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Bush fires first campaign salvo at Kerry

US President George W. Bush, right, shakes hands with Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger after speaking to the Republican Governors Association in Washington on Monday. PHOTO: EPA

After months on the defensive over Iraq, job losses and his military record, US President George W. Bush plunged into his 2004 election campaign on Monday by accusing Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry of waffling on issues from Iraq to NAFTA.

Bush made his first direct mention of the Massachusetts senator in a 40-minute speech at a Republican Governors Association fund-raiser in Washington in which he repeatedly invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and drew chants of "Four More Years!" from over 1,400 attendees.

The president said the Democratic primary race included candidates who were "for tax cuts and against them, for NAFTA and against NAFTA, for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act, in favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts."

Bush did not mention Kerry or the Democratic front-runner's main primary challenger, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, by name. But he said voters in November would have a clear choice: "It's a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence -- or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger."

In reaction, Kerry issued a statement that accused Bush of ignoring his own "failed record" and suggested Bush's "credibility is running out with the American people."

Bush's speech came as his job approval rating has fallen to a new low amid concerns about the economy and Iraq.

Despite signs of economic recovery, job growth remains sluggish. About 2.8 million jobs in manufacturing have been lost during his tenure. US officials have also failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

And the president's call for permanent tax cuts has raised worries about ballooning an already record US$500 billion-plus budget deficit.

But in his remarks on Monday, Bush projected the confident image of a world leader unafraid to risk international condemnation to "defend America," and repeatedly invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and US success in ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"Others would have chosen differently. They now agree that the world is better off with Saddam out of power. They just didn't support removing Saddam from power. Maybe they were hoping he'd lose the next Iraqi election," he said in response to Democratic criticism over the war in Iraq.

"The actions we take, and the decisions we make in this decade, will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy," the president said.

Bush vowed to work for more job creation and said he wanted to help more people own homes and businesses as well as accumulate savings and choose their own retirement benefits via the Social Security system.

"I believe in private property so much that I want everyone in America to have some," he said.
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