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WASHINGTON - President Bush's speech to the United Nations on Tuesday brought criticism from Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates.
In turn, Republicans lashed out at recent comments by Sen. Edward Kennedy that depicted Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq as a "fraud" aimed at helping Republicans at the polls.
Democrats rose to Kennedy's defense, and the Massachusetts Democrat later took the Senate floor to restate his criticisms of Bush's Iraq policy. While giving no ground on substance, Kennedy moderated his language somewhat, avoiding words like "fraud" and "bribery" that infuriated Republicans when he first used them in an interview Thursday with the Associated Press in Boston.
About the U.N. speech, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said: "I think the president lost an opportunity. He came before the international community and he could have made the case for more troops, for more resources. He didn't do that."
Some supporters of Bush's policy also said the president's speech missed the mark. "The president didn't succeed in showing (that) the French plan didn't make much sense," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. But Biden said the United Nations "isn't ready to do anything in Iraq."
But Bush won high marks from Republicans, including Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who have been critical of Bush's Iraq policy.
Democratic presidential candidates responded to the speech by saying that Bush has missed chances in the past for more international assistance and that he was offering too little now.
"President Bush once again missed the opportunity to get our Iraq policy on track," said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. "Instead, he continues to fail to take the steps necessary to restore American credibility and earn the trust and cooperation of our key allies."
Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut called Bush's speech an "11th-hour, half-hearted appeal" for more help.
Bush took too long to make a compelling case to the United Nations, Rep. Dick Gephardt said, urging the president to end the occupation as soon as possible.
The GOP response to Kennedy, which occurred just as Bush was addressing the United Nations in New York, was led by Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah, the Republicans' chief deputy whip. Bennett cited warnings by President Bill Clinton, among others, that force might have to be used to oust then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The allegations of fraud cannot be substantiated, he said, suggesting that Kennedy deserved a rebuke for his remarks.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said, "I think it was a slur on my home state of Texas."
Daschle, noting that he too has come under fire this year for criticizing Bush's Iraq policy, decried what he called an "orchestrated" GOP effort to attack anyone who criticizes Bush. Later, at a news conference, Daschle said it was "McCarthyesque" to criticize people who are vocal in their opposition to certain policies.
- Information from the Washington Post, Cox News Service and Knight Ridder Newspapers was used in this report.