In a desperate attempt to try and conjure up something on Kerry from the September 30th debate, Bush tried to criticize Kerry for Kerry’s statements about pre-emptive military action passing a “global test”. Not only does Bush not get it, but he’s full on lying, and cannot help himself to stop.
Bush said, “I have a different view. When our country is in danger, the president’s job is not to take an international poll. The president’s job is to defend America.” What Bush did NOT tell the crowd was that America was never in danger. America was never just 40 minutes away from a missile strike from Iraq. But admitting that would make Bush’s entire arguments for war crumble, so don’t expect to hear anything logical over the next 30 days!
Article archived here. Article Last Updated: Sunday, October 03, 2004 – 3:36:17 AM PST
Bush: Kerry would weaken security
President says opponent would give foreign governments veto power over U.S. decisions
By Richard W. Stevenson, New York Times
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — President Bush on Saturday criticized Sen. John Kerry for suggesting that pre-emptive military action by the United States would have to pass a “global test,” saying that the “Kerry doctrine” would cede national security decisions to other countries.
Scrambling to regain the offensive two days after what was widely viewed as a less-than-stellar performance in his first debate, Bush sought to cast as a sign of weakness Kerry’s comments Thursday night that the United States needed credible reasons for taking pre-emptive action to head off threats.
“Senator Kerry’s approach to foreign policy would give foreign governments veto power over our national security decisions,” he said in Columbus at the start of a day of campaigning in Ohio.
“I have a different view,” Bush continued. “When our country is in danger, the president’s job is not to take an international poll. The president’s job is to defend America. I’ll continue to work every day with our friends and allies for the sake of freedom and peace. But our national security decisions will be made in the Oval Office, not in foreign capitals.”
Kerry’s campaign said the president was distorting what Kerry said.
During the debate, Kerry said he would “never give a veto to any country over our security.” But he repeatedly emphasized the need for the United States to forge and lead international alliances, and he suggested that with any pre-emptive action the nation had to be able to make a strong case to the world for why it was doing so.
“No president, through all of American history, has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to pre-empt in any way necessary to protect the United States of America,” Kerry said during the debate in response to a question from the moderator, Jim Lehrer of PBS. “But if and when you do it, Jim, you’ve got to do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you’re doing what you’re doing and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons.”
But whatever the case might be, Bush’s campaign saw the phrase as an opportunity to counter what Democrats were saying after the debate: that Kerry had bested Bush and re-energized his opponents.
Saturday afternoon, the Bush campaign had a new commercial built around Kerry’s words: “A global test? So America will be forced to wait while threats gather?” the narrator says in the ad, which will run on Monday.
The Kerry campaign put together a commercial striking back at Bush. “George Bush lost the debate,” its script says. “Now he’s lying about it.”