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Binny Helped Elect Bush, Book sez
Page 15 in the .pdf version; the front-page link didnt seem to workPresident Bush now says his 2004 victory over Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who is mulling a comeback in 2008, was inadvertently aided by al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. And Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, who steadfastly refused to defend Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth when he ran Bushs campaign, now calls them heroes who played a crucial role in vanquishing Kerry. For the first time, the president says he was helped by bin Laden, who put out a videotaped diatribe against Bush the Friday before the 2004 election. Bush said there were enormous amounts of discussion inside his campaign about the 15-minute tape, which he called an interesting entry by our enemy into the presidential race. What does it mean? Is it going to help? Is it going to hurt? he said in an exclusive interview for the new book Strategery. Anything that drops in at the end of a campaign that is not already decided creates all kinds of anxieties, because youre not sure of the effect. I thought it was going to help, he decided. I thought it would help remind people that if bin Laden doesnt want Bush to be the president, something must be right with Bush. Mehlman agreed, citing polls that show Americans trust Republicans more than Democrats on matters of national security. It reminded people of the stakes, he said in an interview for Strategery. It reinforced an issue on which Bush had a big lead over Kerry. Even the mainstream media fretted about the tapes potential to help Bush. Former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite told CNN that White House strategist Karl Rove probably set up bin Laden to this thing.  The bin Laden tape was not the only curveball thrown at Bush in the closing days of the campaign. The New York Times published a story faulting the administration for failing to safeguard a cache of weapons in Iraq that went missing around the time of the U.S. invasion more than 18 months earlier. Some Republicans regarded the story as a political stink bomb, much like the revelation just before the 2000 election that Bush had once been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Bush said the weapons flap was different from the DUI story, which defined me personally as opposed to my policies. And theres a difference. The Times quoted Kerry accusing the president of incredible incompetence and calling the missing explosives one of the great blunders of Iraq. Bush responded by turning Kerrys newfound concern over weapons against him. After repeatedly calling Iraq the wrong war, and a diversion, Senator Kerry this week seemed shocked to learn that Iraq was a dangerous place, full of dangerous weapons, Bush deadpanned, drawing laughter from an audience in Pennsylvania. Mehlman was similarly incredulous that Kerry would deviate from his long-held position that Bush had exaggerated the weapons threat in Iraq. I was stunned that he brought it up, the campaign manager said. He was essentially saying it was wrong to remove Saddam Hussein, even though weve just discovered all these dangerous weapons in the country. Politics is like a chess game, he added. If you dont think a few moves ahead, then you always end up like Homer Simpson going, Doh! Even more helpful to the Bush campaign was the flap over Kerrys Vietnam service. For the first time, Mehlman is now defending the Swift Boat veterans, who questioned Kerrys Vietnam record and savaged his claim that U.S. soldiers were war criminals. These are people who are incredible, Mehlman said of the Swifties. You may disagree with what theyre saying. But these are heroes. These are people that suffered in prison camps for America. And to respond and say, These are bums who dont have a right to speak. But other veterans who agree with us do, is responding with a hammer and not a scalpel, he added. The Kerry campaign seemed unable to use a scalpel. Instead, they had to use a hammer for everything. After the election, Rove and other Bush officials initially downplayed any role the Swift Boat Veterans might have played in the campaign. But now there is widespread acknowledgment in the White House that the veterans were pivotal in vanquishing Kerry. I felt they had a very big impact, Mehlman said. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said in an interview that the Swift Boat Veterans had an impact to Kerrys detriment. I think they tended to put him on the defensive. But that impact would not have been possible had Kerry not spent so much time emphasizing his Vietnam record, Mehlman said. I think the mistake that Kerry made was making the entire essence of his campaign that he served in Vietnam, he said. Ultimately, it wasnt that relevant of an issue. Besides, by focusing on Vietnam, Kerry invited criticism of his 1971 congressional testimony that fellow Vietnam veterans were war criminals, Mehlman said. No ones taking away his service, he emphasized. The question was his judgment when he came back. Ultimately, Kerrys emphasis on Vietnam proved self-defeating. It reinforced something about him, Mehlman said. By the end of the campaign, from a character perspective, he came across as a guy who is just ambition over everything. He contrasted Kerry unfavorably with former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas, who was severely wounded in World War II, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Dole didnt talk about his service almost ever, Mehlman said. McCain, when he talks about it, talks about it in a way where its very clear it affects him very deeply. Bush was asked in the Oval Office interview whether Kerry had blundered by making Vietnam the cornerstone of his campaign. I dont know if youd call it blunder, he replied. It didnt work. EXCLUSIVE SERIES » Bill Sammon makes his debut in The Examiner as senior White House correspondent this week. Sammon is a veteran journalist, FOX News analyst and author of three previous New York Times best-sellers on the presidency. TOMORROW PART THREE » How the mainstream media helped the Bush campaign Whoa! I can't wait for that! Posted by: Bobby 2006-02-28 |
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