Cheney Defends Administration's National Security Record
Vice President Cheney delivered a speech yesterday to Marines at Camp Pendleton which generated significant media coverage, including reports on all three networks last night. ABC reported that Cheney "was out on the campaign trail defending the Administration's record on national defense," adding that "he seemed to be answering Democrats' criticism in Boston that the Bush Administration's policies have made the US more vulnerable to terrorists." CBS reported that "with Senator Kerry now attacking on national security, reflecting a shift in voters' concerns away from the economy, Mr. Cheney stuck to a script that the Republicans never left." NBC added, "From the Vice President today, the unsubtle argument that the key to winning the war on terror is keeping President Bush in office."
The Los Angeles Times reports this morning that with Cheney "standing between two 155-millimeter howitzers and delivering a rousing pep talk to Marines on Tuesday, President Bush's reelection campaign had the image it wanted to counter Democratic attacks from Boston." The Washington Post adds that Cheney "played up" the 9/11 Commission's "warnings about continued terrorist threats and said this is a bad time to change the nation's leadership."
