VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Karl Rove and Max Cleland found themselves in a rare moment of agreement Friday - that America should take democracy to the world.
But Rove, a former top adviser to President Bush, and Cleland, a former senator from Georgia and triple amputee Vietnam veteran, disagreed strongly about the best method of doing that.
When Rove considered that question, he responded: "Obviously, my answer is yes."
Cleland, a Democrat, said his answer was "yes, by example, but not by force."
The men spoke at a forum at Regent University.
Cleland asked Rove: "Why didn't the Bush White House go after Osama bin Laden? Why are we wasting time in Iraq?"
Rove fired back: "Senator, with all due respect, the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence agencies made every effort possible to get Osama bin Laden, and frankly I don't think it reflects well on our military and intelligence services to suggest that they didn't."
Front Section, Pages 5 on 10/28/2007