Bush’s National Guard speech:
Mission succeeding
President Bush addressed the National Guard’s national convention and
said that his administration were succeeding in the war on terrorism.
Bush also pointed out that only 12 members of Congress failed to
support funding for the troops and two of them were his opponents.
"Since that terrible morning three years ago, America has been at war.
We fought the terrorists across the earth -- not for pride, not for
power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our
strategy is clear: we're defending the homeland, we're transforming
our military, we're strengthening our intelligence services. We're
staying on the offensive. We will strike the terrorists abroad so they
can't come here and hurt us. (Applause.)
"We will advance liberty in the broader Middle East and around the
world, because freedom will bring a future of hope and peace we all
long for. And we will prevail.
"Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago, Afghanistan was the home
base of al Qaeda, Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups,
Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising, Libya was
secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, Iraq was a gathering threat, and al
Qaeda was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks. Because we
acted, the government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror,
Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi is making raids and
arrests, Libya is dismantling its weapons programs, the army of a free
Iraq is fighting for freedom, and more than three-quarters of al
Qaeda's key members and associates have been detained or killed.
(Applause.) We have led, many have joined, and America and the world
are safer. (Applause.)
"All this progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose,
and some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew
Saddam Hussein's record of aggression and support for terror.
Remember, he housed Abu Nidal -- he's the guy that killed Leon
Klinghoffer -- housed him and his associates. Zarqawi was in and out
of Baghdad. He's the fellow who cuts people's heads off and hopes we
cringe and shirk our duty. Saddam paid the families of suicide
bombers. We knew his long history of pursuing, and even using, weapons
of mass destruction. And we know that after September the 11th, our
country must think differently. We must take threats seriously, before
they fully materialize. (Applause.)
"In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. So I went to the United States
Congress. Members of both political parties -- including my opponent
and his running mate -- looked at the same intelligence, remembered
the same history we remembered, and concluded that Saddam Hussein was
a threat and they authorized the use of force. Before the
Commander-in-Chief commits troops into harm's way, we must try all
avenues to deal with the threat. I was hopeful that diplomacy would
work, that why I went to the United Nations.
"The U.N. Security Council looked at the same intelligence we looked
at, remembered the same history we remembered, and came to this
conclusion. They said to Saddam Hussein by a 15 to nothing vote in the
U.N. Security Council: disclose, disarm or face serious consequences.
As he had for over a decade, Saddam Hussein ignored the demands of the
world. Matter of fact, when they sent inspectors into his country, he
systematically deceived them. It was clear to me diplomacy wasn't
working. So I had a choice to make: Do I forget the lessons of
September the 11th and take the word of a madman -- or take action
necessary to defend America? Given that choice, I will defend America
every time. (Applause.)
"Because we acted -- because we acted to defend our country, more than
50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq are free. It wasn't all that
long ago that many young girls weren't allowed to go to school in
Afghanistan, because of the dark vision of the Taliban. Wasn't all
that long ago that the moms were taken to a sports stadium and
executed because they wouldn't toe the line of these barbaric people.
"And today, over 10 million Afghanistan citizens -- 41 percent of whom
are women -- are registered to vote in the upcoming presidential
elections. (Applause.) Despite ongoing violence in Iraq, that country
now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national
elections are scheduled in January. The world is changing for the
better. Our nation is standing with the people of Afghanistan and
Iraq, because when America gives its word, America must keep its word.
(Applause.)
"We're also serving a vital and historic cause that'll make our
country safer. Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful
societies, which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for
export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists
instead of harboring them, and that helps us keep the peace. So our
mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear: We'll help new leaders to
train their armies, move toward elections, and get on the path of
stability and democracy as quickly as possible. And then our troops
will return home with the honor they deserve. (Applause.)
"I have made a pledge to those who wear the uniform that they will
have the resources and the tools they need to do their jobs. That's
why I went to the United States Congress last September and requested
$87 billion for vital funding -- funding for our troops in harm's way,
funding for those who wear the uniform of America in Afghanistan and
Iraq. I was pleased with the overwhelming bipartisan support for this
important funding request. Matter of fact, the support was so strong,
that only 12 members of the United States Senate voted against it. Two
of whom are my opponent and his running mate.
For more
of the speech go to the following (link).
Kerry continues calling Bush a
liar
Sen. John Kerry’s rhetoric continues to become ever more harsh. In
Milwaukee, Kerry in front of a mostly union crowd said, "They hide the
truth about Iraq, they hide the truth about No Child Left Behind, they
hide the truth about what's happening in Medicare. It's time we had a
president who tells the American people the truth."
Kerry also continued with his new them that "W" in George W. Bush is
for wrong.
"On everything from prescription drugs to retirement security to
Medicare and Social Security, George W. Bush has made the wrong
choices and seniors are paying the price," Kerry said. "With a
dragging economy and skyrocketing costs, he’s driving our seniors
right out of the middle class. So seniors are getting squeezed like
never before – but for big drug companies, these truly are the golden
years."
Kerry also made the claim in Milwaukee that the Bush Administration is
trying to hide the growing problem in Medicare premiums.
"Information the Bush administration excluded from its 2004 report on
the Medicare program shows that a typical 65-year-old can expect to
spend 37% of his or her Social Security income on Medicare premiums,
co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses in 2006. That share is
projected to grow to almost 40% in 2011 and nearly 50% by 2021."
Kerry voted to implement the system of premium increases for Medicare
that he was criticizing. He also is on record as saying that the
Medicare and Social Security systems are not facing a major financial
crisis.
Kerry’s running mate, Sen. John Edwards, used rhetoric that by some
standards would be even more harsh to describe Bush.
"He's making proposals that are in the trillions of dollars in costs
for which he has no idea how he is going to pay for," Edwards told an
audience in Oregon, "I think he believes that he's Ken Lay and America
is his Enron."
Kennedy road rant
Ted Kennedy will make two Kerry campaign stops in Pennsylvania on
Friday. Kennedy will make other appearances around the country nearly
every weekend as a surrogate for Kerry. While the Senate remains in
session, Kennedy plans almost daily rebukes of Bush's policies,
ranging from the war in Iraq to health care and education. Kennedy has
called for President Bush’s impeachment.
Kennedy waged a similar war of words against Bush four years ago for
Democrat Al Gore. His work for Kerry will be more active and involve
much more travel, Kennedy's aides said.
FEC charges against CBS
The
Washington Times reports that a group that led the
boycott against CBS has filed charges against CBS with the Federal
Election Commission:
The Maryland-based Web site www.boycottcbs.com, founded last year
after CBS produced a fictionalized movie about former President Ronald
Reagan, is again calling for a boycott of the network — and then some.
The group has filed a petition with the Federal Election Commission
charging that CBS violated federal election laws that prohibit
"electioneering communications" within 60 days of the presidential
election by broadcasting Mr. Rather's accusations against Mr. Bush.
The broadcast, the group said in a letter to the FEC, constitutes a
"fraudulent smear of President Bush" coordinated with "the
presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry." The network, the group
contends, does not qualify for a "media exemption" to the law.
Electoral Battle
Sen. John Kerry has targeted the race down to eight key states:
Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin and West Virginia. One of the key states that Kerry has
dropped is that of his running mate, Sen. John Edwards.
The
LA Times reports:
…Kerry spent more than $1.4 million on TV in the nation's top 100
markets. Bush spent more than $4.4 million — some of that in
coordination with the Republican Party. The president is now ramping
up his spending to at least $7.6 million in the coming week,
knowledgeable sources said, while Kerry is projected to spend about $4
million.
Boosting Kerry are allies operating independently of the nominee's
campaign. The Democratic National Committee spent $3.4 million last
week, and the liberal group MoveOn.org spent an additional $1.4
million.
In several states, the DNC appeared to be keeping Kerry afloat. For
instance, it spent about $116,000 in Missouri, $83,000 in Arizona and
$76,000 in Colorado.
Outside groups are clearly a key to keeping Kerry alive in the
electoral count. The Times reports:
"We want to help the campaign keep as much in play as possible," said
Ellen Moran, director of the DNC's independent expenditures. "Nothing
is completely off the table. We're making our decisions day by day,
week by week. We'll go where we see new opportunities and continue to
fight where the battles are fiercest."
Killian secretary: documents forged
The
N.Y. Times reports that the secretary to President
Bush’s National Guard Air Force commander Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian
believes the documents aired by CBS are forged. She stated that the
document was not in the style used by the Guard and that certain words
like "billet" used in the document were not used by the Guard.
The Times reports that the nature of the document reflects the
situation, however:
"We did discuss Bush's conduct and it was a problem Killian was
concerned about," Mrs. Knox said. "I think he was writing the memos so
there would be some record that he was aware of what was going on and
what he had done." But, she said, words like "billets," which appear
in the memorandums, were not standard Guard terms.
The account by the secretary were discounted by Killian’s surviving
son:
Mr. Killian died in 1984; his widow and son have said that they did
not find any memorandums among the private effects they cleared from
his office after his death. Mr. Killian's son, Gary, who also served
at the squadron and who initially thought that the signatures on the
documents matched his father's, has come to believe they are fakes,
and said he doubted Mrs. Knox's account, though he recalled her
fondly.
"She's a sweet old lady, but she's wrong and it didn't happen,'' he
said. "I always thought well of her, and I know my dad would have
also, but she's a sweet old lady.''
9/11 split widows split
Widows of the 9/11 tragedy split yesterday in who the support for
president. However, the five who said they will campaign for Sen. John
Kerry received the largest share of media attention.
Much of the dispute between the five women and President Bush came
over the belief that extremists don’t exist in Iraq.
The war with Iraq, said Lorie Van Auken, of East Brunswick, N.J. one
of the five endorsing Kerry, "has made America more vulnerable to
attack, not less,"
"Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11," she said.
"I am here because I am scared. The nation is not safer today," said
Kristen Breitweiser, of Middletown, N.J.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) offered the response for the Bush campaign.
King said he had been called yesterday by other members of 9/11
families "who are very strong supporters of the president. They felt
in the past, not in any conspiracy way, that the media has pretty much
latched onto the families who are against the president."
Here's a transcript of the CBS taken from my recorded version of CBS
News tonight, courtesy of FreeRepublic [LINK]:
CBS news correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports on the latest attack on
the “60 Minutes” story and the latest CBS response.
Memos that accuse Mr. Bush of disobeying an order and of using
connections to have Killian sugarcoat Mr. Bush’s record.
However, some experts doubt the authenticity of those memos.
Killian’s secretary in an interview for tonight’s “60 Minutes” tells
Dan Rather she too believes the memos are fake, but
accurately reflect Killian’s view of Lieutenant Bush.
The
NY Times reports that about 40 House Republicans demanded today
that CBS News retract its report of a week ago that called into
question President Bush's service with the Texas Air National Guard
more than three decades ago. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) wrote the following
in a letter to Andrew Heyward, president of CBS News:
"To date, CBS's response to the specific and devastating criticisms of
the accuracy of its reporting has been to question the motives of its
critics, to offer half-truths in its own defense, to refuse to
disclose crucial evidence, and to circle the wagons."
Rep. Blunt said that becauseCBS had not repudiated the questionable
memo documents, they had become part of a campaign "to deceive the
public and to defame the president."
The best Heyward could muster was the following statement: "We would
not have put the report on the air if we did not believe in every
aspect of it," he said on the "CBS Evening News." However, Heyward
added, “Enough questions have been raised that we are going to
redouble our efforts to answer those questions."
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