Kerry unleashes TV ad attacking Bush's $200bn war

by Sam Matthews,, Brand Republic 20-Sep-04, 12:15

LONDON - John Kerry's latest TV ad campaign in the run-up to the US Presidential election attacks George W Bush for spending $200bn on the war in Iraq at the expense of the US's health and education.

The ad, to be shown in 13 competitive US states, features Kerry, the Democratic candidate, unleashing a scathing attack on Bush's war policies.

"$200bn dollars. That's what we are spending in Iraq because George Bush chose to go it alone. Now the President tells us we don't have the resources to take care of health and education here at home. That's wrong," Kerry says.

The $200bn reflects the Democrat's calculation of funds spent on the war and reconstruction of Iraq, not to mention the cost of human life.

However, the campaign could backfire because Kerry did vote to back the war in Iraq, and the critical campaign comes as the new Iraqi adminstration and coalition forces face an upsurge in Islamic terrorism and rising loss of life.

At the weekend, vice-president Dick Cheney, speaking to 2,500 Republicans at Northern Illinois University's Convocation Center, said that if Kerry were President, Saddam Hussein would still be running Iraq.

He went on to savage Kerry's changing support for and against the war.

"Senator Kerry says he sees two Americas. That makes sense. America sees two John Kerrys," Cheney said.

Kerry's ad campaign is based on Bush's budget proposals for education and reports of rising health premiums.

This is the latest in a line of ads by Kerry and Bush, personally attacking each other to win round voters for the November 1 election.

The two have criticised each other's war records and continued to score hits off each other over the issues of everything from justifying the war to the way it has been managed.

Pic: Kerry-Edwards 2004 Inc, from Sharon Farmer

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum here.