Tough Talk, Banter Kick Off 4-Man Campaign

[GreenPartyVoter]

CLEVELAND (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday curtly dismissed freshman Sen. John Edwards' credentials to be vice president while Democratic challenger John Kerry and his running mate rallied voters in battleground states. "Dick Cheney can be president," Bush declared, and Kerry suggested that was part of the problem.

A day after he welcomed Edwards to the presidential campaign, Bush visited Edwards' hometown of Raleigh, N.C., to criticize the North Carolina senator's role in holding up judicial appointments. The president said he was unconcerned about the potential of Edwards to help carry states in the South, a GOP bastion.

"When they go to the polls to vote for president, they'll understand the senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values," Bush said. "I'm going to carry the South because the people understand that they share - we share values."

During a trip scheduled before Kerry picked Edwards, Bush said Edwards and other Senate Democrats obstruct the work of the federal judiciary by refusing to fill judgeships. He said he told three nominees in a private meeting, "You're being hung out by a handful of United States senators."

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040708/D83MM5680.html