HOW DO YOU TWIST "NO"?:

Bush Twists Kerry's Words on Iraq (JENNIFER LOVEN, 9/24/04, Associated Press)

President Bush opened several new scathing lines of attack against Democrat John Kerry, charges that twisted his rival's words on Iraq and made Kerry seem supportive of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein. [...]

Campaigning by bus through hotly contested Wisconsin on Friday, Bush sought to counter recently sharpened criticism by Kerry about his Iraq policies:

He stated flatly that Kerry had said earlier in the week "he would prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today." The line drew gasps of surprise from Bush's audience in a Racine, Wis., park. "I just strongly disagree," the president said.

But Kerry never said that. In a speech at New York University on Monday, he called Saddam "a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell." He added, "The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure."

Or more fully, he said:

Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell. But that was not, in itself, a reason to go to war. The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: we have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.

Then, just in case anyone from AP couldn't follow even such a simple construction, he was asked about the war and answered:

''If you had been elected president in 2000, in November of 2000, would we be in Iraq now?" Letterman asked the Democratic presidential nominee.

"No," Kerry replied...

Given the totality of Mr. Kerry's numerous positions and contradictory statements it's understandable if Ms Loven got confused, but it is indeed she who is twisting the truth here.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 25, 2004 8:02 AM