GOP senator won't promise Bush vote
PROVIDENCE -- Senator Lincoln Chafee, a Republican, said yesterday he plans to support his party in November, but may write in a candidate instead of voting for President Bush. The Rhode Island lawmaker, known for moderate views that often run counter to the Bush administration, said he was going to vote for a member of his party even though he disagrees with the president on many issues. "I'm a Republican," said Chafee. He also said Senator John F. Kerry's lead in Rhode Island is so commanding, according to polls, that his vote won't affect the outcome. (AP)
North Carolina
Edwards hits Bush on Iraq, health care
RALEIGH -- John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, criticized President Bush's health care policies yesterday and faulted the commander in chief on the war in Iraq. Campaigning in his Republican-leaning home state, the senator echoed the comments of his running mate, Senator John F. Kerry, who told an audience in New York that Bush's invasion of Iraq has created a crisis that could lead to unending war and raised questions about the president's judgment. "Iraq's a mess. And Iraq is a mess because of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. It's that simple," Edwards told supporters at the Raleigh Convention Center. (AP)
Pennsylvania
Kerry's Iraq stance weak, Cheney says
CORNWALL -- Vice President Dick Cheney assailed Senator John F. Kerry as a vacillator on Iraq and warned against choosing the Democrat in November. "The danger here is without a very firm commitment on the part of the president of the United States to put in place a vision to make a decision and live with that decision . . . what you get out there on the other end is confusion, weakness, uncertainty, and indecision," he told about 200 people at a town hall meeting. (AP)
Washington, D.C.
Bush fund-raising hits record $260m
President Bush raised a record $260 million for his reelection bid through last month and spent roughly one-third of it trying to reach voters over the airwaves. The Republican incumbent took in $18 million in August, his last month of campaign fund-raising before accepting full government financing for the general election. That lifted his total to $260 million, more than double the presidential record of roughly $106 million he set in the 2000 primary race when he had Republican opponents. (AP)
Tax cut extensions may gain ground
Republican leaders, eager to deliver a preelection victory to President Bush, were scrambling to reach agreement on legislation needed to extend three popular middle-class tax cuts that are set to expire this year. Under one optimistic scenario being discussed by Republican leaders, a House-Senate conference committee on the legislation will reach agreement early this week in time for both the House and the Senate to act on the proposal and send it to Bush for his signature by week's end. (AP)
