John Kerry — the democrat who’ll face President Bush in November — campaigned in Iowa on Sunday, his first trip here since winning the Iowa Caucuses. Howard Dean was the favorite heading into 2004, but late-deciding Iowa democrats helped Kerry to a surprising Iowa Caucus win. Kerry began his Sunday afternoon speech by repeating a phrase he first uttered January 19th. “For the second time this year, let me say it as clearly as I know how,” Kerry told the crowd. “I love Iowa.” Kerry says Iowa proved the political pundits wrong and “proved that democracy at the grassroots level is real.” Later in his remarks, Kerry accused the Bush campaign of using its 60 million dollars worth of campaign advertising to distort his record. Kerry says Bush doesn’t have a record to run on, but instead has a record to run away from. Kerry says “it’s time to stop faking it; it’s time to start making it happen here in Iowa and in the rest of the country.” Kerry also criticized the Bush Administration for firing the defense contractor who released pictures of flag-draped coffins carrying dead American soldiers back from Iraq. The Iowa Republican Party handed out waffles outside the auditorium where Kerry spoke, accusing Kerry of being a waffler on key issues like the war in Iraq.
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