|
George W. Bush |
John F. Kerry |
| ...on going into Iraq |
...on going into Iraq |
| "Because we achieved such a rapid victory, more
of the Saddam loyalists were around. I mean, we thought we'd whip more of
them going in." |
"They avoided even the advice of their own
general. General Shinsheki, the Army Chief of Staff, said you're going to
need several hundred thousand troops. Instead of listening to him, they
retired him." |
| ...on allies in Iraq |
...on allies in Iraq |
| "My opponent says we didn't have any allies in
this war. What's he say to Tony Blair? What's he say to Alexander
Kwasniewski of Poland? You can't expect to build and alliance when you
denigrate the contributions of those who are serving side by side with
American troops in Iraq." |
"The Arab countries have a stake in not having a
civil war. The European countries have a stake in not having total
disorder on their doorstep. But this president hasn't even held the kind of
statesman-like summits that pull people together and get them to invest in
those states. In fact he's done the opposite. He pushed them away" |
| ...on getting out of Iraq |
...on getting out of Iraq |
| "We'll never succeed in Iraq if the Iraqi
citizens do not want to take matters into their own hands to protect
themselves. I believe they want to." |
"I believe our troops need other allies helping.
I'm going to hold a summit. I will bring fresh credibility, a new start, and
we will get the job done right." |
| ...on making America safer |
...on making America safer |
| "We pursued Al Qaida wherever Al Qaida tries to
hide. 75% of known Al Qaida leaders have been brought to justice. The rest
of them know we're after them. We've upheld the doctrine that said if you
harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist." |
"I have a better plan for homeland security. I
have a better plan to be able to fight the war on terror by strengthening
our military, strengthening our intelligence, by going after the financing
more authoritatively, by doing what we need to do to rebuild the alliances,
by reaching out to the Muslim world, which the president has almost not
done, and beginning to isolate the radical Islamic Muslims, not have them
isolate the U.S." |
| ...on North Korea |
...on North Korea |
| "I decided that a better way to approach the
issue was to get other nations involved, just besides us. And in Crawford,
Texas, Jiang Zemin and I agreed that the nuclear weapons free peninsula,
Korean Peninsula, was in his interest and our interest and the world's
interest. As well, we included South Korea, Japan and Russia. So now there
are five voices speaking to Kim Jong Il, not just one. And so if Kim Jong Il
decides again to not honor an agreement, he's not only doing injustice to
America, he'd be doing injustice to China, as well." |
"For two years, the president didn't even engage
with North Korea, did nothing at all, while it was growing more dangerous."
"We were safer before President Bush came to office. Now they have the bombs
and we're less safe."
"I want bilateral talks which put all of the issues, from the armistice
of 1952, the economic issues, the human rights issues, the artillery
disposal issues, the DMZ issues and the nuclear issues on the table." |
| ...on Iran |
...on Iran |
| "On Iran, I hope we can do the same thing (as in
North Korea), continue to work with the world to convince the Iranian
mullahs to abandon their nuclear programs. We worked very closely with the
foreign ministers of France, Germany and Great Britain, who have been the
folks delivering the message to the mullahs that if you expect to be a part
of the world of nations, get rid of your nuclear programs." "I hope we can
do it. And we've got a good strategy" |
" I believe we could have done better. I think
the U.S. should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel,
test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful
purposes. If they weren't willing to work a deal, then we could have put
sanctions together. The president did nothing."" |
| ...on health care reform |
...on health care reform |
| "One of the reasons I'm such a strong believer
in legal reform is so that people aren't afraid of producing a product that
is necessary for the health of our citizens and then end up getting sued in
a court of law." |
"I have a plan to cover all Americans. We're
going to make it affordable and accessible. We're going to let everybody buy
into the same health-care plan senators and congressmen give themselves." |
| ...on jobs |
...on jobs |
| "I've got polices to continue to grow our
economy and create the jobs of the 21st century. " "We've expanded trade
adjustment assistance. We want to help pay for you to gain the skills
necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century." |
"The fact is that there have been markets shut
to us that we haven't stood up and fought for. I'm going to fight for a fair
trade playing field for the American worker. And I will fight for the
American worker just as hard as I fight for my own job. That's what the
American worker wants. And if we do that, we can have an impact." |
| ...on homosexuality |
...on homosexuality |
| "I do know that we have a choice to make in
America and that is to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity.
It's important that we do that. And I also know in a free society people,
consenting adults can live the way they want to live and that's to be
honored. But as we respect someone's rights, and as we profess tolerance, we
shouldn't change or have to change our views on the sanctity of marriage" |
"I believe marriage is between a man and a
woman. But I also believe that because we are the U.S.A, we're a country
with a great, unbelievable constitution, with rights that we afford people,
that you can't discriminate in the workplace. You can't discriminate in the
rights that you afford people." |
| ...on abortion |
...on abortion |
| "I think its important to promote the culture of
life. I think a hospitable society is a society where every being counts and
every person matters. I believe the ideal world is one in which every child
is protected in law and welcomed to life." |
"I believe that I can't legislate of transfer to
another American citizen my article of faith" "I believe that choice is a
woman's choice. It's between a woman, God, and her doctor. And that's why I
support that. Now, I will not allow somebody to come in and change Roe vs.
Wade." |
| ...on Social Security |
...on Social Security |
| "There is a problem for our youngsters, a real
problem. And if we don't act today, the problem will be valued in the
trillions. And so I think we need to think differently. We'll honor our
commitment to our seniors. But for our children and our grandchildren, we
need a different strategy." "I believe that younger workers ought to
be allowed to take some of their own money and put it in a personal savings
account, because I understand that they need to get better rates of return
than the rates of return being given by the social security trust." |
"We're going to protect Social Security. I will
not privatize it. I will not cut the benefits. And we're going to be
fiscally responsible. And we will take care of Social Security." "Now, if
later on after a period of time we find that Social Security is in trouble,
we'll pull together the top experts of the country, We'll do exactly what we
did in the 1990s. And we'll make whatever adjustment is necessary." |