Moveon e-petition to Bush asking that he agree to debate Kerry

[papau]

http://www.moveon.org/pac/news/debate.html

Move suggests an answer to Tom Cole, a Republican Congressman in Oklahoma, and his "If George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election," and (.1) a vote against Bush was like a vote for Adolf Hitler, as well as the Bush/Cheney ads by others (?) that according to nonpartisan monitors (2) seriously misled viewers about Kerry's record - namely Bush agrees to debate Kerry

Senator Kerry asked Bush to engage in a series of monthly debates on the country's future -- debates on the real substance of the issues that face us. It's a simple proposal that could elevate the campaign and truly educate the country about the positions and records of each candidate. But President Bush's campaign brushed off the suggestion with a snide remark. 3

So join A petition asking President Bush to debate Kerry on the future of our country at: http://www.moveon.org/pac/news/debate.html

The negative tenor of the campaign so far even has Republicans worried. Senator John McCain reprimanded the President for the negative campaign, saying, "Already, I'm hearing from people here that are saying, 'Look, I'm not even going to vote if this is the way the campaign's going to be conducted.'"4

Here's a summary of some of the attacks that have unfolded just in the first two weeks.

* In the first negative ad of the general election, President Bush claimed that Kerry would raise taxes by $900 billion. The figure turned out to be entirely made up -- John Kerry promised to lower taxes on working families, not raise them. 5

* President Bush personally accused Kerry of attempting to "gut" the intelligence budget in a "deeply irresponsible" move: Yet, as independent media monitor factcheck.org pointed out, "the proposal Bush criticized would have amounted to a reduction of roughly 1%. And senior congressional Republicans supported a cut two-thirds as large at the time." 6

* Vice President Cheney told reporters that he believed Kerry does not have "an impressive record for someone who aspires to be commander in chief in this time of testing for our country." 7

By any standard, the campaign is already one of the most negative in political history. But by engaging in a forward-looking debate, President Bush could turn things around. It's much easier to make misleading claims in TV ads than to someone's face, and both Kerry and Bush would have hours -- not seconds -- to make their case to the public.

Footnotes:

1. "Inside Politics," Washington Times, 3/4/04
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040304-111104-3096r.htm

2. "Bush Strains Facts Re: Kerry's Plan To Cut Intelligence Funding in '90's," FactCheck.org, 3/15/04
http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=153

3. "Kerry Suggests Monthly Debates With President; Bush Campaign Rejects the Idea," Washington Post, 3/13/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56468-2004Mar13.html

4. "McCain, Lieberman on 'Fox News Sunday'," Foxnews.com, 3/21/04
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,114763,00.html

5. "George Bush's Credibility Problem: The Truth Behind His New Attack Ad," JohnKerry.com, 3/12/04
http://blog.johnkerry.com/dbunker/archives/001352.html#001352

6. See 2, above.

7. "Cheney calls Kerry weak on defense," CNN.com, 3/18/04


http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/cheney.reut/
http://www.moveon.org/pac/news/debate.html


http://labridge.com/zimark/mon1701_censure/censure.mpg
www.bushin30seconds.org
http://www.bushin30seconds.org/view/04_small.shtml