By BILL ADAIR and ADAM C. SMITH
Published October 27, 2004
[Times photo: Bill Serne]
Waiting on democracy: Charlotte Kendall stands at the front of the line along with other folks waiting to vote early at the Supervisor of Elections office in the 501 Building in St. Petersburg on First Avenue N and Fifth Street on Tuesday. At times, the wait was an hour long. On Monday, officials said 854 people voted. Early voting continues through Monday.
President Bush and Sen. John Kerry hammer each other every day. Bush on Kerry: He's soft on terrorists, naive, an old-style liberal. Kerry on Bush: He's incompetent, an overeager warrior, an elitist. From the stump, here are their tried and true attack lines.
ON THE WAR IN IRAQ
Kerry contends the administration rushed into Iraq without adequately planning for the postwar occupation, and has not leveled with the American people. The president says that without experience in diplomacy, Kerry cannot be trusted with the delicate work of forging a coalition.
Kerry: "The unbelievable incompetence of this administration step after step has put our troops at greater and greater risk ... George W. Bush has failed the test of commander in chief."
Bush: "I don't see much diplomatic skill in Sen. Kerry's habit of insulting America's closest friends."
ON TAXES
Instead of calling Kerry a Ted Kennedy-style liberal, Bush lets his audience connect the dots. Kerry says Bush has favored wealthy Americans at the expense of average folks and calls for the repeal of Bush's tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year.
Kerry: "This from the man who thinks we can afford to shell out billions of dollars a year (in tax breaks) to corporations that put mailboxes in the Caribbean to avoid paying taxes."
Bush: "He's made a lot of big-spending promises. He's promised $2.2-trillion of new spending - that's trillion with a "T.' That's a lot, even for a senator from Massachusetts."
OUT OF TOUCH
Kerry draws cheers when he promises to expand stem cell research and criticizes the president for turning his back on science. Bush tweaks Kerry's comment that performers at a fundraiser expressed "the heart and soul of our country" to suggest he's lost touch with the values of Small Town, U.S.A.
Kerry: Had Bush been president, he "would have sided with the candle lobby against electricity, the buggymakers against cars, the typewriter companies against computers."
Bush: "My opponent has said that the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood. ... The heart and soul of America is found in caring and loving communities like Davenport, Iowa."
ON AFGHANISTAN
Kerry uses Afghanistan to emphasize that Bush has not delivered on his promise to capture Osama bin Laden "dead or alive." Turning that criticism around, Bush says Kerry is revealing his naivete - and undermining the U.S. war effort.
Kerry: "When we had Osama bin Laden cornered in the mountains of Afghanistan, (Bush) outsourced the job, like other jobs in America, to use Afghan warlords who one week earlier were on the other side."
Bush: "My opponent is throwing out the wild claim that he knows where bin Laden was in the fall of 2001 and that our military had a chance to get him in Tora Bora. This is an unjustified and harsh criticism of our military commanders in the field. This is the worst kind of Monday-morning quarterbacking."
ON HEALTH CARE
Bush attacks Kerry's health plan by conjuring images of the huge government program pushed by President Clinton. Kerry slams Bush for refusing to allow the importation of cheaper drugs and for refusing to let Medicare negotiate with drug companies for lower prices.
Bush: "I remember that debate when my opponent stood up there with a straight face, and he said, "The government has nothing to do with it' - "it' being his health care plan. I could barely contain myself!"
Kerry: "You know what George Bush did? When he had a chance to allow Medicare to negotiate for a bulk purchase to lower the cost of your taxes, and lower the cost of drugs to you, instead of saying yes to the American taxpayer, he said no to the taxpayer and yes to the drug companies who are getting their $139-million windfall profits. And you've seen a 17 percent increase in Medicare premiums."
ON MEDICARE Rx
In one swoop, Bush not only reminds his audiences that Republicans passed the Medicare drug plan, he also reinforces his portrait of Kerry as a flip-flopper. Kerry paints Bush as unconcerned with the plight of average Americans dealing with higher Medicaid and other medical costs.
Bush: "My opponent voted against the Medicare bill that included prescription drug coverage, even though it was supported by AARP and other seniors groups. In this campaign he said, "If I'm president, we're going to repeal that phony bill.' Then he went on to say, no, "I don't want to repeal it.' " A pause. "Sounds familiar."
Kerry: "All you have to do is look at what's happened to the lives of most Americans over the past four years. The income of the average American family has gone down, health care costs are up 64 percent ... Medicare costs are up 17 percent in premiums, prescription drugs are up 12 percent, but this president is satisfied to just walk on by while the average families have a harder and harder time making ends meet."
