Richardson Criticizes Bush

Saturday, December 29, 2007

PAKISTAN POLICY QUESTIONED

Richardson Criticizes Bush

DES MOINES -- Bill Richardson, keying off the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, sharply criticized the Bush administration's Pakistan policy and called for an immediate cutoff of military aid to that country that does not go directly to the fight against terrorism.

A day after calling on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to step down, the New Mexico governor delivered a broad critique of the Bush administration's policies. Richardson also highlighted his own foreign policy credentials and argued that now is no time to elect a president who is a neophyte on the international stage.

"President Bush faced a choice with Pakistan," Richardson said in a speech to an overflow audience at the Des Moines Botanical Center. "He needed to choose whether to support the dictator or the Pakistani people. He chose the dictator. Repeatedly. And by doing so, he has let down both the American and the Pakistani people."

Richardson acknowledged the risks of forcing Musharraf from power, given Pakistan's instability and status as a nuclear state. But he argued that the risks are far greater if Musharraf were to remain in power, and he accused some of his Democratic rivals of making the same mistake as the president in putting too much faith in Musharraf.

Earlier this year, Richardson was more supportive of Musharraf. "I think the vice president is right. You have to lean on Musharraf, who is our ally," he said in February on MSNBC. "And what you don't want to do is provoke a situation, even though he's not a great champion of human rights, democracy, et cetera, to have somebody replace him who is less friendly to us, who would cause us real problems."

Tom Reynolds, press secretary for Richardson's campaign, said about those earlier remarks: "Whatever slight hope existed that Musharraf could reform himself and regain credibility with his people is now lost. Unless Musharraf steps aside, Richardson does not believe elections can be fair or that the country can make progress toward true democracy."

John McCain took an opposite view from Richardson's, saying on Friday to reporters in Manchester, N.H., that he continues "to believe Musharraf has done a pretty good job, done a lot of the things that we wanted him to do." McCain cited Musharraf's decision to relinquish his military post, to call elections and to end martial law.

In his outspoken defense of Musharraf, McCain also rejected any suggestion that the United States should consider invading Waziristan, the mountainous region of Pakistan that has become the base for al-Qaeda and Taliban elements suspected in the assassination.

"If you've ever been to Waziristan, which I have been to, it's very rugged country that has not been governed by anyone going back to Alexander the Great. It presents an enormous military challenge alone, much less that it would alienate the people and government of Pakistan if we decided to initiate unilateral action," McCain said.

-- Dan Balz and Alec MacGillis

INCOMPLETE PICTURE?

Obama's Health-Care Ad

Barack Obama is touting his health-care plan in an Iowa ad unveiled yesterday, six days before the state's caucuses. But the commercial misrepresents some newspaper assessments of the Illinois Democrat's proposal.

The ad says the Obama plan "guarantees coverage for all Americans." But the on-screen citation, from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, is truncated in a misleading way in comparing the proposal with those offered by Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. The full quote reads: "Edwards and Clinton would require all Americans to have health insurance. Obama's plan guarantees coverage for all Americans but does not require all to have it."

"Experts say Obama's plan is 'the best,'" the narrator says, with an on-screen citation of the Iowa City Press-Citizen. But the newspaper's endorsement cites no experts and is not even comparing the proposal with the Clinton and Edwards prescriptions; the Press-Citizen says it is the best alternative, compared with a single-payer health system.

The commercial also cites The Washington Post in saying that the Obama approach would be "saving $2,500 for the typical family." The Post article said that "the senator's aides estimated" such a savings but did not attempt to verify it.

While correctly citing the Daily Iowan, a college newspaper, in asserting that the Obama plan would put "pressure on insurance and pharmaceutical companies," the ad also says the plan "cuts costs more than any other." Obama's staff says that its estimate of cost savings exceeds those put forth by Clinton and Edwards, but that has not been independently corroborated.

The ad begins by declaring that "outside groups are spending millions to stop change, including false attacks on Barack Obama's health plan." The ad shows a mock-up of a Tuesday article in The Post that reports on the influx of interest-group funds but says nothing about stopping "change" or "false attacks" on Obama.

Clinton's campaign convened a conference call with ex-Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, who criticized the ad on the grounds that Obama's plan, unlike Clinton's plan, does not include a mandate requiring individuals to obtain insurance. Obama has questioned whether such mandates can be enforced.

-- Howard Kurtz