The U.N. factor
On Monday, El Baradei, who heads the U.N.'s nuclear weapons control
agency, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), will be given
the forum of the U.N.'s General Assembly to present his annual report.
El Baradei is likely to make comments about U.S. responsibility for
the missing explosives the day before the election. He is also
expected to have an impromptu press conference criticizing President
Bush.
Bush’s final bid: marathon
sweep of states
According to
YahooNews/Reuters, President Bush is on a 16-hour marathon sweep
of states today: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Mexico
with his final stop in Dallas.
"I'm asking for your help, and there's no doubt in my mind, with your
help we will win Ohio again and win a great victory," Bush said as
polls showed a possible cliffhanger outcome in Tuesday's election and
the state of Ohio a key to victory in his extraordinarily tight race
with Kerry.
Bush led the Massachusetts senator by 48 percent to 47 percent in the
latest three-day Reuters/Zogby national tracking poll released on
Monday. That was well within the margin of error.
Bush’s stump speech focuses on the war on terror:
"I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes," he
said, days after a threatening videotape from Osama bin Laden
surfaced.
He hammered away at Kerry as a man who would raise taxes on all
Americans to pay for ambitious spending plans and who has been
"consistently wrong" on national security decisions for the past 20
years.
Bush said the country's future safety and prosperity were on the
ballot.
"Ultimately this election comes down to, who do you trust? who do you
trust to make the tough decisions? Who do you trust to lead this
country to a better tomorrow?" he said.
On the Iraq war, Bush said the situation was dangerous, but "think how
far that society has come since the days of torture chambers and mass
graves. There will be presidential elections in January. I believe
every soul desires to be free."
The Heinz factor
The
NY Post reports that it is not only Teresa Heinz Kerry that can
insert her foot in her mouth:
Chris Heinz, 31, displayed his mother Teresa's famous lack of
rhetorical restraint at a recent campaign event with a group of
Wharton students. Philadelphia magazine reports: "Heinz accused
Kerry's opponents - 'our enemies' - of making the race dirty. 'We
didn't start out with negative ads calling George Bush a cokehead,' he
said, before adding, 'I'll do it now.' Asked later about it, Heinz
said, 'I have no evidence. He never sold me anything.'" Heinz also
reminded writer Sasha Issenberg of Pat Buchanan by saying, "One of the
things I've noticed is the Israel lobby - the treatment of Israel as
the 51st state, sort of a swing state." Buchanan was blasted as an
anti-Semite years ago when he cited Israel's "amen corner" in
Congress.
A message from Giuliani
On September 11, our nation faced the worst attack in our history.
On that day, we had to confront reality. Our people were brave in
their response.
At the time, we believed we would be attacked many more times that day
and in the days that followed. Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of
then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said to Bernie, "Thank God
George Bush is our President." I've been saying that every day since.
We needed George Bush then; we need him now; and we need him for four
more years!
President Bush is making certain that we are combating terrorism at
the source, beyond our shores, so we can reduce the risk of having to
confront it in our streets at home.
John Kerry's record of inconsistent positions on combating terrorism
gives us no confidence he'll pursue such a determined course.
Terrorism did not start on September 11, 2001. It had been festering
for many years.
President Bush will not submit America to a "global test" from other
countries that seek to dissuade us from what is necessary for our
defense.
Under President Bush, America will lead rather than follow.
President Bush is the leader we need for the next four years because
he sees beyond today and tomorrow. He has a vision of a peaceful
Middle East and, therefore, a safer world.
And together we have a responsibility to do all we can to give
President Bush has four more years to continue winning the War on
Terror and making the world safer.
Talk to your family, your friends, your coworkers and your neighbors.
Make sure they understand the dramatic contrast between the President
Bush and Senator Kerry.
And make sure your fellow Americans understand the power of their vote
on November 2nd--and proudly tell them that, like me, you'll be voting
for George W. Bush for four more years!
Sincerely, Rudy Giuliani
Cheney nails Kerry on Bin Laden poll
The Associated Press covers Vice President Dick Cheney’s reaction to a
poll taken by Camp Kerry regarding the recently released Osama Bin
Laden tape. Cheney expressed amazement that Kerry’s first reaction was
to take a poll.
"The thing that I find amazing about it is that John Kerry's first
response was to go conduct a poll," Cheney told supporters in Iowa.
"He went into the field ... to find out what he should say about this
tape of Osama bin Laden."
"It's as though he doesn't know what he believes until he has to go
and check the polls, his finger in the air, to see which way the wind
is blowing and then he'll make a decision," said the vice president,
who offered no evidence to back up his claim. "George Bush doesn't
need a poll to know what he believes, especially about Osama bin
Laden."
A spokesman for Kerry's campaign did not deny polling on the bin
Laden videotape, but suggested President Bush has done so. Bush's
campaign strategist denied asking any poll questions about the al-Qaida
terrorist.
Bin Laden tape: no impact on election
The
NY Post is reporting on a new PEW poll that show no impact on
voters regarding the Bin Laden tape:
Terror thug Osama bin Laden's deranged bid to meddle in America's
presidential race has fallen flat on its face, according to new polls
last night.
The Pew Research Center said bin Laden's latest videotape, aired last
Friday, had no impact on its nationwide poll of likely voters
conducted Wednesday through Saturday, which gave Bush a lead of 48
percent to Kerry's 45 percent.
"Interviews conducted after the tape was released on Oct. 29 generally
resembled the polling conducted on the two previous days," the Pew
Center said.
A similar result was found by the daily Rasmussen tracking poll, which
said the videotape "has had no measurable impact on the race."
An NBC/Wall Street Journal survey last night revealed that a big
majority — 62 percent — said the bin Laden video would have no effect
on their vote tomorrow.
Among key independent voters, three out of four said they would not be
swayed by bin Laden's rant against Bush and threats of more attacks,
NBC found.
The poll showed a slight plus for Bush — 24 percent of those
questioned said the videotape made them more likely to back the
president, although that was countered somewhat by the 12 percent who
said it caused them to tilt pro-Kerry.
Bush last night vowed that bin Laden "is not going to intimidate or
decide this election" in an interview with NBC anchor Tom Brokaw.
A message from Tommy Franks:
The decision we make tomorrow will have a greater impact on the
security of our country than any presidential election in my memory.
America is at war on a scale unmatched in scope and importance since
World War II. The threat today isn't monolithic like Hitler's Germany
or Hirohito's Japan -- or bin Laden's al Qaeda of the '90s. But it's
just as deadly, with diverse cells in 60 countries, linked by ideology
and hatred. The war is global, complex and lethal, and the fundamental
choice we must make is whether we fight that war offensively, by
pursing the terrorists relentlessly around the world, or defensively,
by waiting for them to strike again on American soil. There's no third
choice. We cannot play for a tie. America did not create terrorism,
terrorists did. And now we must wage war until we win -- no half
measures, no equivocation, no "global test."
John Kerry recently suggested that he'd be satisfied if terrorism were
rolled back to the point where it was a "nuisance." Terrorism was
never merely a nuisance. Terrorists have been killing Americans for
more than two decades. The problem is that we chose to do something
about it only in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The bombing of
the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983; the first World Trade Center
attack in 1993; the killing of our airmen at Khobar Towers in 1996;
the bombings of our embassies in East
Africa in 1998; and the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 -- these were
not a "nuisance." They were deadly acts of war. The president of the
United States must recognize the difference.
I know from firsthand experience that George W. Bush understands this
reality. As commander of the Allied Forces in the Middle East, I
worked with him as we laid out a strategy and reviewed operations. I
came away from every meeting, every conversation, impressed by his
consistency, his honesty, and his character. He does not hesitate, but
neither does he rush to judgment. His decisions are based on the best
information available. He respects the military and trusts the
judgments of our serving military
leaders. At each step of planning, he asked me directly whether I had
the resources I needed to accomplish each mission. Yet his desire for
thoroughness never led to wavering. I knew I could count on him to
have the steadiness and patience to see the mission through -- and so
did my subordinate commanders.
President Bush's leadership has come under attack by Sen. Kerry, who
accuses the president of "incompetence" in pursuing the war on terror.
With the release of the latest Osama bin Laden tape, Sen. Kerry has
once again attempted to capitalize on Americans' most urgent security
concerns. The
notion that we "outsourced" our mission at Tora Bora is completely
wrong. The Afghan forces at Tora Bora were working in concert with the
best fighting forces America has to offer. In addition, the Afghan
troops had a long history of opposing the Taliban and fighting for
freedom in their own country.
This past week we also saw Sen. Kerry pounce on news stories about the
Al Qaqaa facility in Iraq. Those stories first said 380 tons of high
explosives were missing, presumed taken after our soldiers were on the
scene. Now it turns out the story is more complicated. We don't know
how many munitions were stored there when the war began. And we don't
know when the munitions that are gone were taken. What we do know is
that our forces have seized or destroyed more than 400,000 tons of
munitions and explosives -- weapons that Saddam Hussein controlled. If
Sen. Kerry's view had prevailed, we wouldn't be arguing about 380 tons
of munitions; Saddam would still be in control of all 400,000 -- and
potentially much more.
We still need to gather more information about the missing munitions.
And, true to form, President Bush will gather the facts and respond
appropriately. I respect his thoughtfulness, and his willingness to
work with our generals to develop strategy -- strategy based on
analysis and experience, not media headlines. All due respect to the
media, that's not the way to win a war.
I don't know Sen. Kerry's plan for victory. But I do know that his
criticism of the military conduct of our global war on terrorism
disrespects our troops. I also know that he cannot lead troops to
victory in a war when he's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't
support the cause. And he cannot attract more international support
for this cause when he denigrates the allies who are helping us.
President Bush understands that destroying terrorism requires a
consistent, committed effort on a global scale. And he knows we need
the help of other nations committed to freedom. Since Sept. 11, 2001,
he has built the largest coalition in history. And the mission
determined the coalition; the coalition did not determine the mission.
With the help of these allies, we have made remarkable progress in the
last three years: 50 million people are free, two regimes that
sponsored terror are gone, and America is safer. But
much remains to be done. As voters consider their choice, they must
think about how America will continue to confront challenges to our
freedom. Winning the war against terrorism demands responsible,
unwavering leadership. George W. Bush is a leader.
Gen. Franks, until recently director of Central Command, is author
of
"American Soldier" (Regan, 2004) and a member of Veterans for Bush.
Kerry: less than honorable Navy
discharge!
On election eve, the startling proof that many suspicioned has come to
light: John Kerry did NOT receive an honorable discharge from the U.S.
Navy. According to
WorldNetDaily, a former Navy Secretary is requesting release his
files:
A former secretary of the Navy is urging Sen. John Kerry to open up
his personnel files to resolve the question of whether the Democratic
presidential nominee received a less-than-honorable discharge from the
Navy.
William Middendorf, the Navy chief from 1974 to 1977, told
WorldNetDaily today that Kerry, who began inactive reserve status in
1972, would have been issued a document three years later either for a
reserve reaffiliation or a separation discharge.
An "honorable discharge" from 1978 appears on the Kerry campaign's
website, but a Navy lawyer who served under Middendorf believes that
document is a substitute for one that would have been issued in 1975.
However, no such document can be found among the records Kerry has
made available.
"I should think it would be in his interest to open up the files, to
clear up any misunderstanding," said Middendorf, who later served as
ambassador to the Netherlands, European Union and Organization of
American States.
Middendorf said he cannot comment specifically on any action taken on
Kerry, because he is barred, under the 1974 Privacy Act, from
discussing personnel matters.
However, he enthusiastically vouches for the character of Mark
Sullivan, who formed the basis for a
story today in the New York Sun by Thomas Lipscomb, the
first to report discrepancies in Kerry's discharge record.
Sullivan, who served in the secretary of the Navy's office in the
Judge Advocate General Corps Reserve between 1975 and 1977, says the
"honorable discharge" on the Kerry website appears to be a Carter
administration substitute for an original action expunged from Kerry's
record, Lipscomb reported.
Asked by WorldNetDaily to address Sullivan's findings, Middendorf
cited the Privacy Act.
"I shouldn't comment other than to say I respect Mark Sullivan as one
of the finest Navy officers we had."
The Kerry campaign has insisted that all of the senator's Navy records
have been released, with the exception of medical papers, but the
Washington Post and others have reported at least 100 pages are still
under wraps. Kerry would need to file a Standard Form 180 to grant
permission for full release of his records.
If Kerry received something other than an honorable discharge, it
likely was related to his anti-war activities while a member of the
Navy reserve, says Jerome Corsi, a specialist on the anti-war movement
and co-author of best-seller "Unfit for Command."
"We've been arguing that Kerry's cooperation with the enemy throughout
the Vietnam War was widely known by the intelligence community," Corsi
told WND.
Corsi believes this is the reason the discharge is not on the campaign
website.
"If he didn't have reason to hide anything, he would have released
it," Corsi said.
As
WorldNetDaily reported last week, two newly unearthed
documents captured by U.S. troops during the Vietnam War provide the
first concrete evidence that Hanoi's communist regime directing
Kerry's group Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
A
third document provides more context, showing that Kerry's
1971 press conference calling on President Nixon to accept the
seven-point plan presented by Viet Cong leader Madame Binh aligned
with Hanoi's carefully crafted agenda.
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