Stephanopoulos Quizzes Bush About 'Surrender' Claim, Questioning of Dem Patriotism

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In an interview with President George W. Bush conducted in North Carolina and excerpted on Wednesday's World News on ABC, George Stephanopoulos quoted to Bush how he once declared that the upcoming election is “a choice between Republicans and Democrats who want to wave the white flag of surrender in the war on terror.” Stephanopoulos then demanded: “Can you name a Democrat who wants to 'wave the white flag of surrender'?" Referring to Senator John Kerry, Bush replied: "I can name a Democrat who said there ought to be a date certain from which to withdraw from Iraq, whether or not we've achieved a victory or not-" An astounded Stephanopoulos asked: "That's surrender?" Bush countered: "Yeah it is, if you pull the troops out before the job is done." To which Stephanopoulos suggested a nefarious motive: "So you don't think that's questioning their patriotism when you say that?" Bush rejected the notion: "No, I know it's not questioning their patriotism. I think it's questioning their judgment."

Video clip (30 seconds): Real (900 KB) or Windows Media (1.1 MB), plus MP3 audio (175 KB)

ABC's World News ran three segments -- totaling about eight minutes -- of the interview and anchor Charles Gibson promised more on Wednesday's Nightline. And I'd presume Thursday's Good Morning America will feature it too.

Online, ABCNews.com has posted a short article about the interview, with a glaring headline, “EXCLUSIVE: Bush Accepts Iraq-Vietnam Comparison,” a posting which will probably be updated with text excerpts from the Stephanopoulos-Bush session.

Now, the exchange about surrender and patriotism, as aired on the October 18 World News:

George Stephanopoulos: “You've used some pretty tough rhetoric. You said this election is 'a choice between Republicans and Democrats who want to wave the white flag of surrender in the war on terror.' Can you name a Democrat who wants to 'wave the white flag of surrender'?”

President George W. Bush, referring to Senator John Kerry: “I can name a Democrat who said there ought to be a date certain from which to withdraw from Iraq, whether or not we've achieved a victory or not-”

Stephanopoulos: “That's surrender?”

Bush: “Yeah it is, if you pull the troops out before the job is done. Absolutely George.”

Stephanopoulos: “So you don't think that's questioning their patriotism when you say that?”

Bush: “No, I know it's not questioning their patriotism. I think it's questioning their judgment.”