US President George W. Bush attacked his Democratic rival John Kerry on
both the foreign and domestic fronts Tuesday as the two geared up for their
third and the final face-to-face debate, which could be pivotal in the election.
Campaigning in Colorado, a state Bush won in 2000 but recent polls show a
dead heat between the two candidates, Bush said Kerry's plan for domestic
programs will lead to tax raises.
"To pay for all the big spending programs he's outlined during his campaign,
he's going to have to raise your taxes," Bush said. "Raising taxes would be the
wrong prescription for economic growth."
Kerry has promised to raise taxes only on those making more than 200,000
dollars a year. In the second debate Friday, he looked into the camera, as asked
by a voter, and promised he would not raise taxes for anyone who earns less than
that level.
"The problem is, to keep that promise he would have to break almost all of
his other ones," Bush said. "His plan to raise taxes on the top two brackets
would raise, we think, about 600 billion dollars, but his spending plan costs
almost four times that much, about 2.2 trillion."
The Kerry campaign has said the amount the Bush camp give about his domestic
programs is based on misleading studies by conservative think tanks.
Bush also said Kerry's plan for health care would put people's welfare under
the control of big government. "The facts are, eight out of 10 people who get
health care under Senator Kerry's plan would be placed on a government program,"
he said.
The Republican president touted his policies on tax-cut, economic growth, and
his reforms on health care, Medicare and Social Security program. And, as usual,
he stepped up attacks on Kerry over Iraq and anti-terrorism.
Bush said the two previous presidential debates have "showed differences
between the senator and me on issues ranging from jobs to taxes to health care
to the war on terror."
The all-out assaults came one day before Bush and Kerry will meet Wednesday
in Tempe, Arizona, for their last debate, which will focus on economy.
Kerry had been lagging behind Bush in polls until his first debate with Bush
on September 30 in Florida. The Massachusetts senator came out as the clear
winner of the debate and polls showed he had closed his gap with Bush.
Kerry was preparing for his debate Tuesday in New Mexico, wherehe campaigned
on Monday.
