Bush, Kerry Praise Sept. 11 Report

Even as a commission studying the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks strove for bipartisan unanimity in its final report, President Bush and Democratic challenger John F. Kerry were quick Thursday to seize the findings for their own political advantages.

Moving quickly to quell any potential political damage, Bush tried to bask in the report, saying it lent credence to many of the steps his administration has taken since the attacks. He stopped short, however, of endorsing the recommendation for an intelligence czar to oversee the nation’s 15 intelligence agencies.

He embraced it as a “serious and comprehensive” report during a speech at a public-safety training academy in suburban Chicago, a setting designed to counter the commission’s criticism that his administration was part of the problem that led to the attacks.

“I agree with their conclusion that the terrorists were able to exploit deep institutional failings in our nation’s defenses that developed over more than a decade,” Bush said.

“The commission’s recommendations are consistent with the strategy my administration is following to address these failings and to win the war on terror,” he said.

“But the job’s not done,” the president added, “and this report will help our country identify even more steps we can take to better defend America.”

After a 20-month review, the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission criticized both the Bush and Clinton administrations for failing to fully grasp the terrorist threat posed by Al Qaeda or to make it a top priority. It documented dozens of intelligence breakdowns and squandered opportunities to detect or disrupt the plot and it rapped Congress for inadequate oversight.

The commission also put forth an ambitious reform agenda that included a complete restructuring of the nation’s intelligence community.

Kerry, campaigning in Detroit, held a news conference after receiving a phone briefing from the Sept. 11 commission chairs. He called for immediate implementation of the report’s major recommendations.

“Nearly three years after terrorists attacked our shores and murdered our loved ones, this report carries a very simple message for all of America about our security.... We can do better. We must do better,” the Massachusetts senator told reporters, after a speech to members of the National Urban League.

Kerry noted that he had previously called for a national intelligence director, and said that if he was elected president and did not believe reforms had been implemented quickly enough, he would convene an emergency security summit with leaders of Congress, intelligence chiefs and Sept. 11 commissioners.

Though stressing the need for bipartisan cooperation to implement the panel’s finding, he criticized the Bush administration for not moving quickly enough to reform the intelligence agencies. He said power struggles within the administration prevented it from moving more swiftly after the attacks to assess and reform the agencies.

White House aides in Washington were far more nuanced in their response than was the president, suggesting the administration would not rush to act on any of the commission’s recommendations. The scene at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy in Glenview, Ill., pointed to a White House effort to neutralize the report’s effect.

Polls suggest that Bush’s standing on the fight against terrorism could be tenuous. A survey this week by The Times of 1,529 registered voters nationwide found that the president’s approval rating in the war on terrorism was 54% -- down from 76% in February 2003, just before the war in Iraq began. The Glenview event was an official White House speech, but it took on the feel of a campaign rally. At the conclusion of his remarks, the crowd erupted in chants of “Four more years!”

After his speech, Bush attended a reception in Chicago and pulled in $2.5 million for the Republican National Committee.

Bush did not hint at any disagreements with the report’s findings -- there was no mention of the commission’s suggestion that the nation’s intelligence system be placed under the control of one official. Instead he portrayed himself and the bipartisan commission as members of the same team.

Bush delivered his remarks with Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge. The two men, standing in front of a banner that read “Protecting America,” complimented each other on past efforts to make the country safer, such as spending more money on training first responders, increasing airport and seaport security and preparing vaccines for chemical or biological attacks.

Whereas Bush tailored his theme around homeland security, Kerry’s remarks on the Sept. 11 report came after his address to the National Urban League promising more funding for low-income housing assistance, increased federal contracts for minority-owned businesses in urban areas and more resources for schools.

Noting a recent increase in gang crime, the senator pledged to crack down on gang violence and offer more job training and drug treatment programs to prevent gang participation.

The Democratic candidate’s visit came a day before Bush was scheduled to address the league, an appearance the White House arranged after the president rebuffed an invitation to speak to the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

Later Thursday, Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, the most persistent of Kerry’s nine rivals for the nomination, stood with Kerry as he ended his candidacy and pledged Kerry his 68 delegates at next week’s Democratic National Convention.

He promised to campaign for Kerry “with the same passion and commitment I dedicated to my own campaign.”

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Wallsten reported from Glenview and Gold from Detroit.