http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/17/politics/campaign/17CAMP.html?hpMarch 17, 2004
Bush's Campaign Emphasizes Role of Leader in War
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and ADAM NAGOURNEY
WASHINGTON, March 16 — A year after ordering the invasion of Iraq, President Bush is moving the war to the forefront of his re-election effort with a weeklong barrage of speeches, an orchestrated set of interviews with senior Pentagon officials and a new television advertisement questioning Senator John Kerry's support of the troops.
Mr. Bush's advisers said Tuesday that the president intended to press his case that the world was safer with Saddam Hussein out of power, and to use the first anniversary, on Friday, of the war's start to draw sharp contrasts with Mr. Kerry over foreign policy and leadership.
The moves were part of what aides described as a new chapter in the political campaign against Mr. Kerry. But they came as the bombings in Spain stirred more criticism of Mr. Bush's Iraq policy, underlining the extent to which the campaign had become subject to the unpredictability of overseas events, and pointing up the complications Mr. Bush faces in trying to balance the demands of the presidency with a re-election effort. <snip>
At a campaign appearance in West Virginia, Mr. Kerry shot back at Mr. Bush, caustically challenging his credibility on an array of fronts.
"Nothing is more important than telling the American people the truth about the economy, health care, and war and peace," Mr. Kerry told veterans on Tuesday, the day he won the Illinois primary. "This administration has yet to level with the American people."<snip>
Mr. Kerry added, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it," referring to an amendment he supported that would have rescinded some tax cuts to finance the war.<snip>
The Pentagon threw open its doors to local radio talk show hosts on Tuesday and made available to them Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, generals and other military and civilian officials. <snip>