McCain Defends Kerry's Record on National Security
Ariz. Senator Calls for More Civility in Debate
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 2004; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6173-2004Mar18?language=printer
Republican Sen. John McCain yesterday defended Sen. John F. Kerry's record on national security, undercutting the Bush-Cheney campaign's latest attacks on the Democratic presidential challenger and frustrating conservatives hoping for a unified front against the Massachusetts senator.
I do not believe that he is, quote, 'weak on defense,' " McCain (Ariz.) said on NBC's "Today" show.
Asked on the CBS "Early Show" whether he agreed with Vice President Cheney's assertion that Kerry is a threat to national security, McCain said: "I don't think that. I think that John Kerry is a good and decent man. . . . I think he has different points of view on different issues, and he will have to explain his voting record. But this kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice."
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McCain Defends Kerry's Record on National Security
Ariz. Senator Calls for More Civility in Debate
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 2004; Page A01
Republican Sen. John McCain yesterday defended Sen. John F. Kerry's record on national security, undercutting the Bush-Cheney campaign's latest attacks on the Democratic presidential challenger and frustrating conservatives hoping for a unified front against the Massachusetts senator.
"I do not believe that he is, quote, 'weak on defense,' " McCain (Ariz.) said on NBC's "Today" show.
Asked on the CBS "Early Show" whether he agreed with Vice President Cheney's assertion that Kerry is a threat to national security, McCain said: "I don't think that. I think that John Kerry is a good and decent man. . . . I think he has different points of view on different issues, and he will have to explain his voting record. But this kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice."
Although McCain restated his support of Bush's reelection bid, Democrats welcomed his remarks during a week in which the Bush-Cheney campaign sharpened its attacks on Kerry's record on military and diplomatic matters. In a speech Wednesday in California, Cheney portrayed Kerry as a weak-willed lawmaker whose policies would have left Saddam Hussein in Baghdad as well as Kuwait. He said Kerry "has given us ample doubts about his judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital issues of national security."
Yesterday, the Bush campaign released a new TV ad attacking Kerry's voting record on funding the war in Iraq.
McCain, who lost a sometimes bitter GOP presidential nomination battle to Bush four years ago, is well-known for opposing Republican orthodoxy on campaign finance laws and other issues. A congressional authority on military affairs, he is a hero to many veterans familiar with his years of torture in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.
Some of Bush's staunchest backers seemed infuriated by McCain's comments, which ran counter to the Republicans' theme of the week and landed on an otherwise quiet day, with Kerry on vacation in Idaho. Conservative talk show hosts, including Laura Ingraham, denounced McCain's remarks, and by midday the senator was declining most interview requests.
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Two associates close to McCain said that he is weary of such criticisms from within his party but that he refuses to join what he considers unfair attacks on Kerry, a friend and fellow decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. They noted that McCain was asked point-blank whether he thinks Kerry is weak on defense, not a more nuanced question such as how his and Kerry's voting records differ.