COLMAR, Pa. (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday accused Democrat John Kerry and his surrogates of instigating a new attack on President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service because Kerry is dropping in opinion polls.
Bush also accused Kerry of refusing to reveal the true impact of his spending promises and said the Democratic presidential nominee would have to increase taxes broadly to pay for what the Bush campaign has calculated as $2 trillion in new spending.
"America will reject the hidden Kerry tax plan," Bush told supporters.
After weeks of Republican criticism of Kerry's decorated war service in Vietnam, Democrats tried to turn the tables on Wednesday with a barrage of questions about whether Bush fulfilled his military obligations in the Texas Air National Guard in the early 1970s.
The charges included documents that indicated Bush did not meet performance standards and received favorable treatment. A group called Texans for Truth launched a new ad in which a lieutenant colonel in the Alabama Air National Guard questions whether Bush ever performed his service during a stint in Alabama.
"I think you absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates on the president," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "The polls show Senator Kerry falling behind and it's the same old recycled attacks that we've seen every time the president has come up for election."
Makes you wonder if the WH knew they were forgeries before releasing these statements. Heh. |