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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
More questions in Bush's Guard service
 |  George W. Bush is seen here in a file photo taken during the time of his service in the Texas Air National Guard. |
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 CNN's Candy Crowley on John Kerry's approach.
 CNN's John King on newly released Bush memos.
 CNN's Bill Schneider looks at past election scare tactics.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
BUSH'S QUESTIONABLE SERVICE: Democrats launched a new round of criticism yesterday aimed at President Bush's character, accusing the incumbent of skirting his National Guard service requirements during the Vietnam War and charging that such behavior was similar to Bush's ''dishonesty" in justifying the invasion of Iraq. Campaign advisers to John Kerry said he will remain publicly above the fray, sticking to criticism of Bush's leadership. But the Democratic National Committee and military veterans will take the lead in questioning the president's Guard service in the late 1960s and early '70s.
The Boston Globe: Kerry team, DNC hit Bush on Guard issue
MEMO QUESTIONS: A day after memos emerged suggesting that Bush received favorable treatment when he was in the National Guard during the Vietnam War, the son of Bush's squadron commander said he doubted the authenticity of some of the memos his father was said to have written. The White House, meanwhile, for the second day in a row dismissed renewed questions about Bush's service as "recycled" and said they were part of a "coordinated attack" by Kerry.
The New York Times: Commander's son questions memos on Bush's service
WERE THEY FAKES? Documents unearthed by CBS News that raise doubts about whether Bush fulfilled his obligations to the Texas Air National Guard include several features suggesting that they were generated by a computer or word processor rather than a Vietnam War-era typewriter, experts said yesterday.
The Washington Post: Some question authenticity of papers on Bush
BUSH'S LEAD: Bush emerged from his New York convention with a solid lead over Kerry, strengthening his position on virtually every important issue in the campaign and opening up a clear advantage on many of the personal characteristics that influence voters in presidential elections, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The Washington Post: Bush support strong after convention
THE BIG DEBATE: The Bush and Kerry campaigns are putting forward their most seasoned and formidable proxies to take part in the quadrennial face-off over establishing the particulars of the presidential and vice-presidential debates. In a measure of how critical the debates have become in the view of the campaigns, both sides have turned their attention to details like the number of debates and whether the candidates will sit or stand - details that in the past were relegated to smaller, less high-profile teams.
The New York Times: Bush support strong after convention
BUSH TALKS TAXES: Bush spelled out his economic goals for a second administration Thursday in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, promising aid to small businesses, a simplified federal tax code and tort reform to help doctors remain in their practices. Speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 supporters, Bush charged Kerry has a plan to raise taxes on all Americans, not just the wealthiest 2 percent of taxpayers the Democratic presidential candidate has targeted for tax increases.
The Morning Call: Bush visits Montco, touts tax cut
CHENEY CLEANS UP: Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that Bush is better qualified than Kerry to deal with a terrorist attack if it happens - but said America would have to face the threat of attacks no matter who is elected. In an interview with the Enquirer after a campaign event in Cincinnati, Cheney said he wanted to "clean up" the controversy surrounding his remarks at a similar event Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa. There, he told a town-hall audience that if, on Election Day, "we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again....
The Cincinnati Enquirer: Bush more qualified to fight terrorism war, Cheney says
KERRY'S TAKE: In a rousing speech in New Orleans to members of the largest African-American organization in the country -- the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. -- Kerry accused Bush of rolling back gains made by black Americans by sending jobs overseas, failing to adequately finance education, and siphoning millions of dollars from social programs to finance the "catastrophic" war in Iraq.
The Times-Picayune: In New Orleans, Kerry shifts to domestic issues
REFOCUSING: Kerry, campaigning in Des Moines on Thursday, sought to refocus the presidential campaign debate on domestic issues with a blistering indictment of the Bush administration's health-care policies. The Massachusetts senator also maintained his increasingly sharp attacks on Bush's handling of the war in Iraq by accusing him of spending $200 billion on a military debacle at the peril of domestic priorities.
The Des Moines Register: Bush's war decision 'catastrophic,' Kerry says
GORE'S ASSESSMENT: Democrats unleashed Al Gore on Pennsylvania yesterday in a wide-ranging assault against Republicans from President Bush to state politicians. The former vice president, relishing the role of party hatchet man, took the offensive in speeches in Narberth and Pittsburgh. He exhorted Democratic supporters, lavished praise on federal and state Democratic candidates, and jumped on Cheney's comments this week that America would be at greater risk of a terrorist attack if Kerry were elected president.
The Philadephia Inquirer: Gore, in Pennsylvania backing Hoeffel, blasts Bush and Specter
JENNA AND BARBARA: The twin daughters of President Bush kicked off their first Iowa campaign swing Thursday in an effort to energize young Republican voters in Iowa's three state university towns. Barbara and Jenna Bush spoke with about 100 Republican volunteers and members of GOP campus organizations at the University of Northern Iowa. Later in the day they held similar events at an Iowa City hotel and in Ames at Iowa State University.
Des Moines Register: Daughters of Bush woo young Iowa voters
HURRICANE POLITICS: For Bush, it's essential to deliver much-needed relief services in Florida, so as not to repeat 1992, when his father was seen as slow to respond to Hurricane Andrew. Bush has pledged several billion in relief money. So far, the Bush administration has received good grades from residents, while the Kerry campaign has had to keep its distance so it doesn't appear to be capitalizing on the disasters.
The Los Angeles Times: Politics off radar in battered-ground state
NADAR BOOTED FROM FLORIDA BALLOT: In a boost to John Kerry's presidential campaign, a state judge has booted Ralph Nader off the Florida ballot. The consumer crusader had secured a tenuous spot on the ballot after gaining the Reform Party's nomination last spring, but Circuit Judge Kevin Davey in Tallahassee issued a temporary order late Wednesday siding with Democrats, who contend the party of Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan is a shadow of its former self.
The Miami Herald: Judge boots Nader off Florida ballot
AD NAUSEAM: Just about everybody wants to have their say in this presidential election. From evangelical preachers who claim "God is not a Republican or a Democrat" to the anti-abortion Catholics Against Kerry, political advertising by smaller groups, and individuals in some cases, is popping up across the country. That's on top of the millions of dollars that larger, partisan groups have spent since March to splash TV and radio commercials aimed at Bush and Kerry across some 20 states in the White House race.
The Boston Globe: More smaller groups airing political ads
CARVILLE & BEGALA: The Bush campaign has questioned CNN's allowing James Carville and Paul Begala to continue as commentators despite their role as informal advisers to the Kerry campaign. "It seems highly irregular that CNN would tolerate two employees' openly working and advising and appearing on behalf of the John Kerry for President campaign," Steve Schmidt, a Bush spokesman, said Wednesday.
The New York Times: G.O.P riled by 2 CNN hosts
Compiled by Mark H. Rodeffer
