Vice President Dick Cheney argued President Bush has a significantly clearer plan for the war on terrorism and Iraq than Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry Friday as Cheney campaigned through southeastern Wisconsin, with his final stop at a rally in Milwaukee.
\We know what George Bush would do because he's done it for the last three and a half years, but it's a little hard to tell what John Kerry would do under those circumstances,"" he said. The topic of security is a crucial issue for the 2004 presidential election, especially for Republicans, according to UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Jones. All polls show Bush has a 14- to 20-point lead over Kerry on issues of security, the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism.
The Republican Party especially gained ground in August and during the Republican National Convention, Jones said.
""If the war on terrorism and Iraq were to be reduced in priority for the voting public, clearly the Democrats would have an advantage,"" he said. ""As long as security is the major issue, the Bush administration has an advantage.""
In response to Cheney's claim that Kerry has ""shifting positions"" and displayed inconsistencies in his Iraq plans, Kerry's Wisconsin spokesperson George Twigg said Kerry has clearly emphasized his support for building an international coalition.
Twigg added when the candidate visits Madison this Wednesday he will focus his speech on health care, jobs and on making college more affordable.
Yet, according to Jones, no matter how much Kerry tries to change the focus of the two campaigns from security to domestic issues, he will always have to return to Iraq and terrorism.
After former president Bill Clinton telephoned Kerry and told him to ""get off these Iraq issues,"" the one thousandth soldier died in Iraq. This shows how difficult it is for a challenger to change the subject in a campaign, according to Jones.
""Events help to dictate what the agenda is. Let's put it this way: Iraq is full of events,"" he said.
And every time Kerry tries to clarify his position on Iraq, Jones said the Republicans take it as only another position on the issue.
""Things are not going well right now for Kerry... It can change. It's not as good as it was before, even in Wisconsin,"" he said.
