Bush, Kerry Spar Over Taxes, Iraq
President Bush said Saturday the choice for voters this November is clear: lower taxes to stimulate growth or higher taxes that will stunt job creation.
Mr. Bush defended his record on the economy and implied that all-but-certain Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would raise taxes and hurt the economy.
"Raising taxes will make it harder for people to find work," Mr. Bush said during a news conference in Crawford, Texas, with Mexican President Vicente Fox after the two met at the Bush ranch.
And in what CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller says "sounded like a challenge to Kerry, Mr. Bush said he looks forward to the debate about who is best to lead the country in the war on terror.
Knoller added, "Asked specifically about the objections to the 911 images in his campaign ads -- the president would not say if he would pull them off the air. Instead, he said he will continue to speak about the effects of 911 -- on both the country and his presidency.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr. Bush hailed a new interim constitution as "excellent progress" toward democracy in Iraq, painting an upbeat picture that ignored the cancellation of Friday's scheduled signing of the document.
An elaborate ceremony planned by U.S. and Iraqi officials for Friday was scotched after Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, rejected portions of the charter. The enactment of an interim constitution represents a key step in the U.S. plan to hand over power to Iraqis on June 30.
Mr. Bush, delivering his weekly radio address, didn't mention the unwelcome developments at all.
"A year ago, Iraq's only law was the whim of one brutal man," he said. "When the new law takes effect, Iraqis will, for the first time in decades, live under the clear protections of a written bill of rights."
But Kerry challenged the Bush administration Saturday to reimburse the families of U.S. troops "who had to buy the body armor" needed for protection in Iraq.
"If I am president, I will be prepared to use military force to protect our security, our people and our vital interests," the Massachusetts senator said in the Democrats' weekly radio address.
"But I will never send our troops into harm's way without enough firepower and support."
Kerry's five-minute radio speech gave him an opportunity to speak to a nationwide audience five days after wrapping up his party's nomination with a string of primary and caucus victories.
The choice of topics underscored his intention to challenge Mr. Bush's conduct of the war on terror, and he accused the president of shortchanging the troops on items needed for their own protection.
While the Iraqi power turnover plan called for an interim constitution to be in place by Feb. 28, the White House claimed Friday's signing delay posed no danger to the ability to meet the June 30 transfer date.
Instead, saying the problems among Iraqi Governing Council members over the charter involved only "technical matters" that they already were working to resolve, White House press secretary Scott McClellan insisted the dispute itself was a sign of "democracy in action."
"It's not unusual when a society is working to build democratic institutions that there are going to be bumps along the road," McClellan said. "But the important thing is that Iraqi leaders are able to freely discuss these issues with one another and do so publicly without the threat of brutal action by an oppressive regime."
There were some signs, however, that the Shiite objections were broad. It was not clear when - or how - they would be overcome. But there were indications Saturday that a signing ceremony would take place Monday.
Mr. Bush told his radio audience the charter "will establish a clear path" for this year's transition to Iraqi sovereignty and a fully representative and free Iraqi government by the end of 2005.
"The Iraqi people are making excellent progress," he said. "Difficult work in creating a new Iraqi government remains. Yet Iraqis are equal to the tasks before them."
Mr. Bush also said Tuesday's suicide bombings of Shiite shrines in Baghdad and Karbala, which killed at least 181, were the work of both supporters of the former Saddam Hussein regime and foreign terrorists. He pointed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with al Qaeda links, as "one of the terrorist leaders," suggesting he was to blame for the attacks.
Some U.S. officials have said the role of foreign militants in the attacks was still unclear.
Kerry said tens of thousands of troops arrived in Iraq "to find that - with danger around every corner - there wasn't enough body armor to protect them." Many families purchased the equipment and had it sent overseas, he added.
"Families should be sending pictures and care packages to Iraq - and the Department of Defense should be sending the body armor," Kerry said.
He called on the president to support a bill he has introduced in the Senate to reimburse families for their purchase of body armor. Similar legislation is pending in the House.
Kerry said acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee had testified before Congress that U.S. forces were "not prepared" for the present conflict in Iraq and they didn't have the preparation and hardware they needed to fight as effectively as they could.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Brownlee was asked why the Army took so long to produce adequate numbers of upgraded body armor and Humvees with extra armor plating.
"I also regret that we were not more farsighted here. We simply were not prepared for that kind of a counterinsurgency that attacked our convoys and our soldiers in the rear, as it has proven to be," he said.
In addition, Kerry said, "We hear reports that - in dangerous parts of Iraq - our helicopters are flying missions without the best available anti-missile system."
"At the same time, unarmored Humvees are falling victim to roadside bombs and small-arms fire. The Bush administration waited through month after month of ambushes and only acted to start manufacturing armored kits three months ago," he added.