches being given by Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national
security adviser, in political battleground states including Florida,
Pennsylvania and Ohio. Traditionally, the national security adviser does not
engage in overt politics.
"George Bush will go to any length to cling to power, even if it means
diverting his national security adviser from doing her job," said Sen. John
Edwards, Kerry's running mate.
White House communications director Dan Bartlett defended Rice's speeches:
"We're a nation at war, we're a nation that has troops in harm's way and the
president has a foreign policy staff that helps explain the actions we are
taking."
Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot accused Democrats of undermining public
confidence in the election with last-minute lawsuits. He said legal efforts to
change election rules can "cause problems for election officials and bring chaos
... and circus-like activity that is very confusing and difficult for the
American people to understand."
Democrats have sued over alleged ballot and voting restrictions in several
battleground states. So have independent groups such as the League of Women
Voters and outside groups allied with Kerry.
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