By Gregory Korte
Enquirer staff writer

President Bush's "go-it-alone policy in Iraq" cost America $200 billion that would have been better spent here at home, Sen. John Kerry said in Cincinnati Wednesday.

In a speech that aimed to forge his foreign and domestic platforms into a single message, Kerry said Bush's "wrong choices have led America in the wrong direction in Iraq, and they left America without the resources we need here at home."

About 600 invited Democrats, union members and veterans listened to the half-hour speech at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.

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"He doesn't believe America can be strong in the world while we also make progress here at home," Kerry said.

"He believes we have to choose one or the other. And that's a false choice - and I reject it."

What was billed as a speech on Iraq actually had more paragraphs devoted to domestic policy than foreign policy.

Lest anyone miss the unifying theme, it was displayed on the podium: "A strong America begins at home."

Twelve times in the speech, Kerry accused Bush of making "wrong choices," usually with this refrain: "That's the wrong choice; that's the wrong direction; and that's the wrong leadership for America."

Standing where Bush stood

Kerry stood on a platform in the rotunda of Union Terminal, the same spot where Bush made the case for war in Iraq in October 2002.

Suddenly behind in the polls after the Republican National Convention, Kerry hoped to turn a defining moment in Bush's presidency into a defining moment in his campaign.

But Kerry wasn't so much critical of Bush's Cincinnati speech - even if some of the assertions Bush made turned out to be based on faulty intelligence.

Indeed, Kerry voted to support the war four days after the Oct. 7, 2002, speech.

Rather, Kerry said, it was the choices Bush made afterward.

"Here in Cincinnati, he said that if Congress approved the resolution giving him the authority to use force, it did not mean that military action would be 'unavoidable.' But he chose not to give the weapons inspectors the time they needed, not just to get the job done - but to give meaning to the words, 'going to war as a last resort.'

"Here in Cincinnati, he promised 'to lead a coalition.' But he failed to build a kind of broad, strong coalition of allies and he rushed to war without a plan to win the peace.

"Here in Cincinnati, from this hall, on that night, he spoke to the nation, and promised: 'If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is possible. We will plan carefully. We will act with the full power of the United States military. We will act with allies at our side and we will prevail.'

"But then, George W. Bush made the wrong choices."

Kerry lamented the loss of American lives in Iraq, and said the $200 billion for the war would have been better spent on a litany of domestic programs: after-school programs, health care for veterans, new police officers, tighter border controls, job training and deficit reduction.

Republican response

Republicans quickly pointed out that Kerry said last year that he was prepared to spend "whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq."

(Kerry said then that he wanted to "spend the money smart," and that the cost should come from "the wealthiest Americans," thus rolling back part of Bush's tax cut.)

"Consistency would sure be nice," said U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Bush's chief spokesman in Ohio.

"If you believe in the need to topple Saddam Hussein and create a free and stable Iraq - which Sen. Kerry says he believes in - you have to finish the job. You either believe in it or not. ... $200 billion is not too much money to spend on the safety of our nation and our families."

Portman said the toll of the 2001 terrorist attacks easily exceeded $100 billion in direct costs and 1 million jobs.

"If we cannot ensure that our economy and our families are protected from terrorism, we'll end up spending a lot more than $200 billion."

The synthesis of economic and international issues comes from both campaigns, as the candidates try to use their strengths in one arena to bolster their perceived weakness in another.

Kerry now trails Bush slightly among likely voters in Ohio, 52 percent to 44 percent, according to a USA Today/CNN/Gallup telephone poll conducted after the Republican National Convention. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Cheney here today for town-hall meeting

Vice President Dick Cheney, will visit the Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center this afternoon for a town-hall-style campaign event with his wife, Lynne.

Cheney said this week that a "wrong choice" for president would increase "the danger that we'll get hit again" by terrorists.

But Republicans said the event was scheduled far in advance and wasn't a direct rebuttal to Kerry's Wednesday speech in Cincinnati critical of Bush's "wrong choices" in Iraq.

President Bush is scheduled to make campaign stops in Portsmouth and Chillicothe on Friday.

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E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com