West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: M Dogg™ on June 11, 2004, 09:57:41 AM
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Thursday, Jun 10, 2004, 5:59 pm EST
Agence France-Presse
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SAVANNAH, Georgia, June 9 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush staged a show of support for his Iraq policy and Middle East reforms at the G8 summit, but his reelection bid looked vulnerable Thursday, five months before the vote.
"We understand that the Iraqi people need help to defend themselves, to rebuild their country and, most importantly, to hold elections," he said during a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac, a staunch opponent of the war.
But the violent aftermath of the March 2003 invasion continues to be a drag on Bush`s hopes of winning a second term in the November 2 elections in the face of a tough challenge from Democratic Senator John Kerry.
The Times found that Kerry has opened a seven-point lead, 51 percent to 44 percent, in a hypothetical national contest, and that 55 percent of respondents disapproved of the way the president was handling Iraq.
Bush received a 51 percent overall approval rating -- one point above the level considered crucial for an incumbent seeking another term -- but 56 percent of respondents felt the United States needed to change course.
And more voters trusted Kerry than Bush to improve the economy, while the president enjoyed a wide lead on which candidate would do better in the war on terrorism.
The United States has used the G8 summit, Bush`s recent trips to Italy and France, the D-Day commemoration of transAtlantic alliance and sacrifice, to make the case to a skeptical world that it is a good global citizen.
And the memorial services for former president Ronald Reagan, the iconic former leader of Bush`s Republican party, have led Bush to claim his mantle -- even though the saturation media coverage has drowned out news from the G8.
At the posh Sea Island resort off Georgia`s coast, Bush delighted in a unanimous UN resolution endorsing his latest plan for Iraq, and a warm first-ever meeting with its interim president, Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar.
Facing Kerry`s criticisms that he has waged a unilateral foreign policy and alienated US allies, Bush emphasized international partnerships on everything from the fight against HIV/AIDS to curbing the spread of unconventional arms.
Bush appealed for assistance on Iraq from leaders attending the annual summit of major wealthy industrialized nations plus Russia, but made no concrete progress on Iraqi debt reduction or getting more countries to send troops to share the burden borne there mostly by the 140,000 US troops.
That did not stop the White House from claiming, in a press release about Bush`s "Accomplishments at the G8," that the group had pledged "united support for the Iraqi people and the new Iraqi Interim Government."
Bush also won G8 approval for a watered-down version of his plan to spread reforms throughout the Middle East, while the summit leaders also called for the diplomatic `quartet` hoping to forge peace there to return to the region this month to revive moribund talks.
But his call for NATO to expand its role in Iraq met with stiff resistance from Chirac, who said Wednesday: "I do not think that it is NATO`s job to intervene in Iraq."
The two leaders discussed the subject again on Thursday but reported no agreement. They are expected to confront the issue again when the alliance holds its annual summit, set for June 28-29 in Istanbul.
"We talked about Iraq. We had our differences in the past, but we`re friends and friends are able to discuss the future. And our hope is for peace and freedom around the world," said Bush, who fidgeted throughout the exchange.
Chirac did not specifically mention Iraq, though he took pains to praise the food and the US-hosted summit.
"He particularly liked the cheeseburger he had yesterday," Bush quipped.
"It was excellent," said Chirac.
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Bush, Kerry, I don't see much difference, but it shouldn't have taken the American people this long to see that the Iraq war was an unjust war.
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Yeah! We shouldn't worry about the justification of our cease-fire agreement, signed by Saddam, but never upheld. Bah, it's old news. We're just trying to kill Muslims. That's why we're constantly bombing palestine. Oh, wait, we're not bombing palestine. I wonder why? It seems the logical way to kill muslims would be to bomb palestine. Oh well, I'm sure I'll understand the conspiracy soon enough, if I just keep pounding this square peg into this round hole.
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O.K., this should show you what yo get when you read liberal newspapers. The survey has been disowned, because when they did the poll, they surveyed 38 percent democrats, and 25 percent republicans, with the rest being independents. It's been called an 'unheard of' margain, 38 to 25 percent? Come on. That's 13 percent, and Kerry's only listed as winning by 7?
It'll come down to November, of course, but I personally think Kerry's gonna get his ass whooped. LARGE margain of Victory for Bush.
There's gonna be problems in Florida, though... they bought new touchscreen voting booths, to fix the problems with the old hanging chad variety voting tickets... These new touchscreens ALREADY have a software error, though, that they say is going to make potential recounts impossible; when you go in the booth, to vote, Bush's button always appears on the Right side of the screen, but Kerry's name keeps changing positions....