AP: Kerry: Bush, Cheney in Denial About Iraq

[sfecap]

Kerry: Bush, Cheney in Denial About Iraq

7 minutes ago
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Democratic Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) said Thursday that President Bush (news - web sites) and Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) have failed to recognize a deteriorating situation in post-war Iraq (news - web sites) and "may well be the last two people on the planet who won't face the truth."

In his strongest statement yet, the Democratic presidential nominee suggested that if Bush fails to recognize the severity of problems in Iraq, then if Kerry takes office in January he will face a situation as chaotic as the Middle East in the early 1980s.

"If the president just does more of the same every day and it continues to deteriorate, I may be handed Lebanon, figuratively speaking," Kerry told reporters at a brief news conference.

In 1983, suicide attacks against the U.S. embassy in Lebanon killed 63 people, and the bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut six months later killed 241 American servicemen. Dozens of Westerners were taken hostage during that period.

Kerry made the comments as he prepared for Friday night's debate against Bush, his second encounter.

(snip)

Faced with that evidence, Bush conceded Thursday that Iraq did not have the stockpiles of banned weapons he had warned of before the invasion last year. But he maintained that Saddam retained the "means and the intent" to produce weapons of mass destruction and the United States was right to take action against him.

Kerry rejected the argument, saying that the evidence of weapons of mass destruction that the administration presented to Congress was why he and other lawmakers voted to give him the authority to go to war.

"My fellow Americans, you don't make up or find reasons to go to war after the fact," Kerry said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041007/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_iraq_weapons&cid=694&ncid=1480



I think we're going to hear that line alot in the next few days...

[JuniorPlankton]

1. Go KERRY! n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

2. go Kerry!

"If the president just does more of the same every day and it continues to deteriorate, I may be handed Lebanon, figuratively speaking,"

I love that line of attack! Kerry's like, come on kiddo, you're just making my job come January that much harder.

[AspenRose]

4. It also primes people for the (awful) reality

that we won't be seeing any "mission accomplished" banners on Kerry's watch prematurely.

[chuckhoward]

3. Kerry also said...

"Mr. President, the American people deserve more than spin about this war," Kerry said. "They deserve facts that represent reality, not carefully polished arguments and points that are simply calculated to align with a preconceived perception."

Now, he needs to get that last sentence, which is 22 words, down to no less than 5 words.

In the final analysis and in the minds of most of the electorate, the race is going to come down to choosing between a "flip-flopper" (their word, not mine) and two guys who are living in fantasy land. That's good for us. We need to find the right phrase -- not more than 5 words -- that can be repeated over and over and over again and that anyone can remember that puts Bush and Cheney squarely in fantasy land.

[yellowcanine]

5. How about these 5 words? "Bush lied and people died!"

Works for me.