The Bush administration pressed Democratic White House contender John Kerry for answers on Monday, challenging him to give the names of foreign leaders he had said support him in the Nov. 2 election.
Massachusetts Senator Kerry said he was unable to reveal which foreign leaders precisely offered their support so as not to compromise them.
US Vice President Dick Cheney weighed in on the issue on Monday, as did the White House, following initial criticism on Sunday from Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Senator Kerry "has been telling people that his ideas have gained strong support, at least among unnamed foreigners he's been spending time with," Cheney said during an address in Phoenix, Arizona.
"Senator Kerry said, and I quote, `I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy, they look at you and say, you've got to win this, you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy, things like that.'
"Yesterday in Pennsylvania, a voter asked Senator Kerry directly who these foreign leaders are. Senator Kerry said, `that's none of your business.' But it is our business when a candidate for president claims the political endorsement of foreign leaders," said Cheney.
"At the very least, we have a right to know what he is saying to foreign leaders that makes them so supportive of his candidacy," the vice president said.
The White House also challen-ged Kerry on Monday to name the foreign leaders he was refering to.
"If Senator Kerry is going to say he has support from foreign leaders, then he needs to be straightforward with the American people and say who it is he has spoken with and who it is that supports him," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
The challenge comes after Kerry, a veteran Democratic senator from the northeastern state Massachusetts, said several international leaders were supporting his bid to oust US President George W. Bush from office ahead of the fast approaching November presidential ballot.
"Either he is straightforward and states who they are or the only conclusion one can draw is that he is making it up to attack the president," McClellan said.
Secretary Powell was the first official to dig at Kerry over his comments. Speaking on Fox television on Sunday, Powell said: "I don't know what foreign leaders Senator Kerry is talking about. It's an easy charge, an easy assertion to make. But if he feels it is that important an assertion to make, he ought to list some names.
But the Kerry campaign hit back at the White House, saying it should do better "spending its time repairing our alliances around the world so we can collectively fight the war on terrorism and better protect the US" instead of using press spokesmen to "carry out political attacks."
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