May 14, 2004

QUOTABLES:

“Many argue that we can only rectify the wrongs done in the Iraqi prisons if Donald Rumsfeld resigns. I disagree.” – Senator Joe Lieberman.

"On the fundamental issues of our time, conservatives have been right," President Bush said. "Conservatives were right that the Cold War was a contest of good and evil. And behind the Iron Curtain people did not want containment, they waited for liberation. These convictions, once defended by a few, are now broadly shared by Americans," President Bush said. "And I am proud to advance these convictions and these principles as I stand for re-election in 2004."

“You don't want a vice presidential candidate who is going to say something that is going to sidetrack your campaign for a few days or weeks with questions about how you are going to clean up their problems," said Joel Goldstein, an expert on the vice presidency at St. Louis University. "You don't want to worry about how they are going to perform in prime time."

"I will see to it that the first definition of patriotism is not talking about it, not wrapping yourself in the flag," John Kerry said. "It is keeping faith with those who have worn the uniform."

Frank Newport of the Gallup Organization pointed out that, in Gallup's surveys, no president since World War II has won reelection after falling below 50 percent approval at this point in an election year. "Looking at it in context, Bush is following the trajectory of the three incumbents who ended up losing rather than the trajectory of the five incumbents who won," Newport said.

JUST POLITICS

Lieberman: WSJ OP-Ed

The following is an excerpt from an editorial by Senator Joe Lieberman in the Wall Street Journal:

We cannot allow the prison scandal in Iraq to diminish our own American sense of national honor and purpose, or further erode support for our just and necessary cause in Iraq. American opponents of the war may try to do the latter, while foreign critics and enemies of the United States will try to do the former. The misdeeds of a few do not alter the character of our nation or the honor of the many who serve in our defense--and the world's--every day.

Winning the war we are now fighting in Iraq against Saddam loyalists and jihadist terrorists remains critical to the security of the American people, the freedom of the Iraqi people, and the hopes of all the Middle East for stability and peace. The misdeeds of a few do not alter the character of our nation or the honor of the many who serve in our defense--and the world's--every day. Winning the war we are now fighting in Iraq against Saddam loyalists and jihadist terrorists remains critical to the security of the American people, the freedom of the Iraqi people, and the hopes of all the Middle East for stability and peace.

Many argue that we can only rectify the wrongs done in the Iraqi prisons if Donald Rumsfeld resigns. I disagree. Unless there is clear evidence connecting him to the wrongdoing, it is neither sensible nor fair to force the resignation of the secretary of defense, who clearly retains the confidence of the commander in chief, in the midst of a war. I have yet to see such evidence. Secretary Rumsfeld's removal would delight foreign and domestic opponents of America's presence in Iraq.

Flip-flop Kerry backs $25 billion

The NY Post reports on how Sen. John Kerry has once again flip-flopped on support for the war. As anyone who has been paying attention knows Kerry voted for the $87 billion to support our troops in the Iraq War? That is, just before he voted against it. Now, instead of voting against it, he is supporting the $25 billion request from the Bush administration:

"The situation in Iraq has deteriorated far beyond what the [Bush] administration anticipated. This money is urgently needed and it is completely focused on the needs of our troops," Kerry said in a statement.

Kerry & Veterans

"Here we are with an administration that is busy creating a whole new generation of veterans," Sen. John Kerry said. "They don't seem to understand that today's soldiers are tomorrow's veterans."

Kerry at the end of the week made the theme ‘helping Veterans.’ One of the ways that he went about doing that was to make an appearance in Little Rock, Arkansas, with Wesley Clark.

"John Kerry has been in the company of heroes his whole life. He saw real action, he was in combat virtually every day. When you've done this, you don't have to go around saying you're a leader," Clark said.

Clark also took a swipe at President Bush’s service in the guard by stating Kerry "could have chosen an easy life. Some people who went to Yale did."

"John Kerry's attack on the president's strong record of providing for our nation's veterans is at odds with reality," Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt said. "While the president has increased the VA health care budget by over 40 percent since taking office, John Kerry offers nothing but personal attacks."

President Bush and Republicans in general have won a higher percentage of veterans’ votes than Democrats. Bob Dole and a large number of Congressional Medal of War winners started ‘Veterans for Bush’ this week.

Kerry made a last-minute decision to travel to the Senate Thursday night and then spent 45 minutes viewing the Abu Ghraib prison photographs in a secure location, spokesman David Wade said.

Money & more money

The Federal Election Commission cleared the way for liberal groups to continue to raise and spend millions of dollars in unrestricted contributions to defeat President Bush in the 2004 election. The ruling means that McCain-Feingold is meaningless for this campaign cycle.

"The FEC has fundamentally weakened a law it is charged to enforce and has thereby betrayed its very purpose," Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said in a written statement.

"I think it is possible the Democrats could wind up, from this point on, worse off," Democratic commissioner Scott Thomas said.

David Keating, executive director of the conservative, anti-tax group Club for Growth, said the FEC's decision essentially tells major GOP contributors "come on in, the water's fine."

The Black vote

The Kerry campaign spent 90 minutes meeting with the Black Congressional Caucus hoping to get everyone on the same page. According to the Boston Globe the effort was successful:

Marcus Jadotte, Kerry's deputy campaign manager, said the campaign and black caucus were on the same page.

"We understand very clearly that in order to compete successfully we're going to have to motivate and energize the Democratic base and mobilize that base on Election Day," Jadotte said. "We all know African-Americans are a huge share of the Democratic base."

The campaign has agreed to meet by phone with Black leaders weekly and that Sen. John Kerry will participate bi-weekly.

 

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