Vice President Dick Cheney unleashed a stinging attack on Senator John Kerry Wednesday night, ridiculing him as a politician who has made a career out of changing his mind. "More wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure," agreed Senator Zell Miller, a Democratic keynoter at the Republican National Convention.
The vice president hailed President George W. Bush as a "superb commander in chief" who has helped restore the economy and will lead the nation to victory in the war on terror. Bush "does not deal in empty threats and half measures," Cheney added in a prime-time speech to delegates and a nationwide television audience.
Republicans launched their double-barreled attack on Bush's Democratic opponent as the president campaigned his way into the convention city, collecting the endorsement of the union representing New York's 8,600 firefighters, some of whom risked their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. His eyes misted as he stood among them and held a black fire helmet labeled "Commander in Chief."
"Four more years," they shouted -- echoing the chants that floated up from the convention floor at Madison Square Garden as delegates acclaimed the Bush-Cheney ticket for another term.
Bush and Kerry are virtually tied in recent polls. The election is Nov. 2.
The speeches by Cheney and Miller were the main events of the evening, but the convention seemed to move 20 years back in time as delegates took in a tribute to Ronald Reagan, who died earlier this year. They cheered at video clips of the late president at his most forceful, then again when they saw former President George H.W. Bush eulogizing him in June. The convention floor bloomed with thousands of blue placards that read "Win One for The Gipper."
Cheney performed the traditional vice president's role in his turn at the podium, praising the man at the top of the ticket while denigrating the leader of the political opposition. "Time and again he has made the wrong call on national security," the vice president said of Kerry.
"On Iraq, Senator Kerry has disagreed with many of his fellow Democrats," Cheney said. "But Senator Kerry's liveliest disagreement is with himself. His back and forth reflects a habit of indecision, and sends a message of confusion."
With two months remaining in a close election, and the pool of undecided voters a small one, Republicans relished the opportunity to place a Democrat out front at their convention. They had their man in Miller, a conservative ex-Marine who minces no words and delivered a keynote address a dozen years ago in the same hall in service of Democrat Bill Clinton.
"In this hour of danger our president has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him," the Georgia lawmaker said.
Outside the heavily defended hall, police watched warily as demonstrators waving pink slips formed a line three miles long in Manhattan to protest the Bush administration's economic policies. Fewer than a dozen arrests were reported, one day after police took into custody more than 1,000 demonstrators who had threatened to march on the convention hall.
A small group of AIDS activists managed to penetrate the Garden itself during the morning, before the convention session had begun for the day. They blew whistles and chanted, "Bush kills," at a morning session of GOP youth before being hustled from the floor.
Kerry ended a brief stint on the campaign sidelines, defying tradition by making an appearance while his rival's national convention was in progress.
"Extremism has gained momentum" as a result of administration missteps in Iraq, the Democratic nominee told a national convention of the American Legion, before adding that the war on terror is a winnable one with the right policies in place.
"When it comes to Iraq, it's not that I would have done one thing differently, I would have done almost everything differently" than the president, Kerry said.
Republicans took care to stipulate they weren't questioning the patriotism of Bush's rival, who won five military medals in the Vietnam War.
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
RSS