Now that's the way a real leader responds...Remember,
Clark (D-NATO) is the guy who said to run against Bush
you have to ask yourself "How much pain am I willing
to endure?" He is ready, and so is Dean (D-Jeffords).
CNN: "I'm not attacking the president because he is attacking terrorists," said retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate. "I'm attacking him because he's not attacking terrorists."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/23/elec04.prez.democrats.gop.ad/index.html
Democrats pound GOP campaign ad, They say it questions patriotism of war critics
Sunday, November 23, 2003 Posted: 8:27 PM EST (0127
GMT)
The Republican National Committee's advertisement was
to begin running in Iowa on Sunday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats demanded a recall of the
Republican Party's first ad of the 2004 presidential
campaign Sunday, one calling it a "repulsive and
outrageous" attack on the patriotism of anyone who
opposes President Bush's wartime policies.
Republicans said the $100,000 ad merely reflects a
campaign based in part on the president's leadership
since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
But Democrats took particular issue with a line in the
ad that says "people are attacking the president for
attacking the terrorists."
"I'm not attacking the president because he is
attacking terrorists," said retired Army Gen. Wesley
Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate. "I'm
attacking him because he's not attacking terrorists."
Clark said the U.S. invasion of Iraq diverted
resources from the pursuit of the al Qaeda terrorist
network behind the September 11 attacks.
Clark and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle both
called on the Republican National Committee to
withdraw the ad.
"It's really a repulsive and outrageous attack, once
again, on those who question the direction that much
of the administration has taken with regard to Iraq,"
said Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat.
"I think that there is an implication here, as they've
done throughout this debate on Iraq, that if you
oppose the president, your patriotism ought to be
questioned," Daschle said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The 30-second ad was to begin running Sunday in Iowa,
ahead of the Democratic debate in Des Moines set for
Monday.
It also will be broadcast early next month in New
Hampshire, where all nine of the Democratic
presidential candidates are scheduled to debate
December 9.
Clark said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that the ad
violates the president's pledge not to use September
11 for political points.
"I think it really strikes at the heart of a democracy
when you accuse your opponents of somehow aiding the
enemy, and that's what these ads are implying," he
said.
Another Democratic presidential contender, Sen. Joe
Lieberman of Connecticut, called the commercials an
attempt to divert attention from economic issues.
"I don't know of anybody who was attacking the
president for attacking the terrorists," Lieberman
said.
"When it comes to terrorists, we ought to do
everything we can to capture and/or kill them. We also
ought to do a lot more than this president is doing to
protect our homeland security."
But Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he
sees nothing wrong with the ad.
"It's portraying the president's leadership that he's
displayed since September 11, which I support," McCain
said on ABC's "This Week."
Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut called
the ad "misleading."
"I think it's a very legitimate statement to be made
in the coming presidential election.
"The fact is, the president of the United States is
going to run for re-election to a large degree on his
record of trying to secure America from the threat of
terrorism," he said. "I think that's a very legitimate
reason for him to do so."
Lieberman said on CNN's "Late Edition" that the ad was
"misleading."
He said it was nothing more than "an attempt by the
Republican National Committee to get the public's mind
off the joblessness in America, the bad prescription
Medicare drug bill ... [and] the energy bill which
sells out to lobbyists, as John McCain said of it."
Clark said he saw no problem with the GOP defending
Bush's policies, but he said Bush's policies in the
war on terrorism were "indefensible."
"That ad's not intended to defend the policy," he
said. "It's intended to impugn the patriotism of the
people who are attempting to represent the will of the
electorate and hold the president accountable."
And Sen. Ted Kennedy, appearing with McCain on "This
Week," said the ad was "an attempt to stifle dissent."
"They are basically in this ad saying if you're
questioning this policy, you're against the war on
terror," the Massachusetts Democrat said. "That's
wrong."