Letter: Bush hasn’t lied on Yucca dump, rationale for war

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 | 9 a.m.

This is in response to the Aug. 29 letter from Della Press, "Bush doesn't deserve support for re-election."

It has been pointed out many times, in many different media, that what President Bush actually promised Gov. Kenny Guinn was that he would not make Nevada a nuclear waste site until he had heard all the scientific facts. He did not tell a lie. He also did not lie about WMD. He made his decisions based on the intelligence he had before him. It was bad intelligence, yes, but he did not know that at the time.

Also, if Ms. Press had read the local papers in 2001 when the No Child Left Behind Act was signed, she would have learned that the act did provide funding -- $41.1 billion for fiscal year 2003-2004. She should already know that the U.S. Constitution does not designate an education role for the federal government. Responsibility for K-12 secondary education falls to the states. Since the government has a vested interest in the quality of education, however, it has provided assistance to the states where possible.

Finally, I defy Ms. Press to show me one example where President Bush has indicated he is "worried about what John Kerry did during the Vietnam War," as she stated. When he was asked about Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam, he responded that he "believed he served honorably in a very unpopular war."

RICHARD ST. JOHN