TAMPA, Fla. — Sen. John Kerry continued his assault yesterday on President Bush over a wide range of topics, including the war in Iraq, homeland security and the shortage of flu vaccines.
“I believe that we need a president who defends America and fights for the middle class,” Mr. Kerry said in the state that determined the outcome of the 2000 election. “We need a president who can do both at the same time.”
Mr. Kerry and vice-presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards joined Mr. Bush here over the weekend as polls showed a tight race for the state’s 27 electoral votes, although Mr. Bush appears to hold a slight edge.
The Democratic ticket has been outspoken about the recently announced shortage of flu vaccines — an issue that campaign officials hope will be particularly effective among Florida’s large elderly population.
At several campaign rallies where senior citizens were more likely to collapse from the heat than catch the flu, Mr. Kerry harangued Mr. Bush for a series of “bad decisions” that he said led to the shortage. He then segued into a joke about Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company, and the no-bid contracts that the company received in Iraq.
“You know, if Halliburton made flu vaccines, you’d have more flu shots here in Florida than you do oranges,” he said.
Bush campaign officials dismissed the attack as a scare tactic and pointed to a vote that Mr. Kerry cast against a bill that they said would have made more vaccines available in the United States.
Mr. Kerry renewed his criticism of Mr. Bush for his handling of the Iraq war, which he and Mr. Edwards voted to authorize.
“Just today, we learned that the top U.S. commander in Iraq had to plead with the Pentagon for critical supplies to counter the growing insurgency,” Mr. Kerry said. “Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez argued that without increased supplies, ’I cannot continue to support sustained combat operations.’”
Mr. Kerry accused the president of “arrogant boasting that he’s done everything right in Iraq and that he’s made no mistakes.”
“The president’s tough talk about always supporting the troops is nothing more than empty rhetoric,” Mr. Kerry said.
The Bush campaign swiftly shot back by pointing out that Mr. Kerry voted against an $87 billion supplemental funding bill to pay for military supplies in Iraq.
“Senators Kerry and Edwards are two of only four U.S. senators who voted for the use of force resolution against Iraq and against the $87 billion supplemental supporting the troops,” said a statement released by the Bush campaign.
The Kerry campaign also attacked Mr. Bush for the rising price of gasoline, which has topped $2 a gallon in some areas of the country.
“These prices are hurting the economy, and they’re squeezing working families,” Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said. “This president has no ideas for dealing with this crisis, and pretty soon, he’s going to be out of time.”
The Bush campaign dismissed Mr. Kerry’s assertion, saying the senator from Massachusetts has little credibility on the matter because he once advocated levying a 50-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline.
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