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Bush and Kerry Clash on Iraq Policy as Labor Day Campaign Heats Up

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry spent Labor Day campaigning, with the two candidates sharply disagreeing on the war in Iraq. Mr. Bush defended the war as "right for America then and it's right for America now," while Mr. Kerry condemned it as "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." Mr. Kerry also set a goal of bringing all American troops home within four years, a timeline that Mr. Bush has said is unwise.

Key Takeaways:

  • The presidential candidates clashed repeatedly on Labor Day over their approaches to the war in Iraq, with Mr. Bush defending the war and Mr. Kerry condemning it.
  • Mr. Kerry set a goal of bringing all American troops home within four years, a timeline that Mr. Bush has said is unwise.
  • The two candidates also disagreed on the economic cost of the war, with Mr. Kerry saying that it has cost over $200 billion and Mr. Bush not discussing the issue.
  • Mr. Kerry criticized Mr. Bush's job creation record, saying that it was the worst since Herbert Hoover's, and accusing him of rewarding Halliburton and big companies at the expense of American workers.
  • Ms. Kerry said that she would have done "everything differently" than Mr. Bush in Iraq, including not going to war and not maintaining bases in the country.
  • Mr. Bush responded by criticizing Mr. Kerry's lack of clarity on Iraq, saying that he couldn't make up his mind and that he was being "phoney" in his descriptions of a coalition.
  • The two candidates also traded blows on the economy, with Mr. Kerry accusing Mr. Bush of shipping jobs overseas and Mr. Bush saying that the economy was improving under his watch.

Statistics:

  • The war in Iraq has cost over $200 billion, according to Mr. Kerry.
  • The national unemployment rate has fallen to 5.4%, according to Mr. Bush.
  • The number of new jobs added in August was 144,000, according to Mr. Bush.
  • Since August 2003, 1.7 million new jobs have been added, according to Mr. Bush.
  • The average national unemployment rate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s was higher than the current rate of 5.4%, according to Mr. Bush.

Sources:

  • Associated Press
  • The New York Times
  • Doug Mills/The New York Times
  • Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
  • Caption from The New York Times

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