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Iraq May Be Liability for Bush
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Race
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| Contributor | Gerald Farinas |
| Last Edited | Gerald Farinas May 11, 2004 04:08pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | News Service - Associated Press |
| News Date | Tuesday, May 11, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Iraq May Be Liability for Bush
The Honolulu Advertiser
Once his greatest political asset, President Bush's leadership of the war against terror is becoming a potential liability. False prewar claims about Saddam Hussein's arsenal, mounting U.S. casualties and now the sickening images of prisoner abuse in Iraq threaten to turn Americans against the war - and against the self-professed "war president." If the bad news continues through Election Day and Democratic rival John Kerry convinces voters he's a safe alternative - two big ifs - Bush may become an ex-war president, experts say.
With newspapers and television screens filled with horrific pictures of prisoner abuse, Bush's approval rating is at the lowest of his presidency. Most voters are disappointed with the way things are going in the country. And, for the first time, Americans are divided on whether Bush or Kerry would better handle Iraq. All bad signs for the commander in chief.
Joe Lockhart, press secretary during the Clinton administration, said Kerry should link Iraq to the overall war on terrorism. Democrats have long rejected the connection, but Lockhart says it now works to their advantage because Iraq is a mess. "Kerry's not the greatest candidate to come along, but I don't think people look at him and say, 'He scares me and doesn't have what it takes,'" the Democrat said. "If that's true, the election will be all about Bush's performance, and he will win on his performance or lose on his performance - and what happens in the country." How much worse can Iraq get? Will almost 900,000 new jobs this year trump Bush's war woes? "Right now, he'd lose," Lockhart said of Bush. "But a lot can happen between now and the election." |
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