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Miamiu1027
Atlas Superstar
Posts: 36,562
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« on: February 20, 2004, 09:07:37 AM » |
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Well, Edwards said a stupid thing yesterday ay Columbia University. Read up:
Edwards' Grenades
Accuses Bush of using 9/11 for advantage
By Glenn Thrush
STAFF WRITER; Staff writers Ken Fireman and Dan Janison contributed to this story.
February 20, 2004
A fire-breathing John Edwards stormed into the city yesterday and accused President George W. Bush of steering the GOP convention to New York to "exploit" the city's suffering on Sept. 11, 2001, for political gain.
Edwards, speaking at Columbia University, said Bush is trying to give the impression he has stood by the city while stiffing cops and firefighters on Homeland Security funding.
"George Bush and his team, they think they're going to be able to exploit this tragedy right here at this convention for a few days," the North Carolina senator said, kicking off a five-day tour of the state in advance of the crucial March 2 Democratic primary.
"I can't believe he said that," said Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign. "They are playing politics with a national tragedy."
Edwards also used the appearance to challenge front-runner John Kerry to a debate "wherever and whenever."
Kerry spokesman Mark Kornblau said his boss was willing to debate "anywhere, anytime" but only if the two other remaining candidates, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich, aren't left out. Kerry led Edwards by more than 40 points in a statewide poll conducted a week ago, but that was before Edwards' stronger than expected showing in the Wisconsin primary.
Yesterday, Edwards tried to gain on Kerry without criticizing him directly. The former trial lawyer, standing in front of a huge American flag, delivered a savagely anti-Bush message in a honeyed yet hard-edged style honed from years of addressing Southern juries.
"I think the president is trying to take political advantage by having their convention here, and they have not shown the kind of commitment that I believe they need to show to the city," he said.
Responding to Edwards' charge, a White House spokesman, Trent Duffy, said, "The president's top priority is protecting the lives and safety of the American people. He has said that repeatedly. I'll just leave it at that."
A source close to the White House, speaking on condition of anonymity, took strong issue with Edwards' assertion that Bush had not shown sufficient commitment to the city.
"It's just a fact that President Bush, with Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton standing at his side, committed $20 billion to the city after 9/11, and the president delivered," the source said.
Kornblau agreed - to a point.
"George Bush and Karl Rove have made no secret of the fact that they intend to use the tragedy of 9/11 to make national security the centerpiece issue of the election," he said.
Edwards and Kerry "couldn't be more inaccurate," said Rori Patrice Smith, a spokeswoman for the convention's organizers. "New York offered to host the convention in 2001 because the city's civic, business and labor leaders knew it would be a good event."
Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had wanted the city to host the Democratic convention, too, but party boss Terry McAuliffe demanded "an exclusive," leaving New York to the Republicans.
"I don't think that either party, if they had their convention here, is trying is to exploit 9/11," Bloomberg said during a news conference in Washington Heights.
In his speech, Edwards focused on the divide between rich and poor in the city, ticking off negative economic indicators and citing job losses, rising bankruptcies and increased poverty rates.
"There's always going to be one New York, but there's two different ways of living in New York," the senator said. "There's one of privilege and comfort and another one filled with struggle, and they are so close together that they collide with each other every single day."
Bloomberg bridled at that, saying, "There is optimism about New York that you haven't seen in years."
Kerry will appear Monday in Harlem and Queens.
Staff writers Ken Fireman and Dan Janison contributed to this story.
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Edwards is falling into the same hole than Dean did: never say what yuo truly want to say. STRIKE ONE for Edwards. I still support him...but other people may not.
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