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JIM LEHRER: Good evening from the University of Miami Convocation Center
in Coral Gables, Florida. I'm Jim Lehrer of the NewsHour on PBS, and
I welcome you to the first of the 2004 presidential debates between
President George W. Bush, the Republican nominee, and Senator John Kerry,
the Democratic nominee.
 These
debates are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Tonight's
will last 90 minutes following detailed rules of engagement worked out
by representatives of the candidates. I have agreed to enforce their
rules on them. The umbrella topic is foreign policy and homeland security,
but the specific subjects were chosen by me, the questions were composed
by me. The candidates have not been told what they are, nor has anyone
else.
For each question there can only be a two-minute response, a 90-second
rebuttal, and at my discretion, a discussion extension of one minute.
A green light will come on when 30 seconds remain in any given answer,
yellow at 15, red at five seconds, and then flashing red means time's
up. There is also a back-up buzzer system, if needed.
Candidates may not direct a question to each other. There will be two-minute
closing statements but no opening statements.
There is an audience here in the hall, but they will remain absolutely
silent for the next 90 minutes, except for now, when they join me in
welcoming President Bush and Senator Kerry. (Cheers, applause.)
Good evening, Mr. President, Senator Kerry.
As determined by a coin toss, the first question goes to you, Senator
Kerry. You have two minutes.
Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing
another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?
SEN. KERRY: Yes, I do.
But before I answer further, let me thank you for moderating. I want
to thank the University of Miami for hosting us. And I know the president
will join me in welcoming all of Florida to this debate. You've been
through the roughest weeks anybody could imagine. Our hearts go out
to you, and we admire your pluck and perseverance.
 I
can make America safer than President Bush has made us. And I believe
President Bush and I both love our country equally, but we just have
a different set of convictions about how you make America safe. I believe
America is safest and strongest when we are leading the world, and when
we are leading strong alliances. I'll never give a veto to any country
over our security. But I also know how to lead those alliances. This
president has left them in shatters across the globe, and we're now
90 percent of the casualties in Iraq and 90 percent of the costs. I
think that's wrong, and I think we can do better.
I have a better plan for homeland security. I have a better plan to
be able to fight the war on terror, by strengthening our military, strengthening
our intelligence, by going after the financing more authoritatively,
by doing what we need to do to rebuild the alliances, by reaching out
to the Muslim world, which the president has almost not done, and beginning
to isolate the radical Islamic Muslims, not have them isolate the United
States of America.
I know I can do a better job in Iraq, where I have a plan to have a
summit with all of the allies, something this president has not yet
achieved, not yet been able to do to bring people to the table. We can
do a better job of training the Iraqi forces to defend themselves, and
I know that we can do a better job of preparing for elections.
All of these, and especially homeland security, which we'll talk about
a little bit later.
MR. LEHRER: Mr. President, you have 90 seconds for rebuttal.
PRESIDENT BUSH: I -- I, too, thank the University of Miami, and -- and
-- and say our prayers are with the good people of this state, who have
suffered a lot.
September the 11th changed how America must look at the world. And since
that day, our nation has been on a multi-prong strategy to keep our
country safer. We pursued al Qaeda wherever al Qaeda tries to hide.
Seventy-five percent of known al Qaeda leaders have been brought to
justice. The rest of them know we're after them.
We've upheld the doctrine that said if you harbor a terrorist,
you're equally as guilty as the terrorist. And the Taliban no longer
in power. Ten million people have registered to vote in Afghanistan
in the upcoming presidential election.
In Iraq, we saw a threat, and we realized that after September the 11th,
we must take threats seriously before they fully materialize. Saddam
Hussein now sits in a prison cell; America and the world are safer for
it.
 We
continue to pursue our policy of disrupting those who would proliferate
weapons of mass destruction. Libya has disarmed. The A.Q. Khan network
has been brought to justice.
And as well, we're pursuing a strategy of freedom around the world,
because I understand free nations will reject terror. Free nations will
answer the hopes and aspirations of their people. Free nations will
help us achieve the peace we all want.
MR. LEHRER: New question. Mr. President, two minutes. Do you believe
the election of Senator Kerry on November the 2nd would increase the
chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I don't believe it's going to happen. I believe I'm
going to win, because the American people know I know how to lead. I've
shown the American people I know how to lead. I have -- I understand
everybody in this country doesn't agree with the decisions that I've
made. And I've made some tough decisions.
But people know where I stand. People out there listening know what
I believe, and that's how best it is to keep the peace.
This nation of ours has got a solemn duty to defeat this ideology of
hate. And that's what they are; this is a group of killers who will
not only kill here, but kill children in Russia; that will attack unmercifully
in Iraq hoping to shake our will. We have a duty to defeat this enemy.
We have a duty to protect our children and grandchildren. The best way
to defeat them is to never waver, to be strong, to use every asset at
our disposal; is to constantly stay on the offensive, and at the same
time spread liberty. And that's what people are seeing now is happening
in Afghanistan. Ten million citizens have registered to vote. It's a
phenomenal statistic; that if given a chance to be free, they will show
up at the polls. Forty-one percent of those 10 million are women.
 In
Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly
hard. You know why? Because an enemy realizes the stakes. The enemy
understands a free Iraq will be a major defeat in their ideology of
hatred. That's why they're fighting so vociferously.
They showed up in Afghanistan when they were there because they tried
to beat us and they didn't, and they're showing up in Iraq for the same
reason. They're trying to defeat us. And if we lose our will, we lose;
but if we remain strong and resolute, we will defeat this enemy.
MR. LEHRER: Ninety-second response, Senator Kerry.
SEN. KERRY: I believe in being strong and resolute and determined, and
I will hunt down and kill the terrorists wherever they are. But we also
have to be smart, Jim. And smart means not diverting your attention
from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and
taking it off to Iraq, where the 9/11 commission confirms there was
no connection to 9/11 itself and Saddam Hussein, and where the reason
for going to war was weapons of mass destruction, not the removal of
Saddam Hussein.
 This
president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment, and
judgment is what we look for in the president of the United States of
America. I'm proud that important military figures are supporting me
in this race. Former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili.
Just yesterday, General Eisenhower's son, General John Eisenhower, endorsed
me. General -- Admiral William Crowe, General Tony McPeak, who ran the
Air Force war so effectively for his father, all believe I would make
a stronger commander in chief.
And they believe it because they know I would not take my eye off of
the goal: Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, he escaped in the mountains
of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces,
the best-trained in the world to go kill him. The president relied on
Afghan warlords that he outsourced that job to.
That's wrong.
MR. LEHRER: New question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry. Colossal misjudgments.
What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made
in these areas?
SEN. KERRY: Well, where do you want me to begin?
First of all, he made the misjudgment of saying to America that he was
going to build a true alliance, that he would exhaust the remedies of
the United Nations and go through with the inspections. In fact, he
first didn't even want to do that. And it wasn't until former Secretary
of State Jim Baker and General Scowcroft and others pushed publicly
and said, You got to go to the U.N., that the president finally changed
his mind -- his campaign has a word for that -- and went to the United
Nations.
Now, once there, we could have continued those inspections. We had Saddam
Hussein trapped.
He also promised America that he would go to war as a last resort. Those
words mean something to me, as somebody who's been in combat: last resort.
You've got to be able to look in the eyes of families and say to those
parents, "I tried to do everything in my power to prevent the loss
of your son and daughter." I don't believe the United States did
that. And we pushed our allies aside. And so, today, we are 90 percent
of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost -- $200 billion -- $200
billion that could have been used for health care, for schools, for
construction, for prescription drugs for seniors. And it's in Iraq.
And
Iraq is not even the center of the focus of the war on terror; the center
is Afghanistan, where, incidentally, there were more Americans killed
last year than the year before; where the opium production is 75 percent
of the world's opium production; where 40 to 60 percent of the economy
of Afghanistan is based on opium; where the elections have been postponed
three times. The president moved the troops so he's got ten times the
number of troops in Iraq than he has in Afghanistan, where Osama bin
Laden is. Does that mean that Saddam Hussein was ten times more important
than Osama bin -- than -- excuse me -- Saddam Hussein more important
that Osama bin Laden? I don't think so.
MR. LEHRER: Ninety-second response, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: My opponent looked at the same intelligence I looked
at and declared, in 2002, that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat. He
also said, in December of 2003, that anyone who doubts that the world
is safer without Saddam Hussein does not have the judgment to be president.
I agree with him. The world is better off without Saddam Hussein.
I was hoping diplomacy would work. I understand the serious consequences
of committing our troops into harm's way. It's the hardest decision
a president makes. So I went to the United Nations. I didn't need anybody
to tell me to go to the United Nations, I decided to go there myself.
And I went there hoping that once and for all the free world would act
in concert to get Saddam Hussein to listen to our demands. They passed
a resolution that said disclose, disarm or face serious consequences.
I believe when an international body speaks it must mean what it says.
But Saddam Hussein had no intention of disarming. Why should he? He
had 16 other resolutions and nothing took place.
 As
a matter of fact -- my opponent talks about inspectors. The facts are
that he was systematically deceiving the inspectors. That wasn't going
to work. That's kind of a pre-September 10th mentality, to hope that
somehow resolutions and failed inspections would make this world a more
peaceful place. He was hoping we'd turn away. But there was, fortunately,
others beside myself who believed that we ought to take action; we did.
The world is safer without Saddam Hussein.
MR. LEHRER: New question. Mr. President, two minutes. What about Senator
Kerry's point, the comparison he drew between the priorities of going
after Osama bin Laden and going after Saddam Hussein?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Jim, we've got the capability of doing both. As a matter
of fact, this is a global effort. We're facing a group of folks who
have such hatred in their heart, they'll strike anywhere with any means.
And that's why it's essential that we have strong alliances, and we
do. That's why it's essential that we make sure that we keep weapons
of mass destruction out of the hands of people like al Qaeda, which
we are.
But to say that there's only one focus on the war on terror doesn't
really understand the nature of the war on terror. Of course we're after
Saddam Hussein (sic) -- I mean bin Laden. He's isolated. Seventy-five
percent of his people have been brought to justice. The killer in --
the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,
is in prison. We're making progress.
But the front on this war is more than just one place. The
Philippines. We've got help -- we're helping them there to bring al
Qaeda affiliates to justice there.
 And
of course Iraq is a central part of the war on terror. That's why Zarqawi
and his people are trying to fight us. Their hope is that we grow weary
and we leave. The biggest disaster that could happen is that we not
succeed in Iraq. We will succeed. We've got a plan to do so. And the
main reason we'll succeed is because the Iraqis want to be
free.
I had the honor of visiting with Prime Minister Allawi. He's a
strong, courageous leader. He believes in the freedom of the Iraqi people.
He doesn't want U.S. leadership, however, to send mixed signals, to
not stand with the Iraqi people. He believes like I believe that the
Iraqis are ready to fight for their own freedom; they just need the
help to be trained. There will be elections in January, we're spending
reconstruction money, and our alliance is strong. That's the plan for
victory. And when Iraq is free, America will be more secure.
MR. LEHRER: Senator Kerry, 90 seconds.
SEN. KERRY: The president just talked about Iraq as a center of the
war on terror. Iraq was not even close to the center of the war on terror
before the president invaded it.
The president made the judgment to divert forces from under General
Tommy Franks from Afghanistan before the Congress even approved it to
begin to prepare to go to war in Iraq. And he rushed to war in Iraq
without a plan to win the peace. Now that is not the judgment that a
president of the United States ought to make.
 You
don't take America to war unless you have a plan to win the peace. You
don't send troops to war without the body armor that they need. I've
met kids in Ohio, parents in Wisconsin, places -- Iowa -- where they're
going out on the Internet to get the state-of-the-art body gear to send
to their kids. Some of them got them for a birthday present. I think
that's wrong. Humvees, 10,000 out of 12,000 humvees that are over there
aren't armored. And you go visit some of those kids in the hospitals
today who were maimed because they don't have the armament.
This president just -- I don't know if he sees what's really happened
on there, but it's getting worse by the day. More soldiers killed in
June than before, more in July than June, more in August than July,
more in September than in August. And we see beheadings, and we got
weapons of mass destruction crossing the border every single day, and
they're blowing people up.
And we don't have enough troops there.
MR. LEHRER: A --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Can I respond?
 MR.
LEHRER: Let's do a -- one-minute extension. You have 30 seconds.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.
First of all, what my opponent wants you to forget is that he voted
to authorize the use of force, and now says it's the wrong war at the
wrong time at the wrong place. I don't see how you can lead this country
to succeed in Iraq if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place. What
message does that send our troops? What message does that send to our
allies? What message does that send the Iraqis? No, the way to win this
is to be steadfast and resolved and to follow through on the plan that
I just outlined.
MR. LEHRER: Thirty seconds, Senator.
SEN. KERRY: Yes, we have to be steadfast and resolved, and I am. And
I will succeed for those troops now that we're there. We have to succeed.
We can't leave a failed Iraq. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake
of judgment to go there and take the focus off of Osama bin Laden. It
was. Now we can succeed. But I don't believe this president can. I think
we need a president who has the credibility to bring the allies back
to the table and to do what's necessary to make it so America isn't
doing this alone.
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