CAMP PENDLETON — With Vice President Dick Cheney standing between two 155-millimeter howitzers and delivering a rousing pep talk to Marines on Tuesday, President Bush's reelection campaign had the image it wanted to counter Democratic attacks from Boston.
Cheney used his appearance before 2,500 camouflage-clad Marines, many of whom have served in Iraq, to defend the administration's decision to go to war.
With a giant American flag hanging in the background, the rally also gave Cheney an opportunity to highlight what the Republican administration considers Bush's greatest strength: his national security credentials.
After Cheney rallied the troops, he went on to fundraisers in Bakersfield and Riverside to rally the GOP base, unleashing his strongest attack on the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry, since the Democratic National Convention opened Monday.
Cheney contended that Kerry's election would lead to higher taxes and assailed the Massachusetts senator for approving the use of force against Iraq but then opposing a war-spending measure.
When he addressed the troops, Cheney did not mention Kerry but defended Bush's doctrine of military preemption, a policy that has come under attack from Democrats.
"President Bush is determined to remove threats before they arrive instead of simply waiting for another attack on our country," the vice president said.
In a line that he repeated at the campaign fundraisers, Cheney said: "Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength. They are invited by the perception of weakness."
Cheney told the Marines that they had made the nation safer but that difficult work to stabilize Iraq lies ahead. About 14,000 members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton are deployed in Iraq. No figures on the number of casualties from Camp Pendleton were immediately available.
Defending the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Cheney said, "Sixteen months ago, Iraq was a gathering threat to the United States and the civilized world. Now it is a rising democracy, an ally in the war on terror -- and the American people are safer for it." His remarks were punctuated with shouts of "Hoo-rah!" -- a traditional Marine Corps battle cry.
Lance Cpl. Damian Whiteman, 19, of Crow Agency, Mont., typified many Marines in saying he found Cheney's speech "motivating." He especially appreciated hearing the vice president talk about a pay raise for military personnel.
