DU this AOL poll....NOW!! Dems are ahead! [View All]

[pbartch]

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/bush-defends-national-security-record/20060905085109990003

Do you think the nation is safer now than it was before 9/11?
No 63%
Yes 31%
Not sure 6%
Total Votes: 16,706
Note on Poll Results

Which party do you trust more on national security?
Democrats 66%
Republicans 34%
Total Votes: 16,354
Note on Poll Results

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WASHINGTON (Sept. 5) -- President Bush used terrorists' own words Tuesday to battle complacency among Americans about the threat of future attack, defending his record as the fall campaign season kicks into high gear.

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The White House also rejected Democrats' calls for replacing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "It's not going to happen," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said. "Creating Don Rumsfeld as a bogeyman may make for good politics but would make for very lousy strategy at this time."

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Democrats released their own study, saying it shows the country is less secure today than before Bush took office. Citing research done by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, the report said the number of al-Qaida members has jumped from 20,000 in 2001 to 50,000 today. It also charged that average weekly attacks in Iraq have jumped from almost 200 in spring 2004 to more than 600 this year, using numbers provided by the liberal-oriented Brookings Institution think tank.

"All the speeches in the world won't change what's going on in Iraq," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

"The truth is the president's policies have not worked and have not made us safer," said Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del.

Rep. John Murtha, a hawkish Democrat who voted in favor of the war but now favors withdrawing troops, said the administration has so badly botched the war that a draft might be necessary.