NEWSWEEK: Kerry Intends to Repeat and Refine Critique of Iraq Through Rest of Campaign, Spending Closing Week of Election on Bush's War

NEWSWEEK: Kerry Intends to Repeat and Refine Critique of Iraq Through Rest of Campaign, Spending Closing Week of Election on Bush's War

		The September 27 Health for Life issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, Sept. 20) examines "The New Science of Mind & Body," and looks at the links between emotions and health. Also: Kerry on the offensive over Iraq; Suspect Iraqi police; and a growing nuclear threat in Iran. Plus new strategies for carmakers in Detroit and the inside scoop on Sony's deal to buy MGM. And the all-puppet movie, "Team America," is poised for controversy. (PRNewsFoto) NEW YORK, NY USA

Aides Say Kerry Was Furious Over GOP Attacks Against His Character NEW YORK, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- With a new team of advisers, Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry was preparing to accuse the president of failing to tell the truth about "the mess in Iraq" -- part of an aggressive fall strategy to challenge George W. Bush on the war. But first, he wanted the advice of former four-star general Wesley Clark. Newsweek has learned that Kerry now intends to repeat and refine his critique of Iraq through the rest of the campaign-spending the closing week of the election on President George W. Bush's war. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040919/NYSU002 ) As Washington Correspondent Richard Wolffe and General Editor Susannah Meadows report in the September 27 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, September 20), Kerry knew from Vietnam what it felt like to face the bullets without support of the folks back home. So how, one of his senior staff wanted to know, would Kerry's attacks go down now with the troops in Iraq? "Look, the soldiers are debating it themselves on the ground," Clark reassured Kerry's inner circle. "They're coming back and they're incredibly critical. You have to call it like it is." Kerry's gambit, to revive his campaign, will be to question Bush's credibility on the conflict, his management of postwar Iraq and the no-bid contracts won by Vice President Dick Cheney's old firm, Halliburton. The reaction from Camp Bush was gleeful. "Good," says one senior Bush aide. "We're glad he's talking about Iraq." Iraq remains Exhibit A in the flip-flopping case against Kerry, built around his prewar nuances and his postwar votes. The Bushies are confident their candidate can win any contest of straight talk, pointing to a series of polls that give him a big lead on questions of honesty and consistency. But in their candid moments, the president's aides concede they have struggled to convince voters about the mission in Iraq now that Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail. "Well, no, I don't think they know what it is," said one senior Bush strategist. Both sides see the Iraq debate as a test of character as much as a test of policy. But to Kerry, the war over the war has become personal, Newsweek reports. Kerry's aides say their candidate was galvanized by the Swift Boat vets' attacks on his character, by Cheney's suggestion that he would weaken American defenses-and especially the vitriolic speech by the Democratic turncoat Zell Miller at the GOP convention. Other senior aides see Kerry's aggressive position on Iraq as a natural response to the Republican attacks. "They lied about John Kerry and tried to tell people he was unfit to be president," says one. "That more or less mandates a demonstration of strength from here to the election, and that's what they're going to get." And Joe Lockhart, Kerry's new communications strategist and President Bill Clinton's former spokesman says: "The White House has consistently tried to cover up what has gone on over there in Iraq. They're going to do 'Fantasy Island' and we're going to do reality TV." With Iraq as their backdrop, both candidates are prepping for the first presidential debate in Miami next week. Their advisers are gaming out how to appear stronger and more trustworthy as a war leader. Kerry's aides are mulling over how to exploit Kerry's height advantage over Bush. "He's going to hang there for the handshake with Bush," said one senior campaign adviser. "Keep him long enough for everyone to get the shot." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6039833/site/newsweek / (Article attached. Read Newsweek's news releases at http://www.Newsweek.com. Click "Pressroom.")