During the debate, Bush renewed his attacks on Kerry for what he said were the Massachusetts senator's shifting views on the war. "The only thing consistent about my opponent's position is that he's inconsistent. He changes positions. You cannot change positions in this war on terror if you expect to win," Bush said. "People know where I stand. People out there listening know what I believe." Kerry acknowledged he had not always been artful in talking about Iraq. He voted to authorize the war but has criticized its conduct, and in August said he would vote to authorize it again even now. "I made a mistake in how I talk about the war, but the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?" Kerry asked. "I think we need a president who has the credibility to bring the allies back to the table and to do what's necessary to make it so America isn't doing this alone," he said. "The president's not getting the job done." He said Bush's policies could be summed up in four words: "More of the same." Bush was forced to spend much of the debate defending his Iraq policies against Kerry's charges that Bush blundered in diverting attention from Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama bin Laden and shifting it to Iraq. "Iraq was not even close to the center of the war on terror before the president invaded it," Kerry said. While it is important to be strong and resolute, "we also have to be smart," he said. "We didn't need that tax cut. America needed to be safe," Kerry said. Bush responded: "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." Bush said Kerry saw the same intelligence as he did on alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that bin Laden had been left isolated. He accused Kerry of sending "mixed signals" with shifting positions on Iraq. Kerry responded, "Yes, we have to be steadfast and resolved, and I am, and I will succeed for those troops now that we're there. We have to succeed. We can't leave a failed Iraq. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake of judgment to go there and keep the focus off Osama bin Laden." --More 1242 Local Time 0942 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/207062