Archive for August, 2004

August 1, 2004

Kerry Says He’d Negotiate on Iraq Aid (AP) »

  • “I believe it belongs there and I’m very comfortable with that decision,” Kerry said in the CBS interview. “… If you’re really gonna lead a war on terror, I think it’s critical to have the kind of direct accountability to the president, and I think the American people want that.”

August 3, 2004

Newsview: Networks Cede DNC Coverage (AP) »

  • “The fact that you three networks decided it was not important enough to run in prime time, the message that gives the American people is huge,” Jim Lehrer (who anchored PBS’ full-bodied coverage) told ABC’s Peter Jennings, CBS’ Dan Rather and NBC’s Tom Brokaw during a panel discussion at Harvard University the day before the convention began.

August 5, 2004

New ‘Bushism’ Born at Bill Signing (AP) »

  • “But the American people know this president speaks with clarity and conviction, and the terrorists know by his actions he means it,” McClellan said.

August 6, 2004

Online Chats Offer White House Access (AP) »

  • “There are some important issues that the president wants to discuss with the American people at a time when most Americans will be able to hear what he has to say,” he said.

August 9, 2004

Bush Aides Believes Terrorists Set Back (AP) »

  • “The idea that you would somehow play politics with the security of the American people — that you would not go out and warn if you have casing reports on buildings that are highly specific,” Rice said. “Are you really supposed to not tell?”
  • The American people are going to react very badly to any attempt to disrupt our electoral process, but I think that in some of their minds, this is a possibility and we’ve indeed picked up discussion of trying to do something in the pre-election period,” Rice told CNN’s “Late Edition.”

Bush: White House does not control monetary policy (AFP) »

  • “And what we don’t need to do is run up the taxes on the American people,” Bush said, reprising an issue of his campaign for re-election on November 2 when voters will decide between Bush and Democratic Senator John Kerry .

Democrats launch full-bore attack on Bush economic policies (AFP) »

  • “You can’t fool the American people,” McAuliffe said. “They know we haven’t turned a corner, that we’re on the wrong track. And that’s why, this November, they are going to turn to the Democratic Party to lead America in the right direction.”

August 10, 2004

Bush crows over Kerry’s acknowledgement on Iraq vote (AFP) »

  • “The issue is that we went to war without our allies, without properly equipping our troops and without a plan to win the peace,” he said. “Its time for George W. Bush to come clean with the American people about his Iraq policy.”

August 12, 2004

Newsview: Bush Draws Kerry Into Iraq Fray (AP) »

  • “Why did he mislead America about how he would go to war. Why has he not brought other countries to the table in order to support American troops in the way they deserve it and relieve the pressure on the American people?”

Cheney Criticizes Kerry’s Terror War Plan (AP) »

  • “President Lincoln and Gen. Grant did not wage sensitive wars. Nor did President Roosevelt or Gens. Eisenhower and MacArthur,” he said. “As our opponents see it, the problem isn’t the thugs and murderers that we face, but our attitude. We, the American people, know better.”

August 13, 2004

Bush says he’s ready to take “rap” over Iraq (AFP) »

  • “There’s 30 nations now involved in Iraq. And I know their leaders well. I’ve thanked them on behalf of the American people for serving alongside our troops. I think to say we’ve gone it alone really does denigrate the contributions of other countries.

August 17, 2004

Kerry-Kerrey Confusion Trips Up Campaign (AP) »

  • “What do they have to hide?” McAuliffe asked. “These are the people who will ratify the Republican Party platform, and the American people have the right to know who they are. Republicans can’t have it both ways.”

August 18, 2004

Kerry, Bush Vow Help for Veterans, National Guard (Reuters) »

  • White House spokesman Scott McClellan called Kerry’s claims”false attacks” that show “a lack of understanding of newthreats we face. The Cold War is over. We must continue totransform our military to better protect the American people.”

August 19, 2004

Dem. Sen. Miller to Be GOP Keynote Speaker (AP) »

  • “This is emblematic of what the Republicans are trying to do with their convention — namely mislead the American people,” said Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe. “Republicans claiming that Miller is a Democrat doesn’t make it true.”

August 21, 2004

Bush Pressing Case for ‘Ownership Society’ (AP) »

  • There is clear political appeal to proposing a fix for a system that millions of Americans consider unfair and overly complicated. The tax code “is, no question, complex. The more simple it is, the better it is for the American people,” Bush said recently.

August 23, 2004

Kerry Lashes Out at Bush on War Politics (AP) »

  • “The same effort was made by some Republicans with Bush against John McCain four years ago. It was resented then. It’s resented now by the American people,” Levin said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Kerry can be proud of his military service: Bush (AFP) »

  • “We ought to be debating who is best to be leading this country in the war on terror. That’s what I continue to try to convince the American people — that I am the right person to continue to lead the country in the war on terror,” Bush said.

Veterans defend Kerry, criticize Dole (AFP) »

  • “I hope that the president will stand up and repudiate this smear campaign and get back to the issues important to the American people,” Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in the conference call.

New Bush Ad Criticizes Kerry on Taxes (AP) »

  • “After all,” the campaign said in a memo, “that’s what presidents do when they have no credibility or ability to address the real issues facing the American people.

Bush Says Attack Ad Against Kerry Should Stop (Reuters) »

  • “It was John Kerry who decided to make his military servicethe centerpiece of his presidential campaign and Swift BoatVeterans for Truth will continue to take its message directlyto the American people…,” said Roy Hoffmann, the group’sfounder.

August 24, 2004

Bush campaign using smoke-screen tactics to avoid issues: Kerry (AFP) »

  • “The Bush campaign and its allies have turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can’t talk about jobs, health care, energy independence and rebuilding our alliances — the real issues that matter to the American people,” Kerry said, according to prepared remarks.

Edwards Presses Bush to Condemn Attack Ads (AP) »

  • “John Kerry and John Edwards have benefited from more than $63 million in attack advertisements from Democratic 527s who have bombarded the American people with thousands of baseless attacks,” Schmidt said. “John Kerry and John Edwards have refused to condemn those ads.”

August 25, 2004

Bush lawyer quits in anti-Kerry ad flap (AFP) »

  • Kerry, for his part, charged Tuesday that “the Bush campaign and its allies have turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can’t talk about jobs, health care, energy independence and rebuilding our alliances — the real issues that matter to the American people.”

Republican Platform Backs Gay Marriage Ban (Reuters) »

  • Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe saidthe platform showed Republicans were going to “fake”moderation, “but the American people need to look no furtherthan their platform to see who they really are.”

August 26, 2004

Bush, in N.M., Criticizes Kerry on Taxes (AP) »

  • Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer responded later: “George Bush seems to have a problem being straight with the American people. John Kerry has been very clear about the fact that he will cut taxes for 98 percent of Americans. George Bush continues to avoid talking about the fact that his tax cuts have placed an increasingly larger portion of the tax burden onto the middle class.”

Kerry Challenges Bush to Weekly Debates (AP) »

  • “This election presents a clear choice to the American people between a president who is moving America forward and a senator who has taken every side of almost every issue,” he said.

Kerry and Bush Trade Barbs on Economy (AP) »

  • “I don’t know about you but I don’t know how much more of this good American people can take,” Edwards said.

August 27, 2004

Bush Acknowledges Iraq ‘Miscalculation’ (AP) »

  • With the number of U.S. casualties expected to reach 1,000 well before the election, Bush said, “The president has to make hard decisions. My job is to confront problems not pass them on. And the American people have seen me make the hardest of decisions. That’s just going to have to be a part of their decision-making process.”
  • “There’s a lot of my friends who come and bass-fish with me. They don’t say it out loud, I know they’re thinking it: Why?” Bush said. “And the answer is because the stakes are high. Because there is more work to be done to make the world a freer and more peaceful place. It is essential that America lead in the 21st century in order to defeat the ideologues who use terror as a weapon, in order to secure the homeland, but also in order to spread liberty. I know what needs to be done, I see clearly where we need to go and I want to spend four years leading toward that goal. And I believe the American people will give me that opportunity,” he said.

Bush Signs Orders for Intelligence Reform (AP) »

  • “The president is committed to doing everything in his power to make sure that we are protecting the American people,” his chief spokesman said.

Kerry Blames Bush for ‘Downsizing’ American Dreams (Reuters) »

  • Speaking to a forum on the economy at a school in Daly Citynear San Francisco, Kerry said, “to be stronger at home we needan economy that’s working for the American people and we need apresident who understands what’s happening.”

August 29, 2004

Sept. 11 Attacks Likely to Shape Bush Campaign (Reuters) »

  • It was not until Sept. 14 that the American people and therest of the world would see another side to Bush, when hevisited the smoking ruins at Manhattan’s Ground Zero, steppedup on a crumpled fire engine, and addressed cheering police,firefighters and rescuers.

More Than 100,000 Protest Bush in NYC (AP) »

  • “When it comes to how America fights terror and leads the world, make no mistake: this election offers the American people a very real choice,” he said in speech excerpts.

Congress Works to Pass Intelligence Bills (AP) »

  • “We are going to progress over the next 30 days,” Frist said. “The president of the United States has delivered a directive to us and to the Congress, yesterday to the American people. It will be much more specific, we predict, in about 10 days.”

August 30, 2004

Republicans say US ready to take on China, North Korea (AFP) »

  • Now, the party said, “Pakistani forces are rounding up terrorists along their nation’s western border. Today, because we are working with Pakistani leaders, Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror, and the American people are safer.”

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