October 11, 1992
• George H.W. Bush: “I would hate to be running for president and think that the only way I could win would be to convince everybody how horrible things are.”
• Bill Clinton: “Most of all, I’d like to thank all of you who have touched me in some way over this last year, all the thousands of you whom I’ve seen.”
October 17, 2000
• George W. Bush: “Your question was deployment. It must be in the national interests, must be in our vital interests whether we ever send troops. The mission must be clear. Soldiers must understand why we’re going. The force must be strong enough so that the mission can be accomplished. And the exit strategy needs to be well-defined.”
• Al Gore: “I’ll make you one promise here. You ain’t seen nothing yet. And I will keep that promise.”
October 8, 2004
• John Kerry: “Let me tell you straight up: I’ve never changed my mind about Iraq.”
• George W. Bush: “I hear there’s rumors on the Internets [sic] that we’re going to have a draft.
“Is my time up yet? … Good. You looked at me like my clock was up.
“I own a timber company? That’s news to me. Need some wood?”
