This has unquestionably got to be the most egocentric, vain - and idiotic - White House in history. Everything rotten that's happening in the world is now apparently a swipe at Bush's re-election. Richard Armitage has opened this locker of lying.
Right, Dick. Iraqis are killing themselves and each other as a "screw you" to the Bush-Cheney campaign. What a stinking jackass. This is disgusting.
Insurgents aim to influence U.S. vote, official says
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage alleged Friday that insurgents have stepped up their deadly assaults in Iraq because they want to "influence the election against President Bush," a statement that drew a sharp condemnation from the campaign of Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry.
It is apparently the first time that a Bush administration official has linked the escalating violence in Iraq to an effort by insurgents to help defeat Bush in November.
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After Armitage had apparently ended the news conference by saying, "Thank you very much," a reporter asked him to clarify his statement linking the violence in Iraq to the elections, according to the transcript.
"It's quite obvious that they would like to raise [the] costs to President Bush. I think this is their cynical effort to do that and to somehow influence our elections, and they will fail," Armitage said.
"They are trying to influence the election against President Bush," he added.
Asked whether he meant that insurgents or terrorists were working for Kerry, Armitage replied, "I didn't say that. What I said was that they were trying to influence the election against President Bush."
David Wade, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign, fired back Friday.
"These comments are an outrage and an offense to all Americans," Wade said. "It's even more offensive that the Bush administration thinks they can cover up the indefensible words of the deputy secretary of state."
Although Armitage is apparently the first administration official to link the escalating death toll in Iraq to efforts to defeat Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney drew similar ire from Democrats last week. Cheney said during a campaign stop in Iowa that the U.S. could be hit in a devastating terrorist attack "if we make the wrong choice" on Nov. 2.
