Democrats question Bush's credibility

With front-runner John Kerry looking for a Wisconsin win that could put him on the road to a November matchup with Bush, rival John Edwards warned Kerry against planning too far ahead.

"Not so fast, John Kerry," said Edwards, a North Carolina senator who has vowed to stay in the presidential race even if he loses in Wisconsin.

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"We're going to have an election here in Wisconsin this Tuesday and we've got a whole group of primaries coming up, and I for one intend to fight with everything I've got for every one of those votes," he said during the Milwaukee debate.

Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, has taken control of the Democratic race with wins in 14 of the first 16 contests, including easy victories on Saturday in Nevada and the District of Columbia.

But rivals Edwards and Howard Dean hope to make a stand in Wisconsin, where the Tuesday primary is their last chance to stop Kerry's surge before a March 2 round of 10 contests in big states like New York and California.

Rather than put Kerry in the hot seat, however, the Democrats kept their focus on Bush, criticizing his economic leadership and his approach to the war in Iraq.

Edwards, Dean, Dennis Kucinich and civil rights activist Al Sharpton all questioned Bush's truthfulness about the reasons for going to war.

"I do not think we were told the truth about why we went to war in Iraq and I think that's a huge problem," Dean said during the 15th debate in the Democratic presidential campaign.

"The president lied to the American people," said Kucinich, an Ohio congressman. Edwards said it was fair to question Bush's statements about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction and posing a threat to the United States.

"Certainly the integrity and character of the president of the United States is at issue -- no question," Edwards said.

Kerry criticised Bush's judgment in going to war and his failure to view it as a last resort. A decorated Vietnam veteran, Kerry drew a contrast with his own combat experience in Vietnam and Bush's decision to send men to war.