Bush says US places own interest above all ,Both candidates omit Israel-Palestinian conflict , Post debate polls suggest voters impressed by Kerry
Arguing over who can best lead the nation in war, Sen John Kerry charges that Americans have been left with “this incredible mess in Iraq” while President George W Bush says US troops look at the Democratic challenger and wonder, “How can I follow this guy?”
Both candidates were rushing back to the campaign trail on Friday trying to convince voters they each won their opening debate.
From the first question on Thursday night, Kerry went on the offensive, accusing Bush of leaving US alliances around the world “in shatters” and ordering a war in Iraq that was a “colossal error in judgment.”
Bush noted that Kerry voted to authorise the same war he now criticises. “That’s not how a commander in chief acts,” Bush charged.
Three post-debate polls suggested voters were impressed by Kerry, with most of those surveyed saying he did better than Bush. Such instant polls reflect the views of debate watchers and not the public at large. Initial reactions to a debate can change after a few days have passed.
In Thursday night’s encounter at the University of Miami, Bush and Kerry drew heavily on oft-repeated lines from their campaign speeches but they faced each other directly across the same stage for the first time.
Bush appeared irritated when Kerry levelled some of his charges, scowling at times and looking away in apparent disgust at others. Kerry often took notes when the president spoke. The television networks offered a split screen to viewers so they could see both men at the same time and watch their reactions.
On Iraq, Bush criticised Kerry for saying it was the wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place. “What message does that send to our troops?” the president said. “Not a message a commander in chief gives.”
Repeating a line he has used countless times to show his opponent is inconsistent, Bush tweaked Kerry for saying he voted for an $87 billion spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan before he voted against it.
Trying to persuade voters that he is tough enough to be commander in chief, Kerry said, “I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists, wherever they are.” He said that Bush, in invading Iraq, lost sight of the goal of capturing terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.
But Bush insisted that “the world is safer without Saddam Hussein.” He called Iraq “a central part in the war on terror” and said 75 percent of Bin Laden’s leadership had been brought to justice.
Kerry said Bush failed to exhaust diplomatic solutions before ordering the invasion of Iraq and that the United States was left with 90 percent of the cost and 90 percent of the casualties.
While Iraq was the dominant issue in the debate, there were notable differences on North Korea and Iran, two nations suspected of pursuing nuclear weapons programs. Kerry urged that the United States hold direct bilateral talks with North Korea rather than the six-nation talks that Bush initiated to defuse the crisis.
On Iran, he said the United States should have worked with allies like France, Germany and Britain to impose sanctions if Tehran refused to give up its nuclear program. Kerry voiced concerns about conditions in Russia, saying that crackdowns initiated by President Vladimir Putin go beyond what’s necessary to combat terror.
Bush said his administration was not out to win any popularity contests in the world and placed US interests above all.
He said the UN court, created in 2003 in The Hague but rejected by Washington, was a tribunal “where unaccountable judges and prosecutors could pull our troops, our diplomats up, for trial.”
Bush and Kerry gave the Jewish state — America’s key Middle East ally — only one mention each the debate. And in both cases, the references came in the context of achieving peace in Iraq, not the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. agencies