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White House to Kerry: Prove Assertion
Mar 15, 4:42 PM (ET)
By SCOTT LINDLAW
The Bush administration, casting doubts on John Kerry's credibility, strongly suggested on Monday that the presumptive Democratic nominee lied when he said some foreign leaders privately backed his presidential bid.
One day after Secretary of State Colin Powell called on Kerry to identify his foreign backers but made no accusations, the administration ratcheted up the challenge, saying Kerry should identify the leaders who purportedly hope he defeats Bush in November.
"Either he is straightforward and states who they are, or the only conclusion one can draw is that he is making it up to attack the president," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
Vice President Dick Cheney said Americans deserve to know what Kerry has been telling foreign leaders. Cheney noted that at a campaign event Sunday in which a heckler challenged Kerry to produce names, the Democrat declined, saying, "that's none of your business."
(AP) Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., makes remarks at the annual convention...
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"But it is our business when a candidate for president claims the political endorsement of foreign leaders," Cheney said at a congressional fund-raiser in Phoenix. "At the very least, we have a right to know what he is saying to them that makes them so supportive of his candidacy."
Kerry said at a fund-raiser last week in Florida that he's heard from some world leaders who quietly back his candidacy and who hope he defeats Bush in November. He has declined to identify the leaders, arguing that to do so would betray confidences.
Three times on Monday, McClellan repeated the charge that Kerry was "making it up." He also took issue with Kerry's suggestions that the administration held up for political purposes announcement of an agreement with Libya to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction; and that the administration had rebuffed offers from Russia and France to avert the Iraq war.
"This is not the first time he has refused to back up his assertions," McClellan said.
In response, the Kerry campaign issued a list of statements made by Bush administration officials that proved false, including the claim about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the prediction that tax cuts would create jobs. The campaign also questioned why the White House press secretary would be doing the work of the re-election campaign.
(AP) Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, with Harold Schaitberger,...
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"The White House would be better off spending its time repairing our alliances around the world so we can collectively fight the war on terrorism and better protect the United States, rather than using the White House press room as a place to carry out political attacks," the campaign said.
Kerry also dismissed McClellan's challenge, arguing that the administration was trying to change the subject from jobs, health care and other issues. "They don't have a campaign so they're trying to divert it," he told reporters.
The issue of support from foreign leaders comes as the administration deals with the surprising election results in Spain in which voters on Sunday ousted the conservative party that had strongly backed Bush on the Iraq war.
Asked whether the Spanish election results gave credence to Kerry's claim that some foreign leaders want to see Bush booted from the White House, McClellan chuckled and again repeated his challenge to Kerry.
The presumptive nominee, meanwhile, was assailing Bush's leadership on protecting the nation. Kerry also met with Democrat Al Sharpton, who endorsed the senator but did not abandon his own long-shot bid.
(AP) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill...
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"We've determined who the nominee is going to be, now we determine what the message of the party is going to be," said Sharpton, who is continuing his quest to ensure that he has a role at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Kerry also met with Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union had backed Howard Dean last year, but labor has gotten behind Kerry's candidacy.
Speaking to a meeting of the 263,000-member International Association of Firefighters, which has endorsed Kerry, the Democrat faulted Bush for using the threat of terrorism as "a political prop" to advance his re-election campaign without ensuring a safer nation.
"America doesn't need leaders who play politics with 9-11 or see the war on terror as just another campaign issue," Kerry said. "Our nation's safety is too important."
The senator complained that Bush resisted creation of the Department of Homeland Security and has failed to provide firefighters and other first responders with enough financial resources.
"When it comes to protecting America from terrorism, this administration is big on bluster and short on action," said Kerry. "As we saw again last week in Spain - real action is what is needed."
Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, traveling on Air Force One with President Bush Monday, criticized his Senate colleague, saying Kerry stands on both sides of every issue and questioning the four-term lawmaker's productivity.
"I don't know of any major legislation that he's introduced," Specter said. "That's not easy to do in 19 years."
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