WASHINGTON -- The Bush-Cheney campaign Wednesday unleashed its most famous Democratic booster, Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, to make the case that presidential candidate John Kerry advocates policies inconsistent with some of history's most popular Democratic presidents.
Miller, a Georgian who is the lone Democratic senator to publicly back President Bush's re-election bid, criticized Kerry in a speech announcing his leadership of a national "Democrats for Bush" effort.
He was joined by a handful of lesser-known Democrats, but the campaign said it would release a more comprehensive list in the coming weeks.
The popular former governor cited the policies of Democratic Presidents Kennedy and Truman while contending that Kerry, not Bush, is outside the mainstream on issues ranging from tax cuts to war.
"John F. Kerry has the same initials as John F. Kennedy," Miller said, "but he has a far, far different view of what the government can do to help families prosper.
"John Kerry's spending and tax plan would stifle our economy and stall our recovery at the worst possible time."
Miller was an original sponsor of Bush's proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut, which Congress trimmed to $1.3 trillion. He argued that it represented a smaller proportion of the American economy and benefited poor Americans even more than one enacted under Kennedy in the 1960s.
As for the war in Iraq, Miller praised Kerry, D-Mass., for his Senate vote to authorize force. However, he said Kerry later opposed an $87 billion package to further fund the effort after "spending too much time around Howard Dean," the former candidate and outspoken war critic.
Miller also criticized Kerry's view that more diplomatic channels should have been explored through the United Nations before moving almost unilaterally.
"I cannot imagine the great Democratic Party leaders of past generations waiting with their hands in their pockets while a bunch of dithering diplomats decided the future of the world," Miller said. "That is the worst kind of indecisiveness. That is the wrong kind of leadership at this critical moment in our history."
The Kerry campaign said Miller had praised his Senate colleague just two years ago, calling Kerry "an authentic hero."
"Zell Miller's new leadership role will be a lonely post," Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said. "Democrats, and Americans of all stripes, are tired of George Bush's failed policies and broken promises."
Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot, a former Montana governor, said the campaign would use Miller often on the trail, particularly to rally fellow Democrats to the cause.
Miller, a Georgian who is the lone Democratic senator to publicly back President Bush's re-election bid, criticized Kerry in a speech announcing his leadership of a national "Democrats for Bush" effort.
He was joined by a handful of lesser-known Democrats, but the campaign said it would release a more comprehensive list in the coming weeks.
The popular former governor cited the policies of Democratic Presidents Kennedy and Truman while contending that Kerry, not Bush, is outside the mainstream on issues ranging from tax cuts to war.
"John F. Kerry has the same initials as John F. Kennedy," Miller said, "but he has a far, far different view of what the government can do to help families prosper.
"John Kerry's spending and tax plan would stifle our economy and stall our recovery at the worst possible time."
Miller was an original sponsor of Bush's proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut, which Congress trimmed to $1.3 trillion. He argued that it represented a smaller proportion of the American economy and benefited poor Americans even more than one enacted under Kennedy in the 1960s.
As for the war in Iraq, Miller praised Kerry, D-Mass., for his Senate vote to authorize force. However, he said Kerry later opposed an $87 billion package to further fund the effort after "spending too much time around Howard Dean," the former candidate and outspoken war critic.
Miller also criticized Kerry's view that more diplomatic channels should have been explored through the United Nations before moving almost unilaterally.
"I cannot imagine the great Democratic Party leaders of past generations waiting with their hands in their pockets while a bunch of dithering diplomats decided the future of the world," Miller said. "That is the worst kind of indecisiveness. That is the wrong kind of leadership at this critical moment in our history."
The Kerry campaign said Miller had praised his Senate colleague just two years ago, calling Kerry "an authentic hero."
"Zell Miller's new leadership role will be a lonely post," Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said. "Democrats, and Americans of all stripes, are tired of George Bush's failed policies and broken promises."
Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot, a former Montana governor, said the campaign would use Miller often on the trail, particularly to rally fellow Democrats to the cause.
