According to the Associated Press, "President Bush is refusing to condemn an ad that criticizes rival John Kerry's Vietnam war record, even though the president's campaign partner this week, Sen. John McCain, urged the White House to do so.

"'I haven't seen the ad, but what I do condemn is these regulated, soft-money expenditures' by outside groups that have filled the airwaves with attacks on both candidates, the president said Thursday night on CNN's Larry King Live."

In a separate development, President Bush also refused to condemn the fact that 45 million Americans lack basic healthcare coverage, but called the average fifty-two minute delay in most doctors' waiting rooms "an affront to busy people everywhere."

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