WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (AFP) - Notes from the campaign trail with 40 days left until the November 2 presidential election:
Kerry left speechless
Columbus, Ohio: Democratic challenger Kerry canceled three campaign events on Thursday due to a cold that affected his voice, a spokeswoman said.
He had appeared tired and his voiced sounded strained during events in Florida on Wednesday.
Vice presidential candidate John Edwards took over speaking duties for the day, addressing supporters in the midwestern state of Iowa. (AFP)
Bush versus CBS
WASHINGTON: While taking questions from reporters at the White House Thursday, the president pointedly asked, "Is there anybody here from CBS?"
Did Bush really want to take a question from CBS? Or was he taunting the network that apologized this week for using questionable documents to back a report critical of Bush's military record?
CBS anchor Dan Rather said on the main evening news program Monday that the network could no longer vouch for their authenticity. The documents alleged that Bush had received preferential treatment to get into the Texas Air National Guard and avoid the Vietnam War. (AFP)
The Boss battles Bush
NEW YORK: Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, who turned 55 years old on Thursday, blasted the Bush administration, accusing it of being dishonest in leading the United States to war in Iraq.
"I felt (the administration) had been fundamentally dishonest and had frightened and manipulated the American people into war," The Boss said in the latest Rolling Stone magazine. "And as the saying goes, The first casualty of war is truth."
Springsteen, who had traditionally stayed away from partisan politics, will take part in the "Vote for Change" concert tour, which includes the rock bands REM and Pearl Jam. His anti-Bush stance has disappointed some fans who have voiced their disapproval on the singer's website, brucespringsteen.net. (AFP)
Survey: Bush and Kerry should read the Bible
WASHINGTON: The Bible is the top book President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry should read, according to an online survey of more than 2,700 members of the Book-of-the-Month direct-mail book club. The survey was reported in the USA Today newspaper.
Bookspan, the parent company of club, asked members which books they recommend to the election rivals. The memoir of popular Republican Senator John McCain, a former Vietnam War prisoner, was one of the most recommended books along with a biography of US statesman Benjamin Franklin, one of the nation's founding fathers.
The readers also recommend that the rivals read books by some of their harshest critics. Bush is told to read "Stupid White Men" by "Fahrenheit 9/11" director Michael Moore, while Kerry should pick up conservative commentator Sean Hannity's "Deliver Us From Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism and Liberalism." (AFP)