President Bush has a major opportunity today. He's leaving Crawford to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars' convention in Utah. When he does, he needs to leave behind the pep talks, the open-ended "things are looking better" claims and the empty rhetoric.
It's time for the President to stand and deliver.
That's why I am asking you to support an "America Demands Answers" petition to President Bush. Starting with today's VFW speech, we're going to keep the pressure on George W. Bush until he finally addresses questions that have gone unanswered for far too long.
http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/answers.php Every American deserves straight answers from the President -- and no one deserves them more than America's veterans and our military families.
When will the President get it right in Iraq?
When will he deliver to the nation and those sacrificing so much in Iraq a concrete plan for peace and victory?
Why, at this late date, is the Pentagon still struggling to get the right supplies and body armor to America's troops?
When will the President support a military large enough to face the challenges of today's world?
And when will the President stop short-changing America's veterans? When will he stop closing hospitals, cutting benefits, and making veterans wait weeks for a doctor's appointment?
Tell the President, it's time for answers. I am a veteran who is deeply concerned about the administration's lack of clarity on Iraq and lack of compassion on veterans' benefits. Join me in signing the "America Demands Answers" petition.
http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/answers.php Our goal is to announce that thousands of people from all 50 states have signed the petition before the President delivers his VFW address later today. You can help us get there.
For what the President and his Republican allies are wasting on pork barrel spending and tax giveaways, we can honor America's promise to our veterans. But, earlier this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs admitted that they were more than $1 billion short of meeting veterans' health care needs this year. Time after time, the President has opposed adequate funding for VA health care.
A President who leads a nation into war shouldn't have to be pulled kicking and screaming into keeping America's promise to our veterans and to their families.
With critical votes on the President's budget and the Defense Authorization bill scheduled for September -- and critical deadlines fast approaching in Iraq -- it's time for President Bush to speak to the American people with clarity and conviction. It's time for a plan.
There's no better time to deliver it than now. And no better place to deliver it than before an audience of those who have served and sacrificed for this great nation.
So, please, sign our "America Demands Answers" petition now. And forward this message immediately to others you know who care deeply about the need for President Bush to act.
Sincerely,
John Kerry