October (Web-only) 2004

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Pat Robertson takes back "word from the Lord" on election
By now, no doubt you've seen the news about Pat Robertson's Tuesday interview on CNN's Paula Zahn Now, wherein he claimed that President Bush told him there would be no casualties in the Iraq war.

If you didn't, here's the quote:

I met with him down in Nashville before the Gulf War started. And he was the most self-assured man I ever met in my life. You remember, Mark Twain said, he looks like a contented Christian with four aces. He was just sitting there, like, I'm on top of the world, and I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, Mr. President, you better prepare the American people for casualties.

Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties. Well, I said, it's the way it's going to be. And so, it was messy. The Lord told me it was going to be a) a disaster and b) messy. And before that, I had deep, in my spirit, I had deep misgivings about going into Iraq.

White House biggies, including Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, and Scott McClellan, all said Bush never said it. "I was right there," Rove told The Washington Post.

The Kerry campaign, meanwhile, sees an opening in Robertson's statement. "We believe President Bush should get the benefit of the doubt here, but he needs to come forward and answer a very simple question," Mike McCurry said. "Is Pat Robertson telling the truth when he said you didn't think there'd be any casualties, or is Pat Robertson lying?" The idea, of course, is to divide Bush's campaign from the "Religious Right," of which Robertson is perceived to be a leader. Forced to choose between Bush and Robertson, McCurry apparently believes, ...