Bush bites back

President George Bush launched a counter-offensive against his election rival John Kerry today, hours after the Senator delivered a blistering attack on the decision to go to war with Iraq.

Mr Bush and Mr Kerry hit the election campaign trail shortly after the Democratic challenger delivered the keynote speech to his party’s national convention in Boston.

Speaking to supporters in Missouri, Mr Bush said: “Give me four more years and America will continue to reach towards peace and prosperity.”

Hours earlier, Mr Kerry pledged that he would be “a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war“, if elected in November.

He attacked the justification given by the White House for war and the premature claim by Mr Bush that the Iraq mission was “accomplished“.

“Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn’t make it so,” Mr Kerry said.

“And proclaiming ’mission accomplished’ certainly doesn’t make it so.”

Mr Kerry left Boston this morning on the start of a two week whistlestop tour of 21 states, covering 3,500 miles.

Meanwhile, Mr Bush began a weekend of campaigning in the battleground states of Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

Speaking to Republicans in Springfield, Missouri, Mr Bush said: “With your help, Dick Cheney and I will lead the nation for four more years.”

The comment appeared to lay to rest speculation over whether Mr Cheney would continue as vice president if Mr Bush wins a second term.

“We have a clear vision of how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world,” Mr Bush said.

He attempted to trivialise the Democratic Party for the support it has won from celebrities.

“They seem to believe that the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood,” he said.

Mr Bush said Mr Kerry had had “very few signature achievements” during his 19 years as a Senator for Massachusetts.

“His prescription for America is the wrong medicine,” Mr Bush said.

He painted a picture of Mr Kerry as a supporter of unpopular big central government, and added: “He has had a history of voting for higher taxes.”

“They’re going to raise your taxes, we’re not,” Mr Bush said.

And he seized on comments by Mr Kerry last night that supporting the war in Iraq was a complex issue.

“There’s nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat,” Mr Bush said, as fans chanted “four more years“.

Mr Bush and Mr Kerry are level pegging in the opinion polls. While a small majority of Americans want a new president, less than half said they would prefer Mr Kerry, according to recent polls.

More than half now believe the Iraq war was not worth fighting, but people are still unsure about Mr Kerry’s stance on certain issues, not least Iraq and the war on terror.

Mr Kerry tried to address that problem in his convention speech, and sounded almost hawkish at times.

He told the gathering in Boston that he would make America “stronger at home and respected in the world” and added: “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”

He said his 11 months of Vietnam service, for which he was decorated for bravery, gave him the right credentials to be America’s next commander in chief during the war on terror.

“As president, I will wage this war with the lessons I learned in war,” said the 60-year-old senator.

And he promised the military it would “never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace“.

He went on: “I will bring back this nation’s time-honoured tradition – the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.”

“I will be a commander-in-chief who will never mislead us into war.

“I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as president. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required,” he said.

“Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger military.”

Mr Kerry promised to add another 40,000 troops to the military, to boost over-stretched services, and to double the number of special forces troops.

He appealed directly to President Bush for a clean fight in the run up to the November 2 election, saying: “Let’s respect one another,” and he called on both Democrats and Republicans to “make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacks“.

But with Mr Bush and Mr Kerry so close in the polls, the chances of a clean fight are slim.

And the pressure of the campaign is already taking its toll. After having just a few hours sleep last night, Mr Kerry told supporters as he left Boston that he was “longing to have my head hit a pillow“.