In Tampa, vets who back Kerry fault Bush's policies on the VA and the military, while the president prepares for today's MacDill visit.
By ADAM C. SMITH and BILL ADAIR
Published June 16, 2004
TAMPA - As President Bush prepared to deliver a speech at MacDill Air Force Base and meet with families of soldiers killed in combat, veterans who support John Kerry accused the Bush administration of neglecting soldiers' needs.
Bush is scheduled to arrive at MacDill this morning and give a speech to Central Command personnel. It will be televised to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
White House spokesman Taylor Gross said Bush will meet with families whose loved ones "have paid the ultimate price to defend our country" and will "thank them for their sons' and daughters' sacrifices."
But a group of Kerry supporters led by former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., held a news conference in Tampa on Monday to criticize Bush for neglecting the needs of veterans and active-duty soldiers.
"I hope this is a referendum on who supports the troops better," said Cleland, a former VA chief who lost three limbs in Vietnam. He said Bush "sent young men and women to combat not properly armed in their vehicles, not properly armed with body armor and with no strategic plan to win and no strategic plan to get out."
Cleland was joined at Tampa's La Teresita restaurant by several dozen veterans, including former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride of Tampa and Del Sandusky, a Clearwater resident and Vietnam crew mate of Kerry's.
While Bush wraps himself in the flag, they said, he overextended the military and did little to improve services for veterans.
"The Republicans want to confuse the issues and try to make the election a referendum on whether or not the American people support our troops in combat," said McBride, a decorated Vietnam veteran and Tampa lawyer. "John Kerry has the best record on benefits, on helping veterans, on legislation of any candidate who has run for president of the United States in modern times."
A Bush campaign spokesman accused the Democrats of "blatantly disregarding the facts," noting that veterans' benefits have increased significantly as has military pay. "Sen. Kerry has been traveling the country spewing pessimism when the troops need a steady, clear vision from a commander in chief," said spokesman Reed Dickens.
Cleland said vets must pay more for prescription drugs as VA hospitals are closed or downsized. He cited computer problems at Bay Pines VA Medical Center as a "singular travesty" and questioned how Bush would tout his efforts in Iraq when no weapons of mass destruction were found.
Sandusky, who served on Kerry's swift boat in Vietnam, said the Massachusetts senator has promised to take care of the military and veterans and that Kerry has never lied to him in the 35 years they have been friends.
