Kerry hits president’s leadership

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush of not being the leader he says he is and blamed his lack of leadership for the “two wars” the senator says America is embroiled in.

“I will lead, and I believe others will follow,” Mr. Kerry told a crowd of Democrats gathered yesterday in a hotel conference room in Waterloo, Iowa.

“The president says he’s a leader. Well, Mr. President, look behind you. There’s hardly anyone there. It’s not leadership if we haven’t built the strongest alliance possible and if America is going almost alone,” he said.

But Mr. Bush was in Iowa himself to return fire yesterday, and he accused the Massachusetts Democrat of “dangerous thinking” about the war on terror and said Mr. Kerry’s words “insult the allies” we have and “placate the countries that disagree with us.”

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd in Mason City, Mr. Bush continued his theme of painting Mr. Kerry as a man whose worldview was not affected by the September 11 attacks.

“This is the first election since September 11, 2001, and the security of our nation is at risk in ways different than any we have faced,” Mr. Bush said. “We are in a global war against a well-trained and highly motivated enemy — an enemy that hates America for the very freedoms and values we cherish most.

“The next commander in chief must lead us to victory in this war, and you cannot win a war when you don’t believe you are fighting one,” he said.

Mr. Bush cited an Oct. 10 New York Times Magazine story in which Mr. Kerry was asked how September 11 changed him, and he replied, “It didn’t change me much at all.”

“And this unchanged worldview becomes obvious when he calls the war against terror primarily an intelligence and law-enforcement operation, rather than what I believe: a war which requires the full use of American power to keep us secure,” Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Kerry stated clearly the difference in each man’s worldview yesterday by continuing his theme of separating September 11 and Iraq by vowing to win the “two wars” and calling the overthrow of Saddam Hussein a “profound diversion” from war on terrorism.

“America must fight and win two wars,” Mr. Kerry said. “The war in Iraq and the war on terror.”

The Democrat went on to say, “President Bush likes to confuse the two” even though, he insisted, they are completely unrelated.

“In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against the enemy,” Mr. Kerry said.

From early on, Mr. Bush has said the war in Iraq is part of the war on terrorism, because, he says, the only way to combat terrorism is to abolish the rogue nations that encourage or permit terrorism to spawn.

Still, Mr. Kerry, in the past, has conflated the two, such as when Iraq saw its 1,000th American death.

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