Frank Lautenberg: “I rise today to raise a question about a disturbing television ad that President Bush is running against our colleague…”

“I rise today to raise a question about a disturbing television ad that President Bush is running against our colleague, Senator Kerry. The ad opens up with the President saying, ``I approve of this message.'' The President's commercial is called ``priorities.'' It criticizes Senator Kerry for missing votes here. The President's advertisement says that ``leadership means choosing priorities.'' I could not agree more because Senator Kerry has chosen the correct priorities, while President Bush has been absent from leadership--sometimes referred to as AWOL. If you look at the priorities of these two men throughout their lives, you learn a lot about who was absent and who was a leader. Senator Kerry has never been absent, AWOL, from his responsibilities. The President, on the other hand, has been absent at times when it required leadership. During the Vietnam war, an era in which 58,000 American soldiers lost their lives, and many more than that were wounded, President Bush was AWOL from leadership, AWOL from serving our country.”