Kent Conrad: “I saw this morning in the Hill newspaper an attack by the Speaker in which he said, in response to a reporter's…”

“I saw this morning in the Hill newspaper an attack by the Speaker in which he said, in response to a reporter's question, that ``al-Qaida would operate better if Kerry were elected President.'' Two weeks ago today, the Vice President said, ``It is absolutely essential that eight weeks from today on November 2 we make the right choice because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we will get hit again and we will be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States.'' Mr. President, this is dangerous talk. It is dangerous talk for either side to suggest we will be attacked if the other is elected. I remind my Republican friends that when we were attacked on September 11, we on the Democratic side did not say it was because Republicans were in control. That would have been wrong. We did not do that. Instead, we stood shoulder to shoulder, we stood united, we all agreed on an attack on Afghanistan, and we all supported an all-out attack on al-Qaida because it was al-Qaida that attacked the United States. The President of the United States, when he was running for office, said he would be a uniter and not a divider. But now this President and this administration are dividing us in the most fundamental way. I believe that is a dangerous tact. It is a mistake. Only the President of the United States can stop this kind of talk.”