Bush: Democrats shouldn't be trusted to run Congress
STOCKTON, California (AP) -- President Bush, on a campaign swing in the West, is arguing the Democratic Party is weak-kneed on national security and shouldn't be trusted to hold the reins of Congress.
"If you listen closely to some of the leaders of the Democratic Party, it sounds like -- it sounds like -- they think the best way to protect the American people is, wait until we're attacked again," Bush said Monday at a $360,000 fundraiser in Reno, Nevada, for state Secretary of State Dean Heller's congressional campaign.
Bush delivered the administration's oft-repeated claims about the Democrats as it struggles with persistent questions about a recent intelligence report that suggests the Iraq war has helped recruit more terrorists, and a new book, "State of Denial," by journalist Bob Woodward that contends Bush misled the country about the war.
In the latest development, a State Department official confirmed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did receive a CIA briefing about terror threats just about two months before the Sept. 11 attacks. Rice has said repeatedly she could not specifically recall the meeting. (Spokeman: Rice didn't 'brush off' terror warning)
Spokesman Sean McCormack said the information at the July 10, 2001 session is not new.
In the home stretch of campaigning for the Nov. 7 elections, Bush is using his $2.3 million fundraising sprint through Nevada, California, Arizona and Colorado to try to draw a line between Democrats and Republicans.
Bush was speaking Tuesday at a $400,000 breakfast fundraiser in Stockton, 60 miles east of the San Francisco Bay Area, for Rep. Richard Pombo. Later, he was to attend a $600,000 fundraiser in El Dorado Hills for Rep. John Doolittle and then raise $1.3 million at a Republican National Committee event in the Los Angeles area.
Pombo and Doolittle easily survived primary challenges this year from opponents who criticized them for their connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
One presidential action was tucked into Bush's Tuesday schedule, perhaps to help the various campaigns defray the cost of getting the president to the political events. Bush was to sign the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act. Pombo sponsored the House version of the bill, which aims to help landowners restore and manage fish and wildlife habitats on private property.
Stomping in Nevada
Bush's first stop on his trip West was an airport hangar in Reno, Nevada, where a few hundred people gathered to support Heller, who is running against Democrat Jill Derby.
Republicans have held the seat since it was created 25 years ago to represent more than 100,000 square miles -- nearly the entire state except for Las Vegas. Republicans hold an edge of more than 47,000 registered, mostly rural voters, but polls suggest it is a close race.
About 100 protesters chanting "Vote for Change" rallied nearby.
"I think it's an indication of how desperate the Republicans have gotten to try to hang onto a seat that just a year ago was considered a slam dunk for the Republicans," said Pam duPre, executive director of the Washoe County Democratic Party.
ahahahahahahhaha
