LA_MERC_Dirge
March 16th, 2004, 10:07 AM
geez oh pete's is this squirming or what?
Bush to Kerry: 'Back It Up With Facts'
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
WASHINGTON — Jumping into the controversy about comments made by John Kerry, President Bush said Tuesday his Democratic rival should back up his assertion that unnamed leaders want Kerry to win this November.
"If you're gonna make an accusation in the course of a presidential campaign, you ought to back it up with facts," Bush said in response to a reporter's question Tuesday after meeting with the prime minister of the Netherlands (search).
Amidst all the noise, the actual quote that started the kerfuffle came under question when a reporter said he mis-transcribed "more" into "foreign."
Administration officials continue to press Kerry to say exactly which leaders — domestic or foreign — have told the presumed Democratic presidential nominee that they back his candidacy to oust Bush.
And the White House said that if Kerry can't publicly identify anyone, perhaps the Massachusetts senator made up the whole thing.
"If Senator Kerry is going to say he has support from foreign leaders, he needs to be straightforward with the American people and state who they are," according to a White House statement. "Or the only conclusion one can draw is he's making it up to attack the president."
But the New Englander is standing by his claim.
"I'm not making anything up at all," Kerry said in an interview, accusing Republicans of "trying to change the subject" from jobs, health care and other issues.
The senator said "it's no secret" that some countries are "deeply divided about our foreign policy. We have lost respect and influence in the world."
He continued: "I stand by my statement. The point is not the leaders. What's important is that this administration's foreign policy is not making us as safe as we can be in the world."
Bush to Kerry: 'Back It Up With Facts'
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
WASHINGTON — Jumping into the controversy about comments made by John Kerry, President Bush said Tuesday his Democratic rival should back up his assertion that unnamed leaders want Kerry to win this November.
"If you're gonna make an accusation in the course of a presidential campaign, you ought to back it up with facts," Bush said in response to a reporter's question Tuesday after meeting with the prime minister of the Netherlands (search).
Amidst all the noise, the actual quote that started the kerfuffle came under question when a reporter said he mis-transcribed "more" into "foreign."
Administration officials continue to press Kerry to say exactly which leaders — domestic or foreign — have told the presumed Democratic presidential nominee that they back his candidacy to oust Bush.
And the White House said that if Kerry can't publicly identify anyone, perhaps the Massachusetts senator made up the whole thing.
"If Senator Kerry is going to say he has support from foreign leaders, he needs to be straightforward with the American people and state who they are," according to a White House statement. "Or the only conclusion one can draw is he's making it up to attack the president."
But the New Englander is standing by his claim.
"I'm not making anything up at all," Kerry said in an interview, accusing Republicans of "trying to change the subject" from jobs, health care and other issues.
The senator said "it's no secret" that some countries are "deeply divided about our foreign policy. We have lost respect and influence in the world."
He continued: "I stand by my statement. The point is not the leaders. What's important is that this administration's foreign policy is not making us as safe as we can be in the world."