CNN Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics - Transcript

CNN

SHOW: JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS 15:00

HEADLINE: Latest Poll Shows Good Numbers for Bush; Rules Strict for Presidential Debates; First Debate to Focus on Foreign Policy

GUESTS: Karen Tumulty, Tad Devine, Matthew Dowd, Ron Brownstein, Edward Kennedy, George Butler, Jon Kyl

BYLINE: Judy Woodruff, Bruce Morton, Frank Buckley, Bob Franken, Howard Kurtz, John King, William Schneider

HIGHLIGHT:
The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows strong numbers for Bush; Kerry, campaigning in Wisconsin, says the mission has not been accomplished in Iraq; Bush campaigns in Ohio, saying Kerry is inconsistent in his positions on Iraq; The Bush campaign stipulated strict rules for the presidential debates; Bush and Kerry are set to debate foreign policy in the first debate.

BODY:
A top Kerry ally is pressing the Democrat's case against Bush on Iraq. In a speech today, Senator Edward Kennedy charged the Bush administration's failures in Iraq and in the war on terror have made the United States more vulnerable to a nuclear attack by terrorists.

I spoke with Senator Kerry at George Washington University when he delivered his speech at the Brady Art Gallery. That's where we spoke.

I began by asking him if his talk about a possible nuclear 9/11 amounts to fear mongering?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNEDY: This administration has bungled its policy in Iraq and has not leveled with the American people about the increase in danger that our troops are facing and that Iraq is facing every single day.

It has misrepresented the ground situation and has misrepresented the progress that we made against al Qaeda throughout the world.

Now, they misled the American people in going to war. They hyped the-their intelligence, and they misrepresented the intelligence in bringing us to war.

And now at this very critical time when we're going to have an opportunity to have a new direction in American foreign policy and national security and defense issues, they're going to try and avoid any debate and discussion about the significance of their mistaken policy in Iraq.

One of the aspects of the fact of the obsession about Iraq is that we have ignored, virtually, the two nuclear powers, one Iran and one in North Korea. And we are failing to follow the very solid recommendations of Nunn-Lugar in terms of the protections of dangerous material and nuclear material that exist in-in Russia.

Now those are the facts. These are not just opinions. That happens to be a fact. That is a byproduct of the fact that we are obsessed with the focus dealing with Iraq.

WOODRUFF: But in terms of the actions on the ground, General John Abizaid, who's the head of the Central Command over there, says the war is making progress. He says his field commanders feel confident. He says they've got over 100,000 Iraqi troops trained and equipped.

How do you know more than the man in charge of the operation?

KENNEDY: I have enormous respect for him. And I wish that this president paid more attention to the military commanders before going into Iraq. And if he had, we wouldn't have gone in.

There have been-with all respect to General Abizaid, there are 863 Americans who have been killed or wounded in the last month, the highest number. We have more-the sophistication of the attacks on American troops has increased dramatically.

We have 70 attacks a day, the highest number, that have taken place in the last month alone. The highest number, the highest number of killed and wounded, highest number of assaults on Americans, increase in sophistication that has taken place. Increased numbers of kidnappings and increasing number of beheadings.

So I don't think that this is the rosy picture. It isn't just me that's saying it. We have Republicans.

We have Chuck Hagel, who has mentioned that-said this situation in Iraq is deteriorating. We have even Lindsey Graham, who says we don't have to just try and present a rosy picture. We have Dick Lugar, who says that the money, the reconstruction, the fact that this $8 billion is missing and that-the fact that we haven't use reconstruction money is just basically incompetent.

Those are facts. And that is what is happening, and the American people ought to understand it. That's all that this speech is about.

WOODRUFF: But Senator, after seven months of straight out, flat out campaigning, right now the polls show that George W. Bush is solidifying his lead over John Kerry.

Why is it that John Kerry has not been able to get across the kind of points that you're making? Why is not able to take advantage of this situation?

KENNEDY: First of all, it isn't-it shouldn't be looked at as just taking advantage of the situation. And really, it shouldn't just be an issue that we're looking at in terms of the election, because national security obviously has been an issue that all Americans care about and care about deeply.

But there hasn't been this kind of debate, and there hasn't been this dialogue. There will be. It will be the first chance for Americans to see both President Bush and John Kerry on Thursday night.

And what, I believe on Thursday night, John Kerry will outline what I know, what he knows and what the American people will know if they listen carefully, that he has a plan in order to be able to have a stable and democratic Iraq and be able to get American troops out.

He has a plan to be able to deal with our intelligence and with homeland security. And he has a plan and a vision on how to deal with challenges that we're facing in the economy.

The fact that this president can't do it doesn't mean that John Kerry can't. That's what the Republicans say: "Look, this president can't do it."

And that's against the background where this president has insulted our allies and brazenly-and basically shredded our alliances to countries around the world.

He's had his chance. He hasn't been able to do it. And therefore we need a new direction. And John Kerry, who's spelling that out, he will for the last five weeks.

WOODRUFF: So are you saying that this debate coming up, or these debates, are the last chance for John Kerry? Most persons are saying they've already made up their minds. They aren't-they're not going to pay that much attention.

KENNEDY: Well, I believe that this is an important opportunity for him. And I believe that there's a really heightened interest in the debate, as there should be.

And I think that they'll have a real opportunity to measure and to also hold accountable this administration with its failed policies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Senator Edward Kennedy. I spoke with him this afternoon.