Atrios is right: this was the most amazing thing said in the debate:
Eschaton: Once we move away from the jokey stuff, the most stunning statement by Bush last night was: "I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises."... [Kerry] was talking about doing very sensible and relatively inexpensive things [to guard America and control nuclear materials] to prevent catastrophe.
The full exchange:
Posted by DeLong at October 1, 2004 10:54 AM | TrackBackMr. Kerry: Jim, let me tell you exactly what I'll do [to enhance homeland security]. And there are a long list of things. First of all, what kind of mixed message does it send when you've got $500 million going over to Iraq to put police officers in the streets of Iraq and the president is cutting the cops program in America? What kind of message does it send to be sending money to open firehouses in Iraq but we're shutting firehouses, who are the first responders here in America? The president hasn't put one nickel - not one nickel - into the effort to fix some of our tunnels and bridges and most exposed subway systems. That's why they had to close down the subway in New York when the Republican convention was there. We haven't done the work that ought to be done.
The president - 95 percent of the containers that come into the ports, right here in Florida, are not inspected. Civilians get onto aircraft and their luggage is X-rayed, but the cargo hold is not X-rayed. Does that make you feel safer in America?
This president thought it was more important to give the wealthiest people in America a tax cut rather than invest in homeland security. Those aren't my values. I believe in protecting America first. And long before President Bush and I get a tax cut - and that's who gets it - long before we do, I'm going to invest in homeland security and I'm going to make sure we're not cutting cops programs in America and we're fully staffed in our firehouses and that we protect the nuclear and chemical plants.
The president, also unfortunately, gave in to the chemical industry, which didn't want to do some of the things necessary to strengthen our chemical plant exposure. And there's an enormous undone job to protect the loose nuclear materials in the world that are able to get to terrorists. That's a whole other subject.
But I see we still have a little bit more time. Let me just quickly say, at the current pace, the president will not secure the loose material in the Soviet Union, former Soviet Union, for 13 years. I'm going to do it in four years. And we're going to keep it out of the hands of terrorists.Mr. Lehrer: Ninety-second response, Mr. President.
Mr. Bush: I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises. It's like a huge tax gap and - anyway, that's for another debate....
Yes this is great. A front should now be opened up on Bush the Spender, not just how much he spends (although mention it at every opportunity) but what he spends it on.
Something the major media seems to be completely missing (surprise) that the Dems should bring out: The hurricane & flooding victims may not know of the arcane economics term "opportunity cost" - but their dealings with FEMA have taught them the concept in a bone-deep way the good professor could only wish most of his expensively-tutored students would achieve.
They don't want to hear sh*t about what's being spent in Iraq when a tapped-out US Government is offering them basically useless loans.
Posted by: a different chris at October 1, 2004 12:11 PMI could not believe what I was hearing. I actually had to pause the TiVo and replay the comment. If you're looking for a gaffe on the "There is no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe" scale, look no further.
Posted by: bluestater at October 1, 2004 12:32 PMWhat's even more ridiculous is that he plans to spend even more than Kerrty overall but has no new sources or revenue. That kind of makes it hard to do, well, everything!
Posted by: Brian at October 1, 2004 12:39 PMThe federal government doesn't need to be involved in funding community police and fire stations or local public transportation. If those things are not the responsibility of local governments, what is?
Posted by: Xavier at October 1, 2004 01:46 PMI heard this, and was incredibly dissappointed that Kerry didn't go for the jugular.
"Mr. President, are you saying that tax cuts for the wealthy are more important that homeland security?"
Posted by: Dave at October 1, 2004 01:59 PMXavier:
local govt is responsible for local issues, like getting the firehouses built and the firemen hired. but if we as a society are asking these people to be "first responders" to a terrorist attack, then it becomes an issue of national security and one appropriately funded by federal dollars.
Francis
Local jurisdiction public safety infrastructure and programs are commonly funded with a mix of federal, state, and local money.
Posted by: Handle at October 1, 2004 03:17 PMDoes this make you feel safer??
Daily costs of Newport VX disposal facility grows to $300,000
The Associated Press
September 23, 2004 1:26 PM
NEWPORT, IND. -- The cost of operating a western Indiana complex built to destroy a Cold War-era nerve agent has grown to about $300,000 a day, even as delays have set back the project's start, Army officials said. The latest daily cost estimate for operating the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is about $50,000 more a day than the figure the Army reported last year.
The military had planned to begin chemically neutralizing about 1,269 tons of deadly VX nerve agent stockpiled at the depot this summer, but the project has been pushed back until late this year. In addition to the $300,000 daily cost of operating the disposal facility, the rate of running the depot's stockpile storage/base operations side runs to just more than $60,000 a day, Brubaker said.
Over the past two years, there have been many delays in the Army's schedule to destroy the nerve agent. Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group in Berea, Ky., said delays have been common at the nation's weapon-destruction facilities. His group works to ensure the safe destruction and disposal of the nation's chemical weapon stockpiles. Newport is one of eight chemical weapons storage sites across the nation where the Army is working to destroy stockpiles by 2007 as part of an international treaty.
"There is zero predictability within the Chemical Agent Disposal Program because the cost continues to escalate," he said. "The program is 22 billion dollars over budget and at least 17 years behind schedule." Marilyn Daughdrill, a Chemical Materials Agency spokeswoman, confirmed the accuracy of Williams' numbers. She said the agency's original estimates for the cost and time required to destroy the nation's weapons caches "were extraordinarily optimistic."
Information from: The Tribune-Star
They were supposed to do this 20 years ago. I think there is finally movement because they finally realize that nerve gas stockpiles have always been a more serious threat to citizens of the US than foreign enemies against whom they will never be used. A terrorist attack could release this stuff over a wide area and make it uninhabitable for up to a year. Apparently, our military does not consider how it will get rid of stuff like nerve gas once they make it.
Posted by: bakho at October 1, 2004 05:32 PMThere's no question about it: this is a gaffe the Dems should pound Bush on, over and over and over again, in as many different variations as they can think of.
The basic line: "Bush thinks it costs too much to protect our ports and chemical plants from terrorists?"
The tax cut line: "Bush thinks tax cuts for his rich friends are more important than protecting the people of the United States from terrorists?"
The debt line: "Bush has already borrowed and borrowed and mortgaged America up to the rafters to pay for everything *he*'s wanted. Now he tells us there isn't any money left to do the things necessary to protect Americans?"
The poor priorities line: "We knew three years ago that we needed to protect our ports, protect our chemical plants, screen our air cargo. But he just didn't get around to doing these things; he was too busy passing tax cuts, and trying to amend the Constitution. And now he says we can't even find the money to protect America. What does this say about Mr. Bush's judgment, about Mr. Bush's priorities? Shouldn't protecting the citizens of America come before these things?"
You get the idea.
Posted by: RT at October 2, 2004 03:48 AMThe truly amazing thing about that exchange is that, judging by his tone and body language, Bush clearly thinks this is a winning issue for him. He thought he was hitting one out of the park with that statement.
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