Iraq weapons key issue at next debate

By
John Breneman

President Bush is expected to come out firing at tonight’s
debate in St. Louis, but pundits disagree on whether he will
try to reclaim momentum from Sen. John Kerry by shooting the
Democratic insurgent with that cool pistol he got from Saddam
Hussein.

A new report confirming that the president’s claims about
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were absolutely false
has provided fresh ammunition for Kerry. But strategists say
Bush may exploit a loophole in the 32 pages of rules governing
the debate, which apparently fail to prohibit shooting one’s
opponent with a souvenir firearm.

Kerry’s message that the president rushed to war on falsified
intelligence and sunk America into a horrible mess may resonate
with voters, but President Bush is frankly getting a little
ticked off. A spokesman for the Bush campaign said the president
would only pop Kerry with Saddam’s handgun as "a last
resort." But if Kerry uses the new weapons report to
"get in the president’s face" he may be asking for
trouble.

"Of course Saddam Hussein had weapons. He could have
attacked the American people with that pistol, but the president
took it from him. That’s leadership," the Bush spokesman
said. "John Kerry would have waited for the United Nations
to take Saddam’s pistol."