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Henrie's Recipes
Bush, Kerry up the verbal attacks
Stephen Collinson
Posted Tue, 19 Oct 2004
President George W. Bush and rival John Kerry traded sneering diatribes on Iraq and fighting terror on Monday, as the US election took another bitter turn two weeks before polling day.
As advance voting opened in Florida, stirring bad memories of the 2000 election debacle, Kerry accused Bush of "arrogant boasting" on Iraq, while the president equated his rival's policies with "giving up" the terror fight.
Their attacks heralded a fiercely partisan countdown to election day on November 2, with some polls showing the race tied, though Bush appeared to have a slight edge in others.
The president travelled to New Jersey, a state bordering New York City, supposedly solid Kerry country, to rekindle memories of his leadership following the September 11 attacks in 2001.
'Mirage of safety'
He said the senator was ready to ditch his global anti-terrorism campaign for a "piecemeal and symbolic" strategy of the 1990s, which he said had emboldened extremists while Americans lived in a "mirage of safety".
"Senator Kerry's approach would permit a response only after America is hit. This kind of September 10 attitude is no way to protect our country," he said.
"Giving up the fight might seem easier in the short run, but we learned on September 11 that if violence and fanaticism are not opposed at their source, they will find us where we live," said Bush
The Democrat challenger got his retaliation in first, pre-empting Bush's speech at a rally in Florida's West Palm Beach.
'Made America less safe'
"Mr President, you can chose to ignore the facts, but in the end you can't hide the truth from the American people. The bottom line Mr President, your mismanagement of the war has made Iraq and America less safe and secure than they could have been and should have been today," said Kerry.
Kerry's campaign went even further in a statement.
"The only thing significant about Bush's policy on the war on terror has been his significant failure to focus on terrorism before September 11," said Kerry.
Kerry had three rallies in Florida on Monday and was to campaign in the state on Tuesday morning.
Bush flew to Florida for a dinner before a full day on the stump in the crucial state on Tuesday.
People encouraged to vote early
Both men are exhorting core voters to use an early voting system so they can concentrate their efforts on the still undecided.
In Miami, about 100 people waited in line at lunchtime to vote at one of 17 polling stations around the city.
"This should reduce the probability that my vote is not counted," said voter Chris Albury.
More than half the 50 US states have early voting, and Florida adopted the system after 2000 electoral chaos.
Legal wrangling in Florida held up the result for 36 days until the US Supreme Court ordered a halt to vote recounts, leaving Bush with a 537-vote lead over Al Gore in Florida, which gave him the presidency.
Gore attacks Bush
The former vice president took his own shot at Bush on Monday.
"He is arrogantly out of touch with reality, he refuses to ever admit mistakes, which means that so long as he is our president, we are doomed to repeat his mistakes. It is beyond incompetence. It is recklessness," said Gore.
Kerry earlier jumped on a Washington Post report that the top US commander in Iraq, General Ricardo Sanchez, complained last year his supplies were so poor that they threatened troops' ability to fight.
Kerry also hammered Bush on health care saying: "George Bush's answer to our health care problems is to tell the American people, stop whining. That's George Bush isn't it."
Bush grabbed small lead in polls
According to latest polls, Bush has grabbed a small lead, but the race could hinge on voter turnout.
A CBS News/New York Times poll showed Bush-leading Kerry, by 47-45 percent, with independent Ralph Nader taking two percent.
The Washington Post had Bush leading the Massachusetts senator by 50-47 percent. Time magazine and Rasmussen put the edge at two points and Zogby International had Kerry pulling into a dead heat at 45 percent each.
Newsweek magazine had Bush ahead 48-46 percent among registered voters, but 50-44 percent among likely voters. A Gallup poll had the same trend: Bush up 49-46 percent among registered Americans, 52-44 percent among likely voters.
AFP
