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Thursday, October 14, 2004

Final Debate Fact Check

The Anneberg Public Policy Center's report on the last debate, "New And Recycled Distortions At Final Presidential Debate" is now available on their website to provide those background details on the candidates' remarks.

Adding fodder to his claim that Bush "took his eye off the ball" in shifting policy to Iraq, Kerry seemed to do a better job at remembering Bush's lines than the current President himself.

The turn your opponent's own words against him tactic is part and parcel of political rhetoric, and it is certainly a tool Bush knows well. Despite being prone to misleading, out of context interpretations, Bush did say (nearly verbatim) what Kerry asserted; and when he did, Bush was playing "bait and switch" to shift the threat from al Qaeda to Iraq. In other words, he was doing exactly what Kerry accused him of doing:

"I've said it before, I say it again: I believe the president broke faith with the American people in the way that he took this nation to war. He said he would work through the -- a real alliance. He said in Cincinnati we would plan carefully, we would take every precaution. Well, we didn't. And the result is our forces today are overextended. The fact is that he did not choose to go to war as a last resort, and America now is paying already $120 billion, up to $200 billion before we're finished and much more probably, and that is the result of this president taking his eye off of Osama bin Laden."

Below is a comparison of the words Bush denied saying in last night's debate to the words he actually did say in a press conference two years ago as he began the marketing campaign for his war against Iraq.

Third Presidential Debate (13 Oct 2004)

KERRY: When the president had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, he took his focus off of him, outsourced the job to Afghan warlords and Osama bin Laden escaped. Six months after he said Osama bin Laden must be caught dead or alive this president was asked, where's Osama bin Laden? And he said, "I don't know. I don't really think about him very much. I'm not that concerned."

BUSH: Gosh, I don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. That's kind of one of those exaggerations.

Presidential Press Conference (13 March 2002)

QUESTION: Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? [...]

BUSH: [...] You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. [...]

QUESTION: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

BUSH: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. [...]