- President Bush on Saturday described John Kerry's tour
of duty in Vietnam as more heroic than his own service in the Air National
Guard, saying his Democratic rival had been "in harm's way."
-
- But the president told NBC's "Today Show" that
both sides should drop the debate over their wartime service, saying, "I
think that we ought to move beyond the past. ... The real question is who
best to lead us forward."
-
- Asked if he believed that he and Kerry "served on
the same level of heroism," Bush replied, "No, I don't. I think
him going to Vietnam was more heroic than my flying fighter jets. He was
in harm's way and I wasn't."
-
- Excerpts of the interview, conducted on Saturday for
broadcast on Monday, were released by NBC.
-
- The president continued to defend his own service in
the Air National Guard, saying, "On the other hand, I served my country.
Had my unit been called up, I would have gone."
-
- Kerry's war record in Vietnam has dominated the 2004
presidential campaign in recent weeks, after advertisements by a group
called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth accused him of lying about the events
that led to his decoration for bravery.
-
- The White House on Thursday said it would file a lawsuit
to try to force the Federal Election Commission to crack down on the ads.
Bush says he does not believe Kerry lied about his record, but he has refused
to condemn the ads directly.
-
- Kerry accuses the Bush campaign of colluding with the
Swift Boat Veterans on the ads, a charge the White House has denied. But
its case was hurt this past week when a top lawyer for the Bush campaign,
Benjamin Ginsberg, resigned after disclosing he was providing legal advice
to the veteran's group.
-
- Federal election rules bar organizations that take unrestricted
donations from coordinating their activities with campaigns or political
parties.
-
- The issue has also caused tension with Republican Sen.
John McCain, another Vietnam veteran and influential lawmaker who has urged
Bush to condemn the ads and get them halted.
-
- McCain is backing Bush for the White House, but the Arizona
senator has defended his friend Kerry and threatened to raise the issue
with Bush when they campaign in Iowa next week.
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- http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_5140.shtml
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