Democrats chide Bush on fourth anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" stunt

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Democratic presidential hopefuls chide Bush on "Mission Accomplished" speech



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination chided President Bush Tuesday for his bold declaration four years ago that the U.S. had successfully completed its military operations in Iraq. Bush delivered the now-famous speech aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln under a banner that declared "Mission Accomplished."

"Four years after President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and declared 'Mission Accomplished,' we are still in a war where more than one hundred American service members have died in just the month of April," said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois.

In a statement released by her campaign, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-Illinois, said "Never before in our history has a president said 'Mission Accomplished' when the mission had barely begun. Never before has a president landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier to proclaim the end of major combat operations to a war that rages on four years later. Never before has a president pulled a political stunt when so many American lives were and remain in harm's way."

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards also released a statement on the anniversary, saying, "All the photo ops in the world can't hide the truth -- his disastrous mismanagement of the war has left our troops in harm's way and made Iraq a breeding ground for terrorists."

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/democratic-presidential-hopefuls-chide.html