Kerry requests book on Iraq by ex-Bush official
KETCHUM, Idaho -- Adding to his vacation reading list of historical biographies and award-winning fiction, John F. Kerry asked to see sections of a new book by a former White House counterterrorism chief that accuses the Bush administration of trying to falsely link Iraq to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the senator said yesterday.
Passing by reporters as he prepared for a third day of snowboarding and skiing at the Sun Valley resort here, the presumptive Democratic nominee was circumspect when asked about author Richard A. Clarke's criticisms of Bush, including Clarke's contention that Bush personally pressured him to supply evidence that Iraq played a role in the 2001 attacks.
"I've asked for -- several chapters are being FedEx'd out to me here," Kerry said. "I would like to read them before I make any comment. They should be getting here tomorrow, I hope."
Kerry aides have spoken bluntly about the book -- and Clarke's interview on CBS's "60 Minutes" last night -- as potential threats to Bush's credibility as a wartime president. "Clarke's appearance on `60 Minutes' is going to be a big deal," Kerry spokesman David Wade said Saturday.
In Washington, meanwhile, Senator Edward M. Kennedy -- Kerry's campaign cochairman -- struck back at Republicans who have been taunting Kerry to back up his statements that government leaders overseas support his campaign, saying Vice President Dick Cheney should go first and disclose the names of members on his energy task force.
"When is the vice president going to give us the names of those people on his task force in energy that jacked up the price for consumers and provided windfall profits for the energy industry?" Kennedy said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Passing the midpoint of his six-day vacation in Idaho, Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, began yesterday attending morning services at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in this ski resort town, where Heinz Kerry has had a home for years.
The couple arrived late and slid into seats in the back of the church as the pastor was midway through the Gospel reading, the parable of the prodigal son. Among the casually dressed parishioners yesterday, the Kerrys were among a handful wearing ski clothes.
Patrick Healy can be reached at phealy@globe.com. 