ANNOUNCER:   Join Carville, Begala, Carlson and Novak in the CROSSFIRE. For free tickets to CROSSFIRE at the George Washington University, call 202-994-8CNN or visit our Web site. Now you can step into the CROSSFIRE. 
CARVILLE:   Here we are, six months until Election Day and John Kerry's critics in his own party are sounding like a bunch of Republicans, babbling in "The New York Times" that Kerry's message isn't focused and that he's being outmaneuvered by the White House. But that, pure nonsense. Second, Bush's touted message on a good day is confusing and scatterbrained. In the CROSSFIRE today, Republican strategist Barbara Comstock and Tad Devine, senior adviser to the Kerry campaign. 
CARLSON:   Mr. Devine, thanks a lot for joining us. "The New York Times" makes an excellent point in a recent piece that nobody has any idea what Kerry is running on. And they point to six different slogans he's had since his campaign began. We have found eight.    You probably wrote most of them. I want to put them on the screen anyway for our viewers. 
KERRY:   Right.   
CARLSON:   First, bring it on. 
DEVINE:   Yes. 
CARLSON:   Change starts here. A fighter with results. 
DEVINE:   Right. 
CARLSON:   The real deal. The courage to lead. Courage to do what's right for America. Together, we can build a stronger America. And the latest, a lifetime of service and strength. Wouldn't it be easier to have some sort of national lottery, where people could just send in their proposed slogans for the Kerry campaign? 
DEVINE:   Tucker, that's the same nonsense we heard from you and others like you before John Kerry won Iowa and New Hampshire. 
CARLSON:   Yes. 
DEVINE:   Listen, we're very proud that John Kerry does have a lifetime of service and strength. And, unlike President Bush, we're happy to talk about it. We think his life is a demonstration of the fact that he would be a strong leader who makes good decisions for this country. So we're going to talk about his message. We're going to talk about his ideas, unlike the president. 
CARLSON:   I think it's -- I think it's a better slogan. I think it's a better slogan. I actually don't mind it at all. It's better than the slogan you had during Iowa, the real deal. Now, of all the things John Kerry is, nuanced, intelligent, experienced, he served in Vietnam, all good for him, he's the least real deal of all. The guy went to a Swiss boarding school. He's rich. Good for him. I saw this image the other day in "The New York Times." It cracked me up, John Kerry wearing a coal miner's rig. Do you really think you can get anywhere presenting John Kerry as sort of son of the working class? 
DEVINE:   Well, fortunately, most of the caucus attendees in Iowa disagreed with you, Tucker. OK, that's why John -- it's a big reason why John Kerry is the nominee of the Democratic Party, OK? 
CARLSON:   Well, they were just scared by Howard Dean. Come on. 
DEVINE:   If the slogans were so bad, how come he won? Do you have an answer for that. 
CARLSON:   Because they were afraid of Howard Dean, so they went to the nearest adult, John Kerry. 
DEVINE:   Oh, OK. Thank you. Right. Yes, right. 
CARVILLE:   OK, Ms. Comstock, let me show you part of an ad here that Mr. Devine's firm has produced and Senator Kerry is starting to run here. Please. 
KERRY:   I enlisted because I believed in service to country. I thought it was important, if you had a lot of privileges as I had had, to go to a great university like Yale, to give something back to your country. 
NARRATOR:   The decisions that he made saved our lives. 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:   When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine. 
NARRATOR:   For more than 30 years, John Kerry has serve America. 
CARVILLE:   He had a lot of privileges. He went to Yale. The same thing can be said about President Bush. Why do you think President Bush chose not even to show up at National Guard meetings, while John Kerry was pulling his comrades out of the water, being shot at? 
COMSTOCK:   Well, James, as you know, no one is questioning Senator Kerry's record. 
CARVILLE:   No, I'm questioning George Bush's. I'm not questioning Senator -- you understand, I'm not questioning Senator Kerry's record here. I'm questioning the service of the president of the United States. 
COMSTOCK:   We respect Senator Kerry's record in Vietnam. 
CARVILLE:   I understand. 
COMSTOCK:   What we are questioning is the extreme makeover that he has done, as Tucker has pointed out in all the different versions he's had of his record in the Senate. He has a 20-year record in Congress. 
CARVILLE:   Right. Right. Right.  
COMSTOCK:   That's what we're looking at now. And he has flip- flopped about that record. But the record is the most liberal in the Senate. He's more liberal than Ted Kennedy. He's been soft on defense and intel and he's been tough on taxpayers.    That's a lifetime of record. And it's the "Dorian Gray" picture that's up in the attic that now that everyone is looking at, you don't like it because you can't Botox that record. You can't do the extreme makeover. It's not pretty. 
CARVILLE:   We'll Botox it, whatever. I'm just wondering, what is it about two sons of privilege, one decides to serve valiantly and one decides to miss meetings?    What does it say about them as individuals? I don't think -- what does it say about them as individuals? That's all I'm saying. 
COMSTOCK:   It's more, who can lead this country in steady leadership and has a vision for America? 
CARVILLE:   Right. 
COMSTOCK:   And President Bush understands that we have to have this war on terrorism, that we have to be strong on it. You can't have three, six, seven eight different positions when you're dealing as a commander in chief. 
DEVINE:   If the president believed in his positive campaign, maybe he would broadcast a positive ad. 
CARLSON:   Well, speaking of -- speaking of positive -- speaking of positive campaigns, obviously, the Kerry campaign has a massive number of staffers, very well paid, some of them very smart, like you. And I've wondered, what do they do with all these staffers? And "The New York Times" tells us. I want to read a description of a recent staff meeting. You were probably there. This is for our viewers. "At a recent meeting of senior staff members, Mr. Kerry's aides became entangled in a lengthy debate over what might seem to be a less than urgent issue: whether they should send a Democratic operative to Bush rallies dressed as Pinocchio, a chicken or a mule, to illustrate various lines of attacks Democrats want to use against Mr. Bush? There's a war going on. And you guys are trying to figure out whether to dress as or Pinocchio or a mule. Where did you weigh in on this issue? 
DEVINE:   Well, you know...    I missed that meeting, Tucker, but I think they would probably all be good choices. This president has one of the worst records... 
CARLSON:   Well, recognize the Kerry campaign, because, of course, I've seen it before, having covered the Gore campaign. I want to read you...    No, it's interesting. You all are using almost precisely 
DEVINE:   Tucker, Tucker, this president and his administration is beholden to the special interests, OK? They developed an environmental policy with polluters, OK? They've given up, you know, special benefits and special favors to their friends, OK? And the decisions, which -- including a tax policy which gives the wealthiest Americans a huge break is mortgaging the future of our country, OK? So the fact that we would talk about it, I don't think you should be surprised. It's undermining America right now. 
CARLSON:   I say go for the mule costume. That's totally my advice. 
CARVILLE:   Let's go from mules to something a little more serious, the person referred to as the man who in the Bob Woodward book is pretty clear that is running the country and who will be on the ticket, is sort of fair game here. This is an excerpt from "Meet the Press." Mr Russert to Vice President Cheney: "If your analysis is not correct" -- that's when he said we would be greeted with roses -- "and we're not treated as liberators, but as conquerors and Iraqis begin to resist, particularly in Baghdad, do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly and bloody battle with significant American casualties?" This is the judgment of the vice president of the United States of America on March 16, 2003. Vice President Cheney: "Well, I don't think that's likely to unfold that way, Tim." Well, guess what? It unfolded that way. And why in the world would a person whose judgment is so deficient and so flawed, why would anyone reelect this administration that missed the great call of our lifetime? 
COMSTOCK:   Well, James, as you know, John Kerry voted to go to war in Iraq. 
CARVILLE:   I'm asking about John Kerry. Why Dick Cheney -- why was Dick Cheney so wrong about the resistance? Can you just answer, why should anyone vote to reelect Cheney-Bush? 
COMSTOCK:   Prewar, throughout the Clinton and Gore administration and throughout this administration, the intelligence told us that there was a threat from Iraq that John Kerry himself said was a strong threat. And we know we are safer today because we're taking that war on terrorism. 
CARVILLE:   Barbara, Barbara... 
COMSTOCK:   The problem is, John Kerry wants to vote against all the weapons that we use over in Iraq in Afghanistan and all around the world. 
CARVILLE:   It's interesting. It's interesting. You come on the show, you can say anything you want. Just for the record, you're being totally unresponsive. I asked you a question, what kind of judgment does that say when the vice president says, we're not going to have resistance when we go to Iraq, we're going to be greeted by roses? I don't care who voted what? 
COMSTOCK:   Well, he was mistaken. 
CARVILLE:   Why would the American people vote to reelect someone with that poor judgment? 
COMSTOCK:   Because the vice president, your wife's former boss... 
CARVILLE:   Right. I understand it's my wife's... 
COMSTOCK:   ... who I think is one of the greatest vice presidents we have had, is a great -- you have John Kerry as running around trying to get a vice president early because they're afraid 
CARLSON:   I want to ask you a quick question. 
DEVINE:   Tucker's right. It was a mistake. 
CARLSON:   It was a mistake. It was a mistake.    Now, Tad, as you know, part of what it means to be Democrat is to count people by race, much like the Nazis did. And, as you know, the Kerry campaign is coming -- I'm serious -- is coming under criticism for being almost 
DEVINE:   Well, I say it's false, OK? Listen, I just walked around that campaign headquarters. And it's a very diverse group of people. 
CARLSON:   So he's a liar? What? 
DEVINE:   No, he's not a liar. He's just not informed.    You know, John Kerry is committed -- fully informed. 
CARLSON:   I want a lot of affirmative action on your campaign as soon as possible. 
DEVINE:   You'll get it. 
CARLSON:   Thanks very much. Next, in the "Rapid Fire," we'll ask our guests why a potential running mate is concerned about the Kerry campaign. He might not even want to serve even if asked. And right after the break, Wolf Blitzer tells us what action the Pentagon is taking in the wake of a growing scandal over the way some Iraqi prisoners have been treated. We'll be right back.
