Bin Laden tape stirs up White House race

4.00pm

A taped threat from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden shook up a deadlocked White House race today, with president George W Bush and Democratic Senator John Kerry vowing to win the war on terror but battling over who would do the best job.

The rivals both promised to hunt down and destroy al Qaeda after bin Laden's taped threats, but Bush accused Kerry of "shameful" second guessing for repeating his frequent criticism of Bush's failure to capture the man the president once said he wanted "dead or alive."

The tape, in which bin Laden openly taunted Bush and told Americans "your security is not in the hands or Kerry or Bush," caught the Kerry camp by surprise but only briefly interrupted a frenzied final dash for votes in Tuesday's tight election.

It surfaced just four days before an election that has focused on national security and the war on Iraq, but it was unclear if it would help Bush by reminding voters of his fight against terror or help Kerry by reminding them that bin Laden was still loose.

Bush vowed after the tape aired that "Americans will not be intimidated or influenced by an enemy of our country." Kerry said "we are absolutely united in our determination to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden and the terrorists."

But Bush objected when Kerry, during a later local television interview, repeated his almost daily criticism that Bush allowed bin Laden to escape in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks when he "outsourced the job" to Afghan fighters.

"This is the worst kind of Monday-morning quarterbacking," Bush said of Kerry's comment. "It is especially shameful in light of the new tape by America's enemy."

Kerry campaign aides said Bush was briefed on the tape earlier today and still delivered an attack on Kerry afterward, before the tape aired.

"This is a serious issue and the White House seems intent on making it a political issue," spokesman Phil Singer said.

Kerry did not repeat his criticism about letting bin Laden slip away during a later rally in Miami, but said he would "fight a smarter, tougher, more effective, more strategic war on terror" and make America "safer than George Bush has."

The bin Laden tape surfaced late in a day when Bush and Kerry hunted for votes in the crucial swing states of Florida, New Hampshire and Ohio. A Reuters/Zogby tracking poll found them tied at 47 per cent nationally and other surveys showed the race a dead heat or gave Bush only a slight edge.

On the campaign trail, Bush evoked the September 11, 2001, attacks in an emotional appeal for support, while Kerry told voters America needed a fresh start after Bush's "catastrophic mismanagement."

Both campaigns searched frantically for new opportunities in the battle to accumulate the 270 electoral votes needed to win, with the Democratic bastion of Hawaii getting attention after polls showed a tight race there.

Vice president Dick Cheney will head to Hawai'i on Sunday to make a play for the state's four electoral votes, while former Vice President Al Gore - who carried the state easily against Bush in 2000 - and Kerry's daughter Alexandra were already there.

Bush and Kerry were both joined by special guests on the campaign trail, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger giving Bush a boost in Ohio and rock legend Bruce Springsteen joining Kerry for the second consecutive day in Florida.

Bush began the day in New Hampshire, which he narrowly carried in 2000, where he was joined by relatives of Americans killed in the September 11 attacks.

Polls show Bush's leadership in the war on terror is his strongest selling point, and in a somber speech he reminded supporters of the attacks and the threats still faced by the United States.

"As we fight the terrorists, they will try to frighten us, they will test our will with their barbaric tactics. We must be resolved. So long as I am your president, we will not be held captive by fear," Bush said in Manchester, New Hampshire.

"As long as I am the president, we will be determined and steadfast and we will keep the terrorists on the run," he said, reminding voters that since the attacks in Washington and New York, "we've been through a lot together."

"The issues vary, the challenges are different every day, the polls go up, the polls go down, but a president's convictions must be consistent and true," he said.

Kerry, barnstorming across Florida before the tape surfaced, criticized Bush's handling of the Iraq war and his failure to capture bin Laden, saying it left the United States more vulnerable to attacks.

"In this election, the safety of the American people is on the ballot," the Massachusetts senator told supporters in Orlando.

"By pushing our allies aside, George Bush's catastrophic mismanagement of this war has left America to bear almost 90 per cent of the costs and 90 per cent of the coalition casualties," he said.

He urged voters to "wake up" and said another four years of Bush would be "four more years of tax giveaways for millionaires along with a higher tax burden on the middle class."

- REUTERS