Several readers emailed about this nakedly biased editorial masquerading as news from the Associated Press: Bush Twists Kerry’s Words on Iraq.

WACO, Texas - President Bush opened several new scathing lines of attack against Democrat John Kerry, charges that twisted his rival’s words on Iraq and made Kerry seem supportive of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.

It was not unlike the spin that Kerry and his forces sometimes place on Bush’s words.

Campaigning by bus through hotly contested Wisconsin on Friday, Bush sought to counter recently sharpened criticism by Kerry about his Iraq policies:

_He stated flatly that Kerry had said earlier in the week “he would prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today.” The line drew gasps of surprise from Bush’s audience in a Racine, Wis., park. “I just strongly disagree,” the president said.

But Kerry never said that. In a speech at New York University on Monday, he called Saddam “a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell.” He added, “The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.”

_Bush attacked Kerry for calling “our alliance ‘the alliance of the coerced and the bribed.’”

“You can’t build alliances if you criticize the efforts of those who are working side by side with you,” the president said in Janesville, Wis.

Kerry did use the phrase to describe the U.S.-led coalition of nations in Iraq, in a March 2003 speech in California. He was referring to the administration’s willingness to offer aid to other nations to gain support for its Iraq policies.

UPDATE at 9/25/04 1:19:51 pm:

You can complain about the obvious, outrageous bias of this Associated Press story by Jennifer Loven by sending email to info@ap.org.

UPDATE at 9/25/04 1:22:09 pm:

The headline at the link above has now been changed to “Bush, Kerry Twisting Each Other’s Words.” But the original headline can still be found on the wires: Bush Twists Kerry’s Words on Iraq.