Candidates debate U.S. safety issues

While President Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry are quick to criticize each other's tactics on homeland security, their platforms on how best to keep the nation safe are largely similar.

But with the Nov. 2 general election less than a month away, both candidates are making a final push to persuade voters that theirs is the best path for homeland security.

"Both candidates are in favor of doing more (to protect America)," said Mac Destler, professor of public policy at the University of Maryland. "Bush says that we have done a lot, and Kerry says we haven't done enough."

The Kerry campaign claims that Bush underfunded homeland security, which left first responders lacking in essential equipment.

In a recent press release, Kerry promised to deploy the resources the nation's cities and first responders need to protect their people and to safeguard chemical and nuclear plants and mass transit systems.

Kerry also stated that he will secure all loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union within four years and seek a ban on the production of materials for these weapons.

"Kerry will make homeland security a real priority with real resources and stronger safeguards against attack," Ashley Turton, spokeswoman for N.C. Victory 2004, stated in the press release.

The Republican Party has a similar plan for a safer America and contends that impressive progress has been made, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

The party platform presents plans to establish a National Counterterrorism Center to serve as the government's pool of known and suspected terrorists.

Bush promises to strengthen border security by hiring additional border agents and increasing unmanned aerial vehicle flights and remote video surveillance.

The president also promises to renew critical provisions of the USA Patriot Act. The original version of the act was passed just weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, and gave law enforcement and intelligence officers the ability to communicate and coordinate in order to dismantle every aspect of terrorist operations.

"The government's first duty is to protect the lives and liberties of the American people," the Republicans' platform states. "President Bush is working hard to carry out this responsibility on the home front. His administration has achieved impressive results in strengthening homeland security."

But while they might disagree on the means, both parties call for a change of sorts.

"The more you are willing to put in (to implementing a plan), the more rapidly you can expect a change," said George Rabinowitz, a UNC political science professor.

Rabinowitz said Kerry has not proven that he can bring about that change. But neither candidate, he said, has presented a budget that would encompass all of the reforms they've proposed.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.