BUSH, KERRY SPAR ON US DOMESTIC ISSUES

Debate: Two presidential candidates waste no time taking swings in second round

By Beth Gorham

[This article from Canadian Press was published in The Vancouver Sun, October 9, 2004.]


Washington – President George W. Bush came out swinging in a second critical election debate Friday saying his rival for the White House has sent “confusing signals” about the war in Iraq and is unfit to lead.

“You’ve got to be consistent when you’re the president,” said Bush at a town-hall style debate in St. Louis, Missouri. “There’s a lot of pressures.”

But John Kerry pushed back hard, quickly capitalizing on a week of bad news for Bush – particularly a report that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. The Bush administration’s insistence that the deposed Iraq leader was amassing weapons for possible use against the United States was the basis for its invasion of Iraq.

Kerry accused Bush of running a campaign of “mass deception” in the wake of the report.

“The president wishes I’d changed my mind, he’d like you to believe that,” said Kerry, adding Bush wanted to distract attention from his poor record on foreign policy and jobs at home.

“He wants you to believe that I can’t be president. I’ve never changed my mind about Iraq.”

Bush badly needed a boost from the face-off after a widely slammed performance in the first televised showdown last week.

He faced a string of bad news since then from disappointing new job creation numbers to a weapons report that refuted his rationale for invading Iraq.

Even one of Bush’s own top officials said the United States didn’t send enough troops, creating a chaotic situation that has accelerated over time.

It all added up to a major challenge for the president, who appeared angry and defensive during attacks from Kerry in a tense sparring match on Sept. 30 that was watched by some 62 million Americans.

Both men seemed comfortable in the more casual setting of Friday’s debate, getting up from their chairs and walking about the stage. Up to 20 people from an audience of 140 uncommitted voters selected by the Gallup polling organization were chosen to ask questions during the 90-minute session by moderator Charles Gibson of ABC News.

But Bush faced bigger problems that simply polishing his style and delivery.

He is vulnerable on the economy, cited by voters as a top issue along with Iraq and national security. He inherited a huge surplus in 2000 but that’s turned into a record deficit of more than $400 billion this year.

There’s also been a net job loss during his term, and while 96,000 were added in September, that’s short of some 150,000 jobs that economists were predicting.

Bush faces renewed attacks on Iraq after the UN weapons inspector released a final report concluding Saddam Hussein had no stockpiles, Bush’s justification for war. There was also surprising criticism on low troop levels from the former US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer.

While most opinion polls suggest the two are in a dead heat as the Nov. 2 election fast approaches, many analysts say Kerry should be doing better when some 60 percent of Americans are telling pollsters they don’t like where the economy is headed.

Still, the long-time Massachusetts appears to be making headway on perceptions that he’s stiff and unapproachable.

A Time Magazine poll released Friday suggested Bush and Kerry both had support of 45 percent of likely voters. But Kerry took a lead on likeability with 70 percent to Bush’s 65 percent. He tied Bush on perceived qualities of honesty and trustworthiness.

Thirty percent of the polled said they were more likely to vote for Kerry because of last week’s debate, 14 percent for Bush.

The two teams hit the talk-show circuit this week.

Kerry and his wife visited the Dr. Phil Show where the senator talked about raising his daughters after divorcing his first wife.

Laura Bush talked about her twin daughters, her hairstyle and clothes as Jay Leno’s guest on the Tonight Show.

The final Bush-Kerry debate is Wednesday in Tempe, Arizona.