Kerry Cites 'Big Mess;' Bush Upbeat

[DrFunkenstein]

SIOUX CITY, IOWA - Sen. John Kerry says the United States is "in a bigger mess by the day," citing the murky fate of missing explosives in Iraq to sharpen the indictment of his opponent. President Bush has put together an end game that includes persistent appeals for Democratic votes and a rarely used weapon in this bruising campaign ? a positive commercial.

After ripping Kerry for weeks as an equivocator, Bush planned to close the contest with a 60-second commercial meant to show he's steady, trustworthy and compassionate in these dangerous times.

Aides said the ad includes footage of an emotional president telling the Republican National Convention about meeting the children of slain U.S. soldiers.

Kerry's latest ad accuses the Bush administration of failing to secure nearly 400 tons of explosives that disappeared from a military installation south of Baghdad around the time U.S. forces were toppling Saddam Hussein's government.

Republicans scoffed at the claim. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., a member of both the Intelligence and Armed Services committees, insisted Wednesday that "the weapons weren't there" when U.S. troops arrived at the Qaqaa facility on April 10. He accused the Kerry campaign of distorting facts and trying to politicize "a myth."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/campaign_rdp

It should be noted that the inference - worded to sound like a claim - that the weapons disappeared during the the earliest stages of invasion are in the journalist's own voice, bolstered by Chambliss's "scoff." Have I missed something? Did somebody actually figure out the time frame and tell Calvin Woodward?

And, sorry, but it is very hard to state that Bush is "upbeat" - especially when you are trying to contrast him to Kerry's campaign.

[calmblueocean]

1. No matter how they spin it

Bush is on the defensive, and that's good for our guy.

I hope the Kerry campaign puts out their own 60 second commercial. Team Bush is going to pack their ad with emotional imagery that tries to paint W out to be a good, kind person -- I personally hope the Kerry campaign counters by pointing out that it takes more than a good heart to run this country, it takes good judgment. Something Bush has shown he doesn't have.

[Paradise]

2. Did he meet those children as their dads' coffins were being unloaded

from the planes bringing them home or while taking footage for his commercial?

"Aides said the ad includes footage of an emotional president telling the Republican National Convention about meeting the children of slain U.S. soldiers."

[peekaloo]

3. haha....when the going gets tough the Bu$hies get "emotional"

turn on the water works and spout "I'm a compassionate conservative".

'Upbeat' mist be a code word for heavily medicated. :P

[wellstone_democrat]

4. Where did he meet children of dead soldiers?

Seriously, most of them are likely to be children so where does he meet them? The occaisional Bushbot* at a military base rally? It isn't like he goes to funerals. I can think of at least one case where a family member of a slain soldier was arrested for trying to "bring up that uncomfortable fact" before his majesty.

Really, I want to know when and where he's been "meeting" the orphans he created.