Bush said to rebuff warning on Iraq
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said he warned President Bush before US troops invaded Iraq that the United States would sustain casualties but that Bush responded, "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties." White House and campaign advisers denied that Bush made the comment, with Karen Hughes saying: "I don't believe that happened. He must have misunderstood or misheard it." Robertson, in an interview with CNN that aired Tuesday night, said God had told him that the war would be messy and a disaster. When he met with Bush in Nashville before the war, Bush did not listen to his advice, Robertson said, and thought Saddam Hussein was an evil tyrant who needed to be removed. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "Of course, the president never made such a comment." (AP)
Foreign observers fault US elections
Foreign observers who watched election preparations in the United States have concluded that there is plenty of room for improvement. Among the changes they recommend: public financing of elections. "There are a number of existing problems that pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the 2004 general election in the United States," a 20-person delegation invited by the San Francisco human rights group Global Exchange said in a report set for release today. The observers found what they viewed as problems -- including touch-screen machines that do not print paper records of a vote, and elections run by partisan officials. (AP)
OHIO
Voters confused over ballot layout
CLEVELAND -- Absentee voters in the most populous county of a critical state in the presidential election are protesting about a ballot layout that they say might prompt some people to choose the wrong candidate, or none at all. The absentee voting problem in Cuyahoga County occurs when voters align the ballot portion, which shows a candidate's name, a number and an arrow, with the punch card, which also bears numbers. The pieces are designed to align in the voting machines used on Election Day, but the numbers don't always line up for people voting absentee. The elections board in the traditionally Democratic county has fielded numerous calls from voters confused about the layout of absentee ballots. (AP)
PENNSYLVANIA
Kerry camp plane set for makeover
PITTSBURGH -- The Kerry campaign charter plane is getting a federally ordered makeover. The Federal Aviation Administration has directed the charter operator to take down the postcards, pictures, newspaper headlines, and network logo stickers that have festooned the aircraft's interior since Kerry began using it in late May. The FAA declared that the paraphernalia, which included a Heinz ketchup bottle attached to the door of an overhead bin and a calendar counting down the days until the election, was a potential safety hazard because it was not flame-retardant and might prevent passengers from immediately recognizing the emergency exits, according to several campaign aides and aircraft representatives. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said "the issue here was safety, not cleanliness." (Globe staff)
