It's Craptastic!

Over the past three years, America's economy has faced a series of challenges: stock market decline, recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, and the uncertainties of war. My administration confronted those challenges squarely, and acted boldly. We reduced taxes on families and small businesses, we encouraged new investment and we're seeing the results.

Again and again, economic pessimists have questioned the skills and creativity and energy of America's workers. The pessimists have always been wrong. America's workers and entrepreneurs will meet every challenge. With the right policies in Washington, we will maintain America's economic leadership, we will create more jobs, and we'll help our workers achieve a better life.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), visiting the site of one of the most famous political debates in U.S. history, challenged President Bush (news - web sites) on Saturday to a "real discussion about America's future" in monthly debates.
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"I believe the American people are hungry for a genuine conversation about the fundamental questions before us," Kerry said in Quincy, Illinois, site of one of the seven historic Abraham Lincoln-Stephen Douglas debates.
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The Bush campaign rejected the request for monthly debates and questioned how Kerry could ask for a civil discussion after his remarks about Republicans and after spending millions of dollars on ads attacking Bush.

"Senator Kerry should finish the debate with himself before he starts trying to explain his positions to the voters," said Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt. A campaign official said they looked forward to "vigorous debates at the appropriate time."

Craig Szczesiul, 18 and a senior at Metro, told Paige that St. Louis school officials were studying budget cuts of $23 million, including cuts in support for gifted, art, music and athletic programs.

"Everyone agrees there are problems, but we have no idea what to do. Can you help us with ideas about how to fix the problem?" Szczesiul said to thunderous applause.

Paige replied, "I think you stumped me with that question."

Paige went on to say that issues surrounding public education should be figured out by the residents of each state. He noted the success of Atlanta in attracting the Summer Olympics in 1996 after people of all races and economic and political backgrounds worked together.

After Paige concluded his answer, he said, "I didn't get any applause." The students clapped.

Victory means an exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
- George W. Bush, discussing Kosovo, Houston Chronicle, 04-09-99

"Environmentalists are a socialist group of individuals that are the tool of the Democrat Party. I'm proud to say that they are my enemy. They are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans."
- Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Alaska Public Radio, 08-19-96

"I don't understand how poor people think."
- George W. Bush, confiding in the Rev. Jim Wallis, New York Times, 08-26-03

"Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him."
- Rep. James Hansen (R-UT), talking about President Clinton, as reported by journalist Steve Miner of KSUB radio who overheard his conversation, 11-01-98

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building."
- Ann Coulter, New York Observer, 08-26-02

"And there is, I am certain, among the Iraqi people a respect for the care and the precision that went into the bombing campaign."
- Donald Rumsfeld, defenselink.mil, 04-09-03

"Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist."
- Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), House Majority Whip, during a debate on increasing the minimum wage, Congressional Record, H3706, 04-23-96

"I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period."
- Pat Robertson again, The 700 Club, 01-08-92

"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."
- Ann Coulter, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 02-26-02

"The fact of the matter is that this (increased American casualties) is a sign of the success of our operation, not its failure."
- Ralph Reed, GOP strategist, on MSNBC's program 'Hardball,' 10-28-03

"The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on, which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason."
- Paul Wolfowitz, quoted by Tim Russert on 'Meet The Press, NBC, 06-01-03

"Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity. The degree these two have diminished is in direct proportion to the corruption and fall of the nation. Every problem that has arisen (sic) can be directly traced back to our departure from God's Law and the disenfranchisement of White men."
- State Rep. Don Davis (R-NC), emailed to every member of the North Carolina House and Senate, reported by the Fayetteville Observer, 08-22-01

"My biggest fear is going to be going to the funeral of some young Iowa man or woman who dies in this conflict and having their mother or father come up to me and ask whether or not their son or daughter died for America, or died to save Bill Clinton's presidency. I don't know what I would say to those grieving parents. For that reason I believe the President must resign immediately."
- Rep. Jim Nussle (R-IA), Congressional Record, H11963, 12-18-98

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many, what day it's gonna happen? It's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
- Barbara Bush, said on 'Good Morning America' the day before the Iraq war started, New York Times, 01-13-03

"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I don't need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the President. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."
- George W. Bush, Washington Post, 11-19-02