In denouncing an enemy, rivals strike at each other

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Both presidential candidates condemned the latest videotape message from Osama bin Laden yesterday, but their efforts to strike a statesmanlike tone quickly devolved into partisan sniping over who would best protect the nation from terrorist attacks.

At an evening rally in Columbus, President Bush admonished John F. Kerry for repeating charges that Bush passed up a chance to capture bin Laden in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in late 2001, saying it was "shameful" to make that accusation on the day the terrorist mastermind sought to insert himself into the nation's political debate.

"It's the worst kind of Monday-morning quarterbacking," Bush told about 20,000 supporters at an ice hockey arena. "It is especially shameful in the light of a new tape from America's enemy."

Kerry aides retorted that it was the president, not Kerry, who made the bin Laden tape a political issue. "For two years the nation has known that George Bush had an opportunity to catch Osama bin Laden, and he didn't do it," Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said. "It's shameful for the president to now use this tape for political gain, and he knows it."

The Democratic nominee had mentioned the missed opportunity to catch bin Laden during a 35-minute speech in Orlando, Fla., yesterday morning -- before the tape surfaced. Kerry spokesman Joe Lockhart said that Kerry was advised that a bin Laden videotape might appear on Al Jazeera just before he did an interview with a Wisconsin television station, in which he did talk about the tape and Tora Bora -- before he had been briefed on the contents of the tape.

Nevertheless, the Bush campaign seized on Kerry's comment. Bush was "disappointed" that Kerry did not choose to keep the terror issue separate from politics on day that the American people were "still absorbing" the tape, said White House spokesman Dan Bartlett. He cited another comment Kerry made yesterday -- "Wake up, America," the senator said -- as further evidence that the Kerry campaign feels the race slipping away.

"The fact that they chose to attack the president on what we know to be a discredited claim I think shows where this race is," Bartlett said. "You're seeing some frustration by Senator Kerry."

In a late-night conference call with reporters, Lockhart reiterated that Kerry was unaware of the contents of the videotape when Kerry repeated his charge about Tora Bora during the TV interview, and Lockhart accused Bush of "trying to use this tape that is offensive to all Americans for his own political gain."

Earlier, the Kerry camp seemed briefly hushed by the first new images the nation has seen of the Al Qaeda leader in some two years, as both campaigns were initially careful to avoid appearing as if they were exploiting the tape for political gain.

Bush denounced bin Laden as an "enemy of our country," promising that no American would be influenced by the new threats. Kerry vowed that the country is "united" against terrorism.

But some advisers to the candidates showed less restraint. Kerry foreign policy adviser Richard Holbrooke said on CNN that the tape will serve to remind Americans that bin Laden is still at large.

"The important thing, unfortunately, is that Osama bin Laden is alive and looks pretty well," said Holbrooke, a former UN ambassador. "[The tape] raises a much deeper question: How can this grotesque mass murderer be out there on international television more than three years after 9/11?"

Mike McCurry, a senior Kerry campaign aide, said last night that Holbrooke was speaking as a foreign policy expert, not as a representative of the Kerry campaign. But Holbrooke's comment, combined with Kerry's repetition of the charges regarding Tora Bora, soon prompted a harsh response from the Bush camp.

Bartlett, the White House spokesman, said Holbrooke "threw a haymaker," and accused Kerry of following suit after making an initial statement that was "appropriate." He said the president was careful to adopt a measured, apolitical tone in his response to the tape.

Advisers to both quickly tried to assess the impact of the bin Laden tape behind the scenes. Republicans speculated it would remind voters about the need to fight terrorism, Bush's strong suit, and Democrats asserted the new tape helped Kerry by reminding the public that the Bush administration has failed to capture the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Bush advisers argued that any debate about terrorism is an automatic boost for the president, whose strongest hour came immediately after Sept. 11. And Bush used the occasion to make a characteristically strong stand against terrorism -- although he chose not to mention bin Laden, whom he once promised to capture "dead or alive," by name.

"Let me make this very clear: Americans will not be intimidated or influenced by an enemy of our country," Bush said, speaking after a campaign stop to reporters gathered next to Air Force One on the tarmac at the Toledo Express Airport in Toledo, Ohio. "I'm sure Senator Kerry agrees with this. I also want to say to the American people that we are at war with these terrorists, and I am confident that we will prevail."

Almost simultaneously, Kerry interrupted his campaign schedule to make a statement. "Let me make it clear, crystal clear: As Americans, we are absolutely united in our determination to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden and the terrorists," Kerry said. "They're barbarians and I will stop at absolutely nothing to hunt down, capture or kill the terrorists wherever they are, whatever it takes, period."

In an interview with WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Kerry delved into the politics of the subject. "I believe I can run a more effective war on terror than George Bush." Kerry went on to repeat his "regret" that Bush did not capture or kill bin Laden in the Afghan mountains of Tora Bora. "He outsourced the job," Kerry said yesterday, repeating his claim that Bush relied on ragtag Northern Alliance troops to pursue bin Laden rather than sending in a sufficient number of US ground troops.

Bush was informed about the contents of the tape yesterday morning by his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, who traveled with him on Air Force One to several campaign rallies. White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed that intelligence services believe the tape is authentic, but avoided questions about whether bin Laden is seeking to influence the outcome of the campaign. For now, the Homeland Security terror threat level remains at "yellow," or elevated, nationwide.

Kerry learned about the tape from Rand Beers, a senior policy adviser, who was briefed by Bush administration officials yesterday. Kerry then huddled with his top advisers on the tarmac in West Palm Beach, emerging to give a brief statement to reporters.

Bin Laden sounded keenly aware of the presidential campaign, referring to "Kerry or Bush" and even rebutting the assertion frequently made by Bush on the campaign trail that terrorists attacked on Sept. 11 because they oppose freedom. "If Bush says we hate freedom, let him tell us why we didn't attack Sweden, for example," bin Laden said. "We fought you because we are free . . . and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security, we undermine yours."

A senior campaign adviser traveling with Kerry said that the emergence of the videotape will not change any aspect of the Democrat's closing strategy.

"Who knows how this will affect the race?" the adviser said. "I do know that it's not going to change a single thing John Kerry says or does between now and the time polls close on Election Day."