DES MOINES — Vice President Dick Cheney suggested Tuesday that electing the Democratic presidential ticket would make the United States more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
Cheney's comments came on a day when President Bush escalated his efforts to paint Sen. John F. Kerry as wobbly on the war in Iraq and the Democratic challenger continued to more harshly criticize the incumbent for the way he orchestrated the attack.
After Cheney's controversial remarks, aides to the vice president sought to clarify them, saying he was referring to the terrorist threat that would face any administration elected in November.
But his comments dominated the day's exchanges on the campaign trail. As the number of deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq reached 1,000, Cheney sought to question how the Democrats would handle national security.
During a question-and-answer session with about 200 supporters at a Des Moines hotel, the vice president said that it was imperative that the nation made the "right choice" in November, adding that decisions made by the next administration would affect the next 30 or 40 years.
"If we make the wrong choice, then the danger is we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that'll be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind set that these terrorist attacks are criminal attacks and we're not really at war," the vice president said.
"I think that would be a terrible mistake for us," Cheney told the supporters.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards immediately fired back, accusing his opponent of trying to frighten voters.
"Dick Cheney's scare tactics crossed the line today, showing once again that he and George Bush will do anything and say anything to save their jobs," the North Carolina senator said in a campaign statement.
"Protecting America from vicious terrorists is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it's an American issue and Dick Cheney and George Bush should know that," he said. "John Kerry and I will keep America safe, and we will not divide the American people to do it."
Hours after Cheney's words caused a stir on news wires and cable news programs, his spokeswoman told reporters that he stood by his statements, but she sought to clarify them.
As the vice president flew aboard Air Force Two back to Washington on Tuesday evening after a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., campaign press secretary Anne Womack said:
