ST PETERSBURG, Florida, Oct 19 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush told voters in the key state of Florida Tuesday that Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry could not be trusted to wage the global war on terrorism.
Flanked by his brother Jeb Bush, the state's governor, Bush told cheering supporters packed into a baseball stadium "my opponent is not prepared and equipped to be the commander in chief."
The president charged that Kerry had voted against crucial weapons systems and quoted him as saying that United States ought to be able to pass a "global test" if it is to use military force to preempt an emerging threat.
Bush also countered attacks by Kerry, denying he would bring back a military draft, insisting that the government was doing all it could to narrow a flu vaccine shortage, and pledging not to drill for oil off Florida's coast.
"I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots despite the major manufacturing defect that caused this problem," he said.
He called Kerry's tactics "a litany of complaints and old-style scare tactics" and urged voters to "reject the politics of fear and vote for an agenda of hope, and opportunity and security for all Americans.
Several times, Bush insisted that "the all-volunteer army will remain an all-volunteer army," aiming to counter Kerry's warnings that a draft may be coming because the war in Iraq has left the US military overstretched.
It was the first of three stops during a day-long bus trip for Bush -- his 19th overall, and the third in the Sunshine State, which he has visited 14 times in 2004 and 31 times since taking office in January 2001.
The president won the White House in 2000 thanks to Florida, where he beat then vice president Al Gore by just 537 votes after the US Supreme Court ordered a halt to recounting ballots in the state.
His last campaign event was to take place at The Villages, a sprawling retirement community with a city-like population of 50,000, to court elderly voters who tend to go to the polls in higher percentages than other groups.
Florida is the richest prize among the dozen or so up-for-grabs states that are expected to decide the election, with 27 of the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidency.
On a separate front, Bush's campaign announced in a statement that it would launch a campaign tour focused on hugely popular NASCAR automobile racing, with some well-known drivers touring the battleground states of Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.