Key quotes from first 2004 presidential debate

CORAL GABLES, Florida - Following are some quotes from the first presidential debate between President George W. Bush and Democratic rival Senator John Kerry:

KERRY: "Unfortunately, (Osama bin Laden) escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best-trained in the world, to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords, and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong."

BUSH: "My opponent says help is on the way, but what kind of message does it say to our troops in harm's way: 'Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time'? Not a message a commander in chief gives."

KERRY: "I've had one position, one consistent position (on Iraq): That Saddam Hussein was a threat, there was a right way to disarm him and the wrong way, and the president chose the wrong way."

KERRY: "Iraq was not even close to the centre of the war on terror before the president invaded it."

BUSH: "Of course we're doing everything we can to protect America. I wake up every day thinking about how best to protect America. That's my job."

KERRY: "When I talked about the US$87 billion (supplemental to fund the Iraqi operation), I made a mistake in how I talk about the war, but the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?"

BUSH: "I found that, in this world, that it's important to establish good personal relationships with people so that when you have disagreements, you're able to disagree in a way that is effective."

BUSH: "And so the best indication about when we can bring our troops home -- which I really want to do, but I don't want to do so for the sake of bringing them home; I want to do so because we've achieved an objective -- is to see the Iraqis perform and to see the Iraqis step up and take responsibility."

KERRY: "But this issue of certainty -- it's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong. It's another to be certain and be right, or to be certain and be moving in the right direction, or be certain about a principle and then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right."

KERRY: "But again, the test or the difference between us -- the president has had four years to try to do something about (nuclear proliferation), and North Korea has got more weapons; Iran is moving toward weapons. And at his pace, it will take 13 years to secure those weapons in Russia. I'm going to do it in four years, and I'm going to immediately set out to have bilateral talks with North Korea."

BUSH: "I didn't need anybody to tell me to go to the United Nations. I decided to go there myself. And I went there hoping that, once and for all, the free world would act in concert to get Saddam Hussein to listen to our demands. They passed the resolution that said, 'Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.' I believe, when an international body speaks, it must mean what it says."

BUSH: "And it is one of the things I've learned in the White House, is that there's enormous pressure on the president, and he cannot wilt under that pressure. Otherwise, the world won't be better off."

KERRY: "I have no intention of wilting. I've never wilted in my life. And I've never wavered in my life."

- REUTERS