ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — President Bush spent all day yesterday refuting charges by Sen. John Kerry that the incumbent will reinstate the military draft and privatize Social Security, calling the Massachusetts senator’s claims “old-style scare tactics.”
During three campaign stops in Florida, the president also reassured the elderly that his administration is doing everything possible to distribute flu vaccines that he said were reduced because of a “major manufacturing defect” by a British company that provides the United States with nearly half of its supply.
Mr. Bush said his opponent is “relying on a litany of complaints” to try to scare young and old people, with no regard for the facts. More than a dozen times, Mr. Bush said emphatically that he would not restart a draft or take away federal pensions for millions of senior citizens.
“As proven by his record and a series of contradictions in this campaign, my opponent will say anything he thinks that will benefit him politically at the time,” Mr. Bush told several thousand supporters gathered in a baseball stadium.
“I will do what I’ve said I will do. We will keep the promise of Social Security for all our seniors. We will not have a draft; we’ll keep the all-volunteer Army.”
Mr. Bush sought to stem damage to his re-election campaign by countering Kerry charges that his administration was unprepared to handle a shortage of the flu vaccine. The charge is particularly powerful in Florida, which has a large population of retired and elderly people.
“I know there are some here who are worried about the flu season,” Mr. Bush said. “I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots despite the major manufacturing defect that caused this problem.”
The president said the government has millions of vaccine doses on hand for the “most vulnerable” Americans. “Millions more will be shipped in the coming weeks,” he said. “We’re stockpiling more than 4 million doses of flu vaccine for children.”
But Mr. Kerry defended his criticism of the Bush administration for failing to heed warnings about vaccine supplies, and said the shortage at the beginning of the flu season illustrates the shortcomings of the current administration.
“If you can’t get flu vaccines to Americans, how are you going to protect them against bioterrorism? If you can’t get flu vaccines to Americans, what kind of health care program are you running?” Mr. Kerry said in an interview aired yesterday on National Public Radio.
The Democrat also fired back about the draft and Social Security, with his campaign e-mailing lengthy files to reporters more than half a dozen times.
One, titled “He Has Already Instituted a Backdoor Draft,” cited news reports that the administration is refusing to allow members of the military to leave when their volunteer service commitment expires. Another referred to a New York Times report that claims the administration has updated a contingency plan for a draft of doctors, nurses and other health care workers in case of a national emergency that overwhelms the military’s medical corps.
On Social Security, Mr. Kerry said Mr. Bush has a secret plan to privatize the federal pensions, which 47 million Americans receive.
“On November 2, Social Security is on the ballot,” he said during a campaign stop in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “A choice between one candidate who will save Social Security and another who will undermine it.”
But Vice President Dick Cheney summed up the administration’s position during a speech in Charleston, W. Va.
“It’s an age-old cry. It’s usually a good sign when it happens because it means they’re behind. And so they start — with all due respect, I think John Kerry has proven pretty decisively that he’ll say virtually anything to get elected,” Mr. Cheney said.
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