Gore Defends Clinton's Record To War Veterans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AllPolitics, Aug. 21) -- Vice President Al Gore urged a respectful, but skeptical veterans audience today to take a closer look at Republican Bob Dole's voting record in Congress.

Gore, appearing at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, praised Dole's war record and courage in overcoming his battlefield injuries.

But he insisted the Clinton Administration has the better record on improving the economy, maintaining a strong defense and protecting Medicare and veterans benefits.

"We acknowledge and praise Senator Dole's service and courage," Gore told the veterans. "That's fair. That's right. It's also fair and right to ask you to look at the record...Look beyond the political words and look at the facts."

Gore got a polite reception, but it was less enthusiastic than the welcome that the Republican nominee received when he spoke to the same group on Tuesday.

Still, Gore made a determined effort to lay out the Clinton record, even as he took note of the VFW's political action committee's endorsement of Dole this week.

Gore recalled that when Republicans proposed cuts in veterans benefits during last winter's government shutdowns, Clinton stood firm.

"He did not budge and hit them with a veto," Gore said.

"It is the Republican defense budget, not President Clinton's, which drops in the next century," the vice president declared. "President Clinton's budget, which is also there for you to see, does not. It increases. Facts are facts. Illusions must be penetrated. (288K WAV sound)

"The fact is that no person is as committed to military readiness, to the security and well-being of our troops and to the safety of our nation as President Bill Clinton, and we yield to no one," Gore said.

Gore warned that "indiscriminate" tax cuts in Dole's new economic plan will inevitably mean cuts in government programs that veterans care about.

"Now they're up to the same old tricks, but this time with an even bigger tax cut, even more indiscriminate, and absolutely no way to pay for it," Gore said. "It sounds the retreat from a balanced budget.

"Our veterans, all of you, did not sacrifice so that this generation could blow a huge hole in the deficit and saddle our children with an unmanageable debt," he said. "But that is exactly what the Republican plan would do.

"It may not be today or tomorrow or the next day, but with the Republican plan, veterans would have to pay; there is no way around it," Gore warned.

Gore also dismissed as "bunk, pure and simple" the suggestion that the United States gives up command over its troops when it works with allies and the United Nations on peace-keeping missions. The chain of command from the president to U.S. troops is not broken, he said.

Gore Defends Clinton's Record To War Veterans

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