Thursday, April 29, 2004
Gore Giving Leftover Cash of $6 Million to Back Kerry
"Former Vice President Al Gore, who backed Howard Dean in the Democratic primaries, announced Wednesday that he would give more than $6 million left over from his unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign to support Senator John Kerry and the Democratic Party."
The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Gore Giving Leftover Cash of $6 Million to Back Kerry:
Fighting the Wrong Battles
"PERHAPS IT WAS inevitable that the 2000 presidential campaign would rekindle the three-decade-old debate on Vietnam. The fighting in Iraq has brought to the surface unresolved tensions from that period. The divergent biographies of President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry -- the war president who avoided service in Vietnam, the Democratic nominee who volunteered for combat but entered public life as a high-profile war protester -- encapsulate the continuing debate over the war and the conduct of the young men caught up in it. "
Fighting the Wrong Battles (washingtonpost.com):
Support for War Is Down Sharply, Poll Concludes
"Support for the war in Iraq has eroded substantially over the past several months, and Americans are increasingly critical of the way President Bush is handling the conflict, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
After initially expressing robust backing for the war, the public is now evenly divided over whether the United States military should stay for as long as it takes to stabilize Iraq or pull out as soon as possible, the poll showed."
The New York Times > Washington > Support for War Is Down Sharply, Poll Concludes:
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
White House Memo: Second Time Around, Bush Is Forgoing a Visionary Agenda
" George W. Bush ran for president four years ago on a platform of meaty domestic policy ideas, including tax cuts of historic proportions, the creation of Social Security investment accounts and a demand that school systems document their performance through increased testing of children.
This time around, in his race against Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, Mr. Bush has so far offered little in the way of major new proposals. The few efforts he has made to set out a fresh, visionary agenda, like his call in January for a manned mission to Mars or his plan to overhaul the immigration system, have disappeared from his own speeches and hardly show up on the national radar screen.
What he is left with is a list of proposals that he has been trying for the last several years to push through Congress, like his energy bill and his plan to restrict lawsuit awards against doctors and corporations, plus smaller-bore ideas that, however important and worthy, are hardly the kind that define a presidency."
The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > White House Memo: Second Time Around, Bush Is Forgoing a Visionary Agenda
Kerry Again Chides Bush on Guard Duty
"Sen. John F. Kerry on Tuesday rolled through a crucial state hit hard by the manufacturing recession to talk about a national job 'crisis' and his program for economic change.
But, in what is becoming a familiar pattern in the early days of the presidential campaign, the Massachusetts Democrat was distracted, if not drowned out, by the political war over war and military service exploding around him. President Bush's allies have been questioning Kerry's credibility on national security as well as his military record and antiwar activities.
In an interview with an Ohio newspaper, Kerry continued the fight over Vietnam-era military service, chiding Bush and Vice President Cheney for avoiding active service.
One day after Kerry attacked Bush's National Guard service for the first time, the presumptive Democratic nominee's campaign circulated a dossier designed to undercut the president's contention that he fulfilled his service duties more than 30 years ago. Bush served in the Texas National Air Guard from 1968 to 1973, although it is unclear what he did during his final year. "
Kerry Again Chides Bush on Guard Duty (washingtonpost.com)
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
'Nader nation' - who are these voters?
"Jonathan Becker doesn't like his options between the two major-party candidates in a duel for the US presidency. George W. Bush's politics don't reflect his own. And John Kerry, he says, is too hard to pin down. So Mr. Becker will be voting for Ralph Nader.
'He's specifically clear on where he is on the issues,' says Becker, a computer-support specialist in New York who names civil rights and Iraq as his own hot-button concerns."
'Nader nation' - who are these voters? | csmonitor.com:
Monday, April 26, 2004
Cheney Takes GOP Lead Challenging Kerry
"Vice President Dick Cheney, stepping forcefully into his role as John Kerry's chief critic, questioned on Monday whether the Democrat is fit to serve as president in a time of war. Democrats said the tactic is a sign of desperation. "
Yahoo! News - Cheney Takes GOP Lead Challenging Kerry:
Kerry Criticizes Bush on Military Record
"John Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran criticized by Republicans for his anti-war activities during the Vietnam era, lashed out at President Bush on Monday for failing to prove whether he fulfilled his commitment to the National Guard during the same period."
Yahoo! News - Kerry Criticizes Bush on Military Record:
The Disconnected
"Forget NASCAR dads and soccer moms. It’s single women who could decide the White House race—if only they get out and vote."
MSNBC - The Disconnected
Kerry unbowed on abortion issue
"US presidential hopeful John Kerry has reaffirmed his support for abortion rights amid criticism from a senior Vatican cardinal over his stance.
Cardinal Francis Arinze told a Vatican news conference that pro-abortion Catholic politicians such as Mr Kerry were 'not fit' to receive communion.
But, across the Atlantic, an unabashed Mr Kerry said women's rights 'are just that: rights, not political weapons'.
The clash has refuelled the fiery debate over abortion in the US. "
BBC NEWS | Americas | Kerry unbowed on abortion issue:
Revealed: the publishers who aim to bring Bush to book
"They have been the Republicans' worst nightmare and the Democrats' dream: a stream of explosive books that are some of the most effective weapons yet against President George W. Bush's smooth re-election.
From Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack last week to Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies, which accused Bush of failing to fight terrorism, their revelations have kept America spellbound.
Behind the headlines, however, lies the story of one publishing house that has sewn up the market in tell-all tales about Bush and his team. This has led to accusations that the stream of scandal is a carefully plotted strategy by one of the world's biggest media empires. New York-based Simon & Schuster published both Woodward's and Clarke's books, as well as Craig Unger's bestseller House of Bush, House of Saud and former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's confessional, The Price of Loyalty, which was the first 'whistleblowing' tale to accuse the administration of being obsessed with invading Iraq. "
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Revealed: the publishers who aim to bring Bush to book:
The Book That Tops the White House Best-Spinner List
"As anyone paying the slightest attention in Washington knows, the White House spent last week aiming a hose at the political fires set off by Bob Woodward's new book, 'Plan of Attack,' which portrays President Bush as hellbent on war with Iraq.
So if all the president's men, as Mr. Woodward might say, were so busy trashing "Plan of Attack," why were all the men and women at the president's re-election campaign determined to tell the world how much everyone should love the book? "
The New York Times > Washington > White House Letter: The Book That Tops the White House Best-Spinner List:
Abortion-Rights Marchers Vow to Fight Another Bush Term
"Hundreds of thousands of abortion rights supporters rallied Sunday in the nation's capital, protesting the policies of the Bush administration and its conservative allies and vowing to fight back in the November election.
The huge crowd marched slowly past the White House, chanting and waving signs like 'My Body Is Not Public Property!' and 'It's Your Choice, Not Theirs!,' then filled the Mall, turning it into a sea of women, men and children for the first large-scale abortion rights demonstration here in 12 years. "
The New York Times > Washington > Abortion-Rights Marchers Vow to Fight Another Bush Term:
Democrats to Target Cheney
"Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and the Democratic Party will open a week-long assault on Vice President Cheney today in hopes that tarring him as promoting secrecy and controversial policies will erode confidence in President Bush."
Democrats to Target Cheney (washingtonpost.com):
Friday, April 23, 2004
The Vanishing Young Kerry Voter
"John Kerry, who once held a commanding, double-digit advantage over President George W. Bush among young Americans, now finds himself in a statistical dead heat with the president among voters aged 18-29, according to the latest NEWSWEEK/GENEXT poll. While Kerry currently leads Bush within the margin of error, 45 percent to 42 percent, back in February 56 percent of 18-29 year-olds said they supported the senator versus 42 percent who said they would vote for Bush."
MSNBC - The Vanishing Young Kerry Voter:
Director who made Arnie a star turns camera on Kerry
"Pumping Iron was the film that helped transform Arnold Schwarzenegger from just another middle European body builder into a celebrity, film star and ultimately the governor of California. Now its director is hoping to repeat the trick with John Kerry, the likely Democratic presidential candidate. Tour of Duty, directed by George Butler, will draw on the bestselling book of the same name by Douglas Brinkley.
The film, like the book, will follow the trajectory of Mr Kerry's life, from his time with the navy in Vietnam, where he commanded a boat on the Mekong Delta, to his conversion to the cause of the peace movement and his subsequent political career.
But it is the documentary's possible political impact that will be of most interest. The film is to be released in September, midway between the Democratic convention in July and the presidential vote in November. The Republican convention is set for early September in New York.
'John Kerry has had the most interesting life of anyone in the presidential arena since Theodore Roosevelt,' Butler told the film industry paper Variety."
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Director who made Arnie a star turns camera on Kerry:
Earth Day's Point, Counterpoint
"President Bush marked Earth Day on Thursday by touring a coastal marsh and defending his environmental strategies, saying that his administration 'has put in place some of the most important anti-pollution policies in a decade.'
Bush's appearance at an estuarine research reserve in southern Maine sought to deflect a stinging critique of his environmental record by Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) during a three-day southern tour, in which the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee set forth his environmental agenda. Kerry's tour ended Thursday in Houston, one of the nation's smoggiest cities.
Bush did not advocate any new policies. But he emphasized a plan, part of his fiscal 2005 budget, that would try to restore 3 million acres of fragile wetland areas during the next five years. "
Earth Day's Point, Counterpoint (washingtonpost.com):
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Campaign column: Picking a partner
"Picking a presidential running mate is a cloistered affair.
Perhaps not quite so full of arcane ritual as picking a pope - but certainly just as secretive.
As Michael Dukakis's press secretary once said: 'Anybody who knows anything will tell you nothing. And those who know nothing will say anything.'
But being vice-president is no longer something to be sniffed at.
Since 1945, five vice-presidents have become president - Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George Bush senior.
There is nothing democratic about the selection process.
Democratic front-runner John Kerry will appoint whoever gives him the best chance of reaching the Oval Office. "
BBC NEWS | Americas | Campaign column: Picking a partner:
Kerry Opens New Bush Attack, Focusing on Iraq and Economy
"Senator John Kerry on Wednesday began what aides said would be an increasingly visible and combative challenge to President Bush, starting with a bus trip through the distressed Midwest and a television advertisement attacking Mr. Bush's Iraq record.
The moves, intended to define Mr. Kerry's candidacy, amount to a re-emergence of sorts by a candidate who largely yielded the spotlight to Mr. Bush after effectively winning the Democratic nomination in early March.
The television advertisement and the energized schedule came after two months in which Mr. Bush battered Mr. Kerry in advertisements intended to undercut him while he remained largely unknown to most of the country.
Mr. Kerry's aides repeatedly described Mr. Bush's spending as a waste, contending that voters were not paying attention to the race this long before Election Day.
But two newspaper polls this week found that Mr. Bush had succeeded in raising doubts about Mr. Kerry's credibility and ideology. That finding, coming after three weeks of unwelcome news for Mr. Bush from Iraq and a commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, unsettled many Democrats. Republicans said on Wednesday that Mr. Bush's overwhelming advantage over Mr. Kerry on the issues of terrorism and foreign affairs overrode any concerns voters might have had about the news that has besieged the White House in recent weeks."
The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Kerry Opens :
Campaign Ads Heating Up
"President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) ratcheted up their air war yesterday, with the incumbent accusing his opponent of 'doublespeak' and the challenger promising a new approach to the violence in Iraq.
Bush campaign officials rushed out a 60-second negative spot they had been holding in reserve after learning that the Kerry team was about to unveil two positive 30-second ads, the latest sign of a speeded-up struggle for each news cycle. "
Campaign Ads Heating Up (washingtonpost.com):
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Kerry Says Bush Undercuts Environment
" Senator John Kerry accused the Bush administration Tuesday of 'playing dirty' in what he described as its undoing of 30 years of environmental regulation, and declared that ocean pollution was jeopardizing Florida's vital tourism industry.
As Mr. Kerry opened a three-day push on the environment timed to the observance of Earth Day, this Thursday, his campaign also worked to play down two new polls that showed President Bush's standing with voters improving relative to the senator's, even after a month of damaging news for the White House."
The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Kerry Says Bush Undercuts Environment:
Bush Campaign Has Raised $184 Million
"President Bush added $3.75 million to the Republican Party till on a three-hour swing through this city Tuesday, as his campaign continued to set fundraising records with an announcement that it has now raised $184.4 million."
Bush Campaign Has Raised $184 Million (washingtonpost.com):
Bush Campaign Spent $50 Million in March
"President Bush's campaign spent roughly twice as much as it raised last month, using up nearly $50 million as the Republican rolled out his first wave of campaign ads to counter John Kerry's surge as he emerged from the Democratic primaries. "
Bush Campaign Spent $50 Million in March (washingtonpost.com):
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
It's Time To Shelve The Rumsfeld Doctrine
"Too few soldiers and no exit plan have led to upheaval in Iraq
Denial is rampant in Washington. There is denial that intelligence mistakes were made in the months and years before September 11. There is denial that foreign policy mistakes were made in the runup to the war in Iraq. There is denial that the Shiite revolts mark a turning point in the postwar occupation. And most importantly, there is denial that the military strategy going into Iraq, the Rumsfeld Doctrine, is a failure. "
BW Online | April 26, 2004 | Commentary: It's Time To Shelve The Rumsfeld Doctrine:
Poll Shows New Gains For Bush
"President Bush holds significant advantages over John F. Kerry in public perceptions of who is better equipped to deal with Iraq and the war on terrorism, and he has reduced the advantages his Democratic challenger held last month on many domestic issues, according to a Washington Post-ABC News Poll.
The poll also found that Iraq and the war on terrorism have surged in importance, and ranked with the economy and jobs as top voting issues. Despite signs of concern among Americans about the violence in Iraq, the poll showed Bush's approval ratings holding steady and Kerry's slipping on a variety of issues and attributes.
By 49 percent to 44 percent, Bush was viewed as better able to deal with the country's biggest problems. Five weeks ago, those numbers were reversed. By comfortable margins, voters saw Bush as stronger than Kerry on key national security issues. "
Poll Shows New Gains For Bush (washingtonpost.com)
Monday, April 19, 2004
Kerry Backs Off Statements on Vietnam War
" Senator John Kerry on Sunday distanced himself from contentious statements he made three decades ago after returning from the Vietnam War, saying his long-ago use of the word 'atrocities' to describe his and others' actions was inappropriate and 'a little bit excessive.'
'If you wanted to ask me, `Have you ever made mistakes in your life?' sure,' Mr. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said in an hourlong interview on the NBC program 'Meet the Press.' 'I think some of the language that I used was a language that reflected an anger.'
The near-apology came after the host, Tim Russert, played videotape of Mr. Kerry, in 1971, acknowledging that he had participated in shooting in free-fire zones, burning villages and search-and-destroy missions. All those actions were 'contrary to the laws of warfare' and the Geneva Conventions, he said then. Republicans have seized on those comments, and accusations about war crimes the young Mr. Kerry made in testimony before a Senate committee, to try to undercut his war credentials.
'The words were honest,' Mr. Kerry said Sunday, 'but on the other hand, they were a little bit over the top.'"
The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Kerry Backs Off Statements on Vietnam War:
Kerry Sharpens Criticism of Iraq Policy
"Democrat John Kerry on Sunday accused President Bush of a 'stunningly ineffective' foreign policy and stuck by his argument that the war against terrorism isn't primarily a military struggle.
Kerry, in a wide-ranging, hourlong interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' also stood by his promise to create 10 million jobs and halve the deficit in his first four years as president, though he conceded that soaring red ink could force him to scale back some of his campaign proposals. "
Kerry Sharpens Criticism of Iraq Policy (washingtonpost.com):
'Good job, Prime Minister' - and Bush campaign is back on track
"The press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House went perfectly. Under an azure sky and in warm sunshine Tony Blair fended off the last reporter's question about the Iraqi crisis. As Blair turned from the microphone President George Bush patted him on the elbow. 'Good job, Prime Minister,' he said quietly and then: 'Well done.'
Blair had indeed done a good job for Bush. Standing at the President's right hand after a two-hour meeting, Blair faced the world's television cameras. He gave an eloquent and impassioned defence of the two men's war in Iraq. It was the sort of performance Bush had sought to give earlier in the week on a live broadcast on American prime-time television. But Bush's fumbling display had fallen flat. Blair now provided the right tone and sense of a steady hand in a sea of troubles. "
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | 'Good job, Prime Minister' - and Bush campaign is back on track:
Saturday, April 17, 2004
DNC's Ad Mocks Bush Over News Conference
"The Democratic National Committee is trying to hang President Bush with his own words -- and pauses.
A mocking ad posted on the party's Web site yesterday uses footage of Bush struggling at Tuesday's news conference to answer a question from Time magazine's John Dickerson on what has been his biggest mistake in office. "
DNC's Ad Mocks Bush Over News Conference (washingtonpost.com):
Friday, April 16, 2004
Bush in Iowa for 'Tax Day' Speech on the Economy
"Des Moines, Iowa -- As millions of Americans filed their tax returns Thursday, President Bush told hundreds of Midwesterners in a state he lost four years ago that his tax cuts are boosting economic growth.
'Tax relief we passed is helping to drive the economy forward ... just at the right time' following recession and the Sept. 11 attacks, said Bush, headlining a two-day symposium on rural America. He said the economy lost 1 million jobs in just three months after Sept. 11.
This year is 'a little better' because of his administration's tax cuts, the president said, and credited them with helping to create 308,000 jobs last month and 750,000 jobs since August. "
Bush in Iowa for 'Tax Day' Speech on the Economy (washingtonpost.com)
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Debate begins on presidential debates: Who gets a mike? | csmonitor.com
"Mr. Nader, Mr. Buchanan, and three other third-party candidates in 2000 are preparing to file suit in federal court in Washington, challenging what they say is a pattern of manipulation of the debate process in favor of major-party candidates. They argue that Democrats and Republicans run the Commission on Presidential Debates for the benefit of the nation's two major political parties and at the expense of virtually all the country's smaller parties and lesser-known candidates."
Debate begins on presidential debates: Who gets a mike? | csmonitor.com:
Kerry Says Bush's Stubbornness Hurts Troops
"Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) said here Wednesday that President Bush's stubbornness in refusing to share authority and decision making with the United Nations and other countries has put U.S. forces at greater risk, unduly burdened American taxpayers and made success in Iraq far more difficult.
'I think the approach of this administration has been consistent and stubborn in the way that it persists in this American occupation and in proceeding down its own road,' Kerry said. 'It has made that mistake from Day One, and it is costing us money and I think it is costing us lives.' "
Kerry Says Bush's Stubbornness Hurts Troops (washingtonpost.com):
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Panel Says Bush Saw Repeated Warnings
"By the time a CIA briefer gave President Bush the Aug. 6, 2001, President's Daily Brief headlined 'Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US,' the president had seen a stream of alarming reports on al Qaeda's intentions. So had Vice President Cheney and Bush's top national security team, according to newly declassified information released yesterday by the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In April and May 2001, for example, the intelligence community headlined some of those reports 'Bin Laden planning multiple operations,' 'Bin Laden network's plans advancing' and 'Bin Laden threats are real.' "
Panel Says Bush Saw Repeated Warnings (washingtonpost.com):
Kerry fears Clinton memoirs will steal his convention limelight
"In the close election campaign against a Republican president, John Kerry probably thought he had enough to worry about. But now he and his strategists are fretting about a thorny problem much closer to home: Bill Clinton's long-awaited memoirs.
The strategists are seeking a publication date that will spare their man the indignity of being upstaged by the party's celebrity in chief.
Three years after stepping down Mr Clinton, 57, maintains all the trappings of an A-list celebrity: a status that is hardly reassuring to Mr Kerry's handlers, who privately bemoan his elongated sentences and antiquated speaking style. "
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Kerry fears Clinton memoirs will steal his convention limelight
Bush Acknowledges 'Tough' Weeks, Signals Intent to Bolster Iraq Force
"President Bush signaled last night that he expects to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and vowed that insurgents leading a violent uprising against the American occupation will not 'run us out of Iraq.'
In a prime-time news conference -- his first since the war in Iraq began 13 months ago -- Bush mixed an expression of concern about the killings and lawlessness in Iraq with an absolute certainty that his course of action is the correct one."
Bush Acknowledges 'Tough' Weeks, Signals Intent to Bolster Iraq Force (washingtonpost.com):
Kennedy-Kerry connection worries some Democrats
"As he took the microphone at a crowded Washington fundraiser a few days ago, Sen. John Kerry made no secret of his strong ties to the man who had just given him a rousing introduction: Sen. Edward Kennedy.
"We are as close as Dick Cheney and Justice Scalia," said Kerry, jokingly, referring to the vice president and Antonin Scalia, whose hunting trip together has been criticized."
Chicago Tribune | Kennedy-Kerry connection worries some Democrats
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Kerry vow to slash $500bn deficit
"Democrat presidential hopeful John Kerry has outlined plans to slash the $500bn US budget deficit by half within four years.
In a framework for cutting spending, Mr Kerry also accused President Bush of 'economic mistakes' and 'distortion'.
He said Mr Bush's policies could lead to 'fiscal cancer' resulting from 'politics of deceit'.
Mr Kerry outlined how he would run the finances of the US if he were to become president. "
BBC NEWS | Business | Kerry vow to slash $500bn deficit
Kerry Cites 'Misjudgment' by Bush on Iraq
"Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) sharpened his criticism of President Bush's handling of Iraq, saying Monday that the president failed to maximize international participation and minimize the risk to U.S. military personnel and that the nation is 'bearing the enormous burden of that misjudgment.' "
Kerry Cites 'Misjudgment' by Bush on Iraq (washingtonpost.com):
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Bush Credibility on 2 Wars -- Iraq, Terrorism -- Under Challenge
"A week of escalating violence in Iraq, accompanied by growing numbers of U.S. casualties and gruesome images on television and in newspapers, threatens to erode public confidence in President Bush and redraw the political calculus of the impact of the war on terrorism in the presidential election. "
Bush Credibility on 2 Wars -- Iraq, Terrorism -- Under Challenge (washingtonpost.com)
Kerry Targets Budget Deficit
"Sen. John F. Kerry outlined a broad deficit-reduction policy yesterday, scaling back several campaign promises that he now concedes the country cannot afford if his new budget goals are to be met.
In his second major policy address of the general election campaign, the Massachusetts Democrat harked back to the fiscal and political policies of President Bill Clinton, sacrificing social spending to the goal of reducing the budget deficit by half in five years and eventually eliminating it by raising taxes on the rich and restraining government spending. "
Kerry Targets Budget Deficit (washingtonpost.com):
The cost of the Iraq war: One year on
"By the end of this year, the US Government will have spent $150bn on invading and then rebuilding Iraq. That sounds like a lot - but the real question should be whether it is anywhere near enough. "
BBC NEWS | Business | The cost of the Iraq war: One year on
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Is Kerry's Jobs Proposal Jinxed?
"Rejiggering foreign taxes is politically savvy, but it won't help unemployment much
Senator John F. Kerry may deserve a political Bronze Star for walking into the minefield of international taxes. In his quest to create 10 million new jobs in five years, the Massachusetts senator has zeroed in on, of all things, the way U.S.-based multinational corporations pay taxes on the profits they earn overseas. "
BW Online | April 12, 2004 | Is Kerry's Jobs Proposal Jinxed?
Clinton's Aids deal snubs Bush plan
"The former US president Bill Clinton yesterday took a swipe at the Bush administration's close relationship with American pharmaceutical giants by announcing a deal to enable poor countries to buy cheap generic drugs and testing equipment for Aids, rather than the US companies' more expensive wares.
The deal with five generic drug companies will bring the cost of Aids drugs down to $140 (£76) per person per year and cut the cost of testing equipment by 80%.
Yesterday the UN's Global Fund - which grants money to poor countries to buy drugs - the World Bank and Unicef signed an agreement with the Clinton Foundation to provide the cash and assistance.
The move runs counter to the thrust of the Bush administration's $15bn anti-Aids plan. It has become increasingly clear in recent months that the administration wants to pay only for drugs made by the big US-based pharmaceutical companies. It has been accused of trying to undermine confidence in the generic copies."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Clinton's Aids deal snubs Bush plan
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Monday, April 05, 2004
Kerry Tries to Portray Bush as Borrow-and-Spend Leader
"Seeking to define himself as a deficit hawk, Senator John Kerry on Sunday issued a report accusing the Bush administration of fueling the deficit and crippling state budgets by approving or proposing programs worth more than $6 trillion without paying for them.
As Mr. Kerry, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, emerges from a two-week hiatus ?4 part vacation, part recuperation from minor shoulder surgery ?4 the report is the opening round in what Kerry aides said would be a weeklong focus on the economy.
Polls show that voters perceive the economy as the most important issue in the campaign as well as one on which President Bush is vulnerable. But the release of the report is significant, too, because it signals a new aggressiveness by Mr. Kerry, who, some Democrats have said, has allowed Mr. Bush to define him as a tax-and-spend liberal while he has been largely out of sight and off the trail."
NYT Kerry Tries to Portray Bush as Borrow-and-Spend Leader:
Friday, April 02, 2004
Kerry Funds Signal Hope For Party
"Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) will announce today that his presidential campaign has raised more than $43 million in the first three months of this year, smashing Democratic Party records and signaling a party-wide fundraising resurgence for Democrats, according to top party officials. "
Kerry Funds Signal Hope For Party (washingtonpost.com)
Bush Aides Block Clinton's Papers From 9/11 Panel
"The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said on Thursday that it was pressing the White House to explain why the Bush administration had blocked thousands of pages of classified foreign policy and counterterrorism documents from former President Bill Clinton's White House files from being turned over to the panel's investigators.
The White House confirmed on Thursday that it had withheld a variety of classified documents from Mr. Clinton's files that had been gathered by the National Archives over the last two years in response to requests from the commission, which is investigating intelligence and law enforcement failures before the attacks."
NYT - Bush Aides Block Clinton's Papers From 9/11 Panel
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Talking back
Right-wing talk radio shows have huge influence in the US. But now the first liberal station has begun broadcasting in a bid to change the course of the next presidential election. With seven months to go until polls, does it stand a chance?
BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Talking back
