Bush Fires Back at Kerry Criticism

[Khephra]

snip........

"After voting for the war, but against funding it, after saying he would have voted for the war even knowing everything we know today, my opponent woke up this morning with new campaign advisers and yet another new position," Bush said in prepared remarks released by his campaign.

"Suddenly he's against it again," Bush said. "No matter how many times Senator Kerry changes his mind, it was right for America and it's right for America now that Saddam Hussein (news - bio) is no longer in power."

In the speech, Bush also reiterated his pledge to simplify the tax code during his second term, saying it was a "complicated mess" with loopholes and more than a million words. "The tax code weighs heavily on our economy and every American family," Bush said.


http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0904/171094.html

[annxburns]

1. Okay Begala, back to you ....

[FloridaPat]

2. I remember Reagans attempt to simplify the tax code. The

self-help income tax books went from 1/2 inch thick to 2 inches thick. I can just image what these idiots consider "simplified".

[underpants]

3. In other words-the tax code is too much for W to understand

and it can't be summed up in an Executive Summary.

This tax code stuff is complete BS-they know damned well that they don't want the tax code changed or simplified the current system allows for tons of tweeks and perks. Trust me I have read some of the "Special tax breaks for 'a grandmother in (insert name of city) who owns X acreage'" Gee wonder how that got in there?

[MichiganVote]

15. My thoughts exactly

[codegreen]

4. what the hell, Kerry was talking about simplifying the tax code months ago

said something like taking it from 17000 pages to 40 or something like that... damn Shrub

[lovuian]

5. I love gettin Bush defensive and Now that Kerry is fighting Back

He's going for the jugular but what Bush doesn't know is that all Politicians are flip floppers

and just today I like Kerry's AntiWar stance over Bush's Pro War stance

[0rganism]

29. but watch how he does it! bush is SLICK!

bush may be a dipstick, but he knows how to make a soundbyte. He doesn't even bother to defend himself, he just launches a new attack: Kerry has new staff, and a new position, and another flip-flop.

Kerry's got to do a lot more, and do it visibly. That means getting media to cover his positions instead of the rightwing versions of them, as Lockhart pointed out recently.

[jdj]

38. um, let's not give credit where credit isn't due.

notice there aren't many big words in the response...

He just reads the words, that's all. Rove or Huge writes the snippet, they help him sound out the words, and then he says it.

Or if it's a release, they just put quotes around it.

[0rganism]

39. Danger, Danger Will Robinson: don't underestimate bush!

Of course "there aren't many big words in the response", that's the genius of it. He's casting himself as a "man of the people", and "the people" don't like big words. So what if someone else wrote the part, bush knows how to play it for the cameras.

WE MUST DESTROY THE IMAGE OF THE "PROLETARIAN" BUSH BEFORE IT CRUSHES US UNDER ITS HEEL!

Compare this to Sen. Kerry's appearance on the Daily Show. Jon Stewart jokingly asks, "Is it true that whenever I use ketchup, your wife gets a nickel?" And Kerry responds, "Would that it were."

"Would that it were"?

THIS IS NOT A SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL! Sen. Kerry needs to watch the grammar and the "effete" language, if he wants to pull in the great unwashed. You won't hear bush say, "would that it were," never, ever, nix, nil, nada. Americans don't much like smart educated people, although we do respect cleverness. We admire those who have some talent, but blow it off to skate by with a minimum of effort. Kerry looks like someone who buys into the system and works extra hard to succeed, and he may well be rejected because of it.

[Cha]

40. bush isn't "slick"...bush is a yellow bellied

coward who couldn't string two sentences together..it's rove who is doing this. I'm just surprised bush can remember what rove said to spew!

[0rganism]

41. Uh... "the people who think bush is stupid end up losing elections to him"

or something to that effect. Forget who said it, but it's right on.

Is he a yellow-bellied coward? Probably.

Is he incapable of stringing two sentences together? No. As Mark Crispin-Miller, author of "The Bush Dyslexicon", has observed, he's actually quite eloquent and animated when discussing things he cares about -- primarily executions, invasions, and tax cuts for his big donors. It's only when he's bogged down talking about boring stuff like education, social security, medical benefits, human rights, and environmental protection, that he starts making the stupid mistakes. He doesn't give two shits about those things, and (by and large) neither do his supporters.

Don't let your hatred for bush overwhelm your sensibilities. bush is very dangerous and cunning, and repeatedly uses his perceived dimness to his advantage.

[My Pet Goat]

6. We can win the war on terror, we can't win the war on terror...

flip flopper.

[LisaL]

16. No, Bush just "adjusts his position"

Flippety-floppety adjuster.
LOL.

[Catfight]

7. Bush woke up this morning believing his last minute tax plan is

going to save all his tax for the rich failures. It doesn't matter how angry and hypocritical gets, America wants to know why Bush hasn't done anything for FOUR years and NOW he wants to start talking about the issues?

I think Kerry has hit a sore spot since Bush is getting all angry again. Bush knows all about WHIP LASH politics, he changes his views according to the polls! Shall I say, Condi won't testify...OH WAIT, POLLS DROPPED, Condi is excited about testifying!

Blah blah blah...more Bush double speak.

[gristy]

13. Well, Bush didn't have a cooperating congress that would pass bills

promoting his agenda. It takes two to tango you know... Ummm. What?? Huh.... OK


Never Mind.

[wurzel]

8. What "Weighs heavily on every American family" is you Bush!!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. FratBoy can fire all he wants...he's shooting nothing but blanks.

[vaguard]

12. lol

lol

[searchingforlight]

10. Kerry simply needs to point out that Bush has again proven that he

doesn't read the newspapers or position papers. If he did he would be aware of what Kerry really said. Ignorance is not a political platform.

[LynnTheDem]

23. Ohhh I LOVE that!!!

Ignorance is not a political platform.

PERFECT!

[indie_voter]

28. Perfect!!!

Can sombody get this to the Kerry Campaign?

This is the best on-liner response to this straw man I've read!

He could flesh it out by inviting people to read what he really said at www.johnkerry.com and provide necessary context (do they have a faq over there on stuff like this?)


Better yet, this would be a great commercial!!

[Cronus Protagonist]

36. werd!

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[still_one]

11. no chimp that is NOT what he said

he gave you the authority, after ALL other options were exhausted

[Malva Zebrina]

14. It is right that Saddam is no longer in power?

How many people has he murdered in Iraq in order to get the twit Saddam? Tens of thousands of innocent people--babies, pregnant women and ole women and old men all murdered--to get Saddam. And to him that is worth it. The crazy fool.

Our own are being killed daily--approaching one thousand of our youngest and best--and he thinks that was worth it to get Saddam?

Excuse me--He blew it. He rained death and destruction and there is no dopubt in my mind that he relishes that fact--that he loves being the lord over life and death.

We got Saddam, and the killing continues. Yesterday seven of our troops were killed. He the AWOL deserter coward who is running the war and brags he is the "war president" thinks it is worth it.

It is worth it to him because he has no respect for human life. He only has one thing in mind and that is not removing Saddam. Saddam was his straw man--it was done, under the guise of lie after lie, to get the Iraqi's stuff. To make a lot of money for his and Cheney's cronies.

Saddam is the convienient bad guy re
And now we have our troops, killing innocent civilians and their children and destroying their homes, and they had nothing to do with it at all.

America, you are shameful for this slaughter.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[robbedvoter]

18. Which of the people on your list DECIDED to go to war?

I have my problem with the judgement of some of tthem (what are Ted Kennedy, Al Gore Robert Byrd and Bob Graham doing on your stupid list?)
Are you blaming any of those people for W's war?

[Dr Fate]

19. Did they approve of Bush forging, faking & plagarizing evidence?

Oh, I didnt think so.

Fuck off, Freep-tard.

[Chico Man]

20. Hmm could some of those quotes be taken out of context

Here is a REAL kerry quote from January 23, 2003...

"So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War. Regrettably the current Administration failed to take the opportunity to bring this issue to the United Nations two years ago or immediately after September 11th, when we had such unity of spirit with our allies. When it finally did speak, it was with hasty war talk instead of a coherent call for Iraqi disarmament. And that made it possible for other Arab regimes to shift their focus to the perils of war for themselves rather than keeping the focus on the perils posed by Saddam's deadly arsenal. Indeed, for a time, the Administration's unilateralism, in effect, elevated Saddam in the eyes of his neighbors to a level he never would have achieved on his own, undermining America's standing with most of the coalition partners which had joined us in repelling the invasion of Kuwait a decade ago."

~ Senator John F. Kerry, D-MA, January 23, 2003.

[Chico Man]

21. And if you insist on bringing up Kerry's January 23rd speech...

Dont you agree this is awfully PRESIDENTIAL????

"It is time instead for the most determined, all-out effort ever initiated to secure the world's nuclear materials and weapons of mass des. We must offer our own blueprint for the mission of threat reduction. Comprehensively securing materials and keeping them from falling into the wrong hands demands a global perspective and international action. The only answer - the clear imperative - is a multilateral framework implementing a global consensus that weapons of mass destruction under the control of terrorists represent the most serious threat to international security today, and warrants an urgent and global response. We must marshal a great international effort to inventory and secure these materials wherever they may be and in whatever quantity. We must create mechanisms to help those that would be responsible stewards but lack the financial and technical means to succeed We must establish worldwide standards for the security and safekeeping of nuclear material and define a new standard of international legitimacy, linking the stewardship of nuclear materials under universally accepted protocols to acceptance in the community of nations. "

~ Senator John F. Kerry, D-MA, January 23, 2003.

[jackofhearts]

22. If you would stop blindly believing everything bush says...

you would know that contrary to bush's lies...the UN WAS in Iraq and WAS getting access to all the places the US kept telling them to look and was coming up empty. The UN WAS detroying weapons. The UN asked for 3 more months. Any of the level headed people listed in your little hit list would have WAITED. They never would have sent our troops in without a full acknowledgement by the UN that their was no other option. And if that had been the course we would have had a real unified coalition...not the pathetic excuse the bush administration has bribed together.

bush knew that give the UN 3 more months would reveal they had nothing and he would then have NO excuse to invade. bush forced the UN out NOT HUSSIEN. You people want to buy bush's lies thats your own problem but don't come on here and think your gonna brainwash people who can actually think for themselves.

[LynnTheDem]

27. Did a freeper

actually post repeating that insane bullshit of bush's about the UN weapons inspectors, that Saddam "wouldn't let them in" so we invaded???!!

ROTFLMAO!!!

Damn, that's hilarious!

[LynnTheDem]

24. I believe it was

up to the IRAQI PEOPLE if THEY wanted to "get rid of" Saddam or not. Who made bush God??? Oh right...BUSH did.

[K. F. Gibbons]

25. Kerry "The president misled you into war with Iraq and now his misleading

you on my position with regard to my votes and the funding of the Iraq war". "This president cannot be trusted"

I wish.

[0rganism]

30. Kerry needs to hit the "lying bush" angle over and over and over again

He needs to hit bush with the WMDs and the 16 words. He needs to hit bush on the "smoke 'em out" rhetoric. bush must be cast as the lying shit he is, which will undermine his effectiveness as a campaign icon.

[LynnTheDem]

26. And let's not forget THIS

WHOPPER of a bushie FLIP FLOP...

Saddam could remain in power IF HE DISARMS.

Powell said the same thing.

Rice said the same thing.

Rumsfeld said the same thing.

Tony the bLiar said the same thing.

OOPS! Like Saddam said over & over again, HE WAS DISARMED.

But NOW bushie says we HAD TO REMOVE SADDAM.

WHY???

He said Saddam COULD STAY only 3 days before invasion.

FLIP FLOP LIAR.

[The_Casual_Observer]

31. The fantastic bush twisting machine!

Put a fact in this door and out comes a lie out of another door. It works every time.

[Snellius]

32. So good, Saddam's no longer in power. Let's go home.

Mission Accomplished. But we can't go home, can we, Bushie. Why? Because if we leave it will be worse than if we never came.

[Darranar]

33. It is quite strange...

if it was the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time (which it was), why would Kerry have voted to authorize it even knowing that Bush would have launched that wrong war?

Kerry's earlier statement demolished his ability to, without seeimg contradictory, criticize Bush's war. Now, every time he (rightfully) criticizes it - as in this case - the Republicans can accuse him of being hypocritical.

[bvar22]

34. Simple Response:

Sen. Kerry:

"I did NOT take this country to war in Iraq. george bush* took this country to war. george bush* bears that responsibility.

The responsibility I bear is trusting george bush* when he said he would build a coalition and exhaust all alternatives.

[Renew Deal]

35. This is good.

Bush lashed out. They have baited him.

[jean]

37. yes, as Kerry says, "that's W."