Tom Harkin: “there is no longer any doubt about President Bush's reelection strategy. It is the same strategy that was used in the…”

“there is no longer any doubt about President Bush's reelection strategy. It is the same strategy that was used in the election 2 years ago: They invoke the images of the 9/11 attacks and warn that new terrorist attacks are imminent. They stoke Americans' fears and anxieties. And, of course, they accuse their opponents of being weak on terrorism, not willing to defend America. The events of 9/11 were traumatic, and we all understand Americans' fear of a new terrorist attack. But it is despicable to politicize this fear. It is despicable to exploit people's anxieties for political advantage. But this administration has done this again and again. This is exactly what Vice President Dick Cheney was up to when he warned that if John Kerry is elected President, then ``the danger is that we'll get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating.'' You have to appreciate the pure Orwellian beauty of that statement. It was on President Bush's watch that we suffered the September 11 attack, a real attack, not a hypothetical one, and that attack happened despite multiple warnings to Mr. Bush from the CIA that al-Qaida was planning to attack America.”