Washington: Campaigning for re-election in November, US President George W Bush has claimed that his tax cuts will bring back prosperity and blamed the Democrats for the recession, which hit the country soon after he took charge.

Bush, with $ 100 million of unspent cash for the campaign already in the bank, made these remarks as he began a massive TV campaign against the Democrats.

He is projecting himself as a leader with clear goals in foreign policy, a man who wants to spread freedom and democracy in all countries, particularly the Middle East, where it is absent. In fact, he is making security issues his main argument to overcome the evident weaknesses in his handling of the economy.

Senator John Kerry, the Democratic candidate yet to be formally nominated by political conventions of the Democratic and Republican parties, is presenting the Republicans as standing for tax relief for the rich who do not need it, weakening the alliances in foreign policy, going to war against Iraq to remove the huge stocks of non-existent weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and not able to keep peace there after the victory.

Bush, who said he congratulated Kerry on becoming the Democratic Presidential candidate, scoffed at the Senator's political experience.

"He (Kerry) has been (for) two decades in the Congress. In fact, Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on every issue," he said in a speech in California yesterday (Mar 3, 2004).

Bush said, "Our future also depends on America's leadership in this world. The momentum of freedom in our time is strong, but we still face serious dangers. Al-Qaeda is wounded, but not broken.

"Terrorists are testing our will in Afghanistan and Iraq. Regimes of North Korea and Iran are challenging the peace. If America shows weakness and uncertainty in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch. This nation is strong and confident in the cause of freedom. And today, no friend or enemy doubts the word of the United States of America."