Kerry and Edwards Say Bush's Actions Have Been a Disaster

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KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Kerry and Edwards Say Bush's Actions Have Been a Disaster
The ex-running mates, speaking separately, say the president has failed to address poverty.

By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dems20sep20,1,2681558.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

WASHINGTON — Both members of the 2004 Democratic presidential ticket sharply criticized President Bush in dueling speeches Monday that highlighted the partisan conflict over Hurricane Katrina and early maneuvering for the 2008 White House race.


The crisis caused by the hurricane, Kerry said, exposed a "pattern of incompetence and negligence" in the Bush administration, as well as "a truly systemic effort to distort and disable the people's government, and devote it to the interests of the privileged and the powerful."

At a liberal think tank in Washington, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) offered more policy proposals in a speech focused on combating poverty. Echoing former President Clinton's famous campaign formulation about welfare, Kerry's 2004 running mate urged "a serious, long-term effort to end poverty as we know it."
"In a sense, these are two guys who have never stopped running; they have never gotten out of campaign mode," said Democratic consultant Jim Jordan, who served as Kerry's campaign manager early in the 2004 race.

Kerry and Edwards each began their speeches with a similar argument, contending that the devastation in New Orleans revealed social and governmental problems that the administration had not sufficiently addressed. But from there, they moved in different directions.

[blm]

1. The mediawhores have to spin their planned speeches into "just politics"

so the public doesn't need to hear the substance of their speeches.

The notsosubtle way they circle the wagons for Buah.