Bush, Kerry Differ On Jobs, Taxes, Stem Cells, High Court
BY JEFF ZELENY AND JILL ZUCKMAN
Chicago Tribune

Posted on Sat, Oct. 09, 2004

ST. LOUIS - (KRT) - President Bush and Sen. John Kerry attempted to win over an
ever-shrinking pool of undecided voters Friday evening as they traded a familiar
litany of sharp exchanges over Iraq before extending their deep disagreements to
stem cell research, the economy and the face of the Supreme Court, topics often
overshadowed by the wartime race.

In the second debate of their deadlocked contest, Bush suggested yet again that his
rival lacked the spine to lead the nation in its fight against terrorism. But as the
president struggled to articulate any mistakes he had made in office, Kerry stepped
in and branded Bush as dangerously headstrong, saying: "I believe the president
made catastrophic mistakes."

The two men argued intensely over the invasion of Iraq, health care and the
environment as they took questions from an audience of Missouri voters who said
they had yet to make their choice in the race. The televised forum, which ran slightly
over its allotted time of 90 minutes, highlighted stark differences between
candidates who agreed on virtually nothing.

The Massachusetts senator, emboldened by his performance in the first debate last
week, accused Bush of turning a healthy budget surplus into a substantial deficit by
catering to the rich through his administration's signature tax cut plan. But the
president, who was more forceful in this encounter, insisted Kerry would have to
raise taxes to pay for the string of promises made on the campaign trail, declaring:
"That's just reality."

When a voter asked if he would solemnly vow not to raise taxes on those with
incomes of $200,000 or less, Kerry replied: "Absolutely yes, right into the camera.
Yes - I am not going to raise taxes." Not satisfied, Bush snapped: "Of course he's
going to raise your taxes."

The war in Iraq and its deadly aftermath provoked a fresh round of bitter disputes,
with the president accusing Kerry of failing to stand on principle. Bush pointed out
yet again that Kerry supported the congressional authority to invade Iraq but voted
against funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He was a strong supporter of getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He saw the wisdom -
until the Democrat primary came along and Howard Dean, the anti-war candidate,
began to gain on him, and he changed positions," Bush said, looking at his
challenger. "I don't see how you can lead this country in a time of war, in a time of
uncertainty, if you change your mind because of politics."

"Let me tell you straight up," Kerry replied. "I've never changed my mind about Iraq."

"This president rushed to war, pushed our allies aside. And Iran now is more
dangerous, and so is North Korea, with nuclear weapons," Kerry continued, his
voice swelling with intensity. "He took his eye off the ball, off of Osama bin Laden."

Then, Bush snapped: "Of course we're going to find Osama bin Laden."

Throughout the evening, the candidates walked across the red-carpeted stage,
gesturing toward one another as they answered questions posed by an audience of
more than 100 voters who said they had yet to settle on a candidate. As Kerry
spoke, he often looked directly at Bush, inching closer as he made his point.

For his part, the president took great care not to be captured on camera with an
angry or irritated look on his face, as was the case several times during the first
presidential debate. At one point, when the camera closed in tight, Bush winked his
left eye and flashed a grin as Kerry launched into a sharp critique of the
administration's Iraq policy.

When it was his turn to speak, Bush quipped: "That answer almost made me want
to scowl."

The debate, which was held in a gymnasium on the campus of Washington
University, came eight days after their first face-to-face encounter last week in
Miami injected new momentum into Kerry's candidacy. Since then, most public
opinion polls show that Kerry and Bush are locked in a near-even contest with 24
days to go.

Throughout Friday night's forum, Bush again and again sought to highlight the
vaunted power of the incumbency, referring to meetings in the Oval Office with
military generals and conversations with world leaders. "I know how these people
think," Bush said.

While the president appeared to be in stronger command than in the first debate, he
did come across as flustered at a couple points in the evening, referring to his
opponent as "Sen. Kennedy," who is the senior senator from Massachusetts. When
asked about the draft, Bush declared: "I hear there is a rumor on the Internets."

On that topic, though, the president insisted that there would be no reinstatement of
the military draft, despite an overtaxed military.

"Forget all this talk about the draft," Bush said. "We're not going to have a draft
while I'm the president."

Despite the heavy concentration on Iraq, Bush and Kerry sparred over a wide range
of domestic matters, from the economy to health care and from the deficit to
embryonic stem cell research.

Bush was quickly challenged by one voter, who asked why he had blocked the re-
importation "of safer and inexpensive drugs from Canada."

"I haven't yet," Bush replied. "Just want to make sure they're safe. When a drug
comes in from Canada, I want to make sure it cures you and doesn't kill you."

Bush quickly added that he may eventually agree that there's a safe way to allow
prescription drugs to be re-imported. But Kerry reminded that four years ago Bush
said bringing drugs in from Canada made sense and was a good idea.

"Now, the president said, `I'm not blocking that.' Ladies and gentlemen, the
president just didn't level with you right now again," Kerry said, accusing Bush of, in
fact, blocking re-importation and siding with the drug companies.

On health care, Kerry defended his plan to provide coverage against Bush's
accusations that it is a government program that would lead to rationing and poorer
quality of medical care. And he accused Bush of ignoring the plight of the
uninsured.

"Five million people have lost their health insurance under this president," Kerry
said. "He's done nothing about it."

Calling Kerry a liberal, Bush said: "That's what liberals do. They create government-
sponsored health care ... It would ruin the quality of health care in America."

Continuing their pattern of testy exchanges, Kerry fired back, saying his health plan
is not a government takeover, and asking what Bush's "compassionate
conservative" label really means. "Cutting 500,000 kids from after-school programs,
cutting 365,000 kids from health care, running up the biggest deficits in American
history?" Kerry said.

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

Along medical lines, one voter asked Kerry if it wouldn't be better to use stem cells
that did not result in the destruction of embryos.

Kerry, who supports allowing embryonic stem cell research, cited Nancy Reagan,
Michael J. Fox, and Christopher Reeve as he argued that "ethically guided"
research could lead to a cure for spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson's and
other afflictions.

"I think it is respecting life to reach for that cure," Kerry said, charging that Bush's
policy had made it impossible for scientists to do their research.

Bush, however, declared that he is the first president ever to allow federal funding
for embryonic stem-cell research, even though it requires the "the destruction of life
to create a stem cell."

"I did so because I, too, hope that we'll discover cures from the stem cells and from
the research derived," Bush said.

In fact, the Clinton administration approved stem cell research in August 2000. Even
if Bush had done nothing, the research would have continued without restriction.
Bush, however, prohibited federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines
created after Aug. 9, 2001, and many scientists say the earlier lines are not useful
for developing therapies to address diseases such as Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes
and possibly Alzheimer's.

In addition to refusing to concede making mistakes, Bush refused to acknowledge a
voter's assertion that the Patriot Act was weakening American citizens' rights and
freedoms.

"I really don't think your rights are being watered down," Bush said, defending the
law as a necessary tool to enable the FBI to do its job and share intelligence across
law-enforcement agencies.

But Kerry, who voted for the Patriot Act, quickly cited Bush's own chairman of the
Republican National Committee, Marc Racicot, as someone who thought the law
needed to be changed. And he noted that Rep. James Sensenbrenner, the
Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, "said over his dead body
before it gets renewed without being thoroughly rechecked."

"People's rights have been abused," Kerry said, describing the plight of a man who
spent eight months in prison and wasn't allowed to call his lawyer.

To show their confidence, a cadre of senior Bush advisers strode before a large
contingent of reporters gathered in a campus gymnasium, slapping one another on
the shoulders and flashing broad grins in the middle of the debate. It was a bold
attempt to begin the spinning their expectations early, trying to point out they
believed the president was performing better than last week.

The final debate is scheduled for Wednesday night in Arizona.

---

SOURCE: The State, SC
http://tinyurl.com/6ph5d

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