Bush scolds 'party of cut and run'

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President Bush yesterday said Democrats have ditched the tradition of the great war-fighting presidents of the 20th century to become "the party of cut and run," and accused them of using leaked excerpts of a recent intelligence estimate to mislead voters before midterm elections.

In his most politically biting speech yet in this campaign, Mr. Bush slammed his political opponents for not having an Iraq policy, then warned against embracing the conclusions of some top members of their party who say Iraq is a distraction from the war on terror.

"Five years after 9/11, the worst attack on American homeland in our history, the Democrats offer nothing but criticism and obstruction, and endless second-guessing," Mr. Bush said while campaigning for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley in Birmingham. "The party of FDR and the party of Harry Truman has become the party of cut and run."

Mr. Bush also spoke at length about the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), leaked portions of which were published over the weekend, prompting the president on Tuesday to release a longer declassified version that painted a mixed picture of the war.

"Truth is, the Democrats are using the NIE to mislead the American people and justify their policy of withdrawal from Iraq," he said.

Democrats taunted back, saying Mr. Bush has a chance to prove himself right by releasing the entire intelligence document.

"If George Bush is so confident that his national security policies are working, he should release the entire National Intelligence Estimate on terrorism and let the American people decide for themselves," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat.

He and five other top Senate Democrats wrote a letter to John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, asking him to speed up a planned intelligence study that focuses solely on Iraq.

Democrats hope the NIE information helps them regain the initiative and refocus the debate on Iraq after Mr. Bush's successful September, during which his series of speeches on the broader war on terror boosted both his approval ratings and support for Republicans' job in handling terror.

Last weekend, the New York Times and The Washington Post reported on a portion of the NIE that said the war in Iraq is prompting more people to become jihadists. That boosted Democrats' argument that the war in Iraq is a mistake.