Bush says Kerry not fit to lead amid 'great threats'

1.00pm

WASHINGTON - George Bush has questioned John Kerry's fitness to lead while the Democrat said Bush had ignored the middle class as they took their close presidential race to two crucial states.

With polls showing a virtually deadlocked contest just 17 days before the November 2 election, Bush toured Florida where he called Kerry a political opportunist unfit to lead amid "great threats" to America.

He said Kerry's vote a year ago against a request for US$87 billion ($1127 billion) to fund the Iraq war was at odds with his earlier vote to authorise the use of force.

"His contradictions call into question his credibility and his ability to lead our nation," said Bush. He was accompanied by his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, on a bus tour of the state that sent him to the White House in 2000 after a recount battle ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court.

Kerry was in Ohio, another electoral battleground, where he ripped Bush's economic record. The Massachusetts senator has paid 20 visits this year to the closely contested state that went narrowly for Bush in 2000 but has lost 173,000 manufacturing jobs during his presidency.

"Mr President, the millions of Americans who have lost jobs on your watch are not 'myths,' they are middle-class families -- and for four years, you've turned your back on them," Kerry told a town hall meeting.

His comments followed remarks this week by Treasury Secretary John Snow that "Claims like the one that Bush will be the first president to end a term with fewer jobs than when he started are nothing more than 'myths'.'

Bush held a 4-point lead over Kerry among likely voters for the second consecutive day, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Polls published on Saturday by Time and Newsweek magazines showed the two candidates virtually deadlocked. Newsweek's poll, conducted on Thursday and Friday, showed Bush leading Kerry by 48 per cent to 46 per cent among registered voters.

Time's survey, conducted the same days, showed 48 per cent support for Bush among likely voters, versus 46 per cent for Kerry. Both polls had a 4-point margin of error.

Bush and Kerry have stepped up their war of words in recent days following their third and final presidential debate on Wednesday. Post-debate polls gave the edge to Kerry in all the debates, which helped narrow a lead Bush built in September after the Republican National Convention.

The two candidates have accused each other of being out of touch with reality on domestic issues like the economy and health care and on Iraq and the war on terror.

"At a time of great threats to our country, at a time of great challenges in the world, the commander in chief must stand on principle -- not the shifting sands of political convenience," Bush told a Florida rally on Saturday.

Kerry focused on pocketbook issues in Ohio but also criticized the handling of the war in Iraq and said Bush could have done more to avert a flu vaccine shortage caused by problems at a manufacturing plant in Britain.

"When it comes to reality, George Bush has a simple strategy: Ignore it, deny it, then try to hide it," Kerry said. "And when confronted with a mistake, try and explain things away."

Bush used his weekly radio address to attack Kerry as a liberal on taxes and social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

"Now, he is promising over US$2.2 trillion in new spending, and paying for it would require broad tax increases on small business and the middle class," the president said.

Kerry, who will campaign in Florida on Sunday and Monday, described Bush's comments as "scare tactics."

The Reuters/Zogby poll found 6 per cent of voters still undecided in a race pollster John Zogby said was showing similarities to the disputed 2000 battle between Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

"This is reminding me more and more every day of 2000 -- with the lead changing every few days and no candidate able to put this away," he said.

- REUTERS