Kerry linked to Osama ad, under attack by Dean

The day after Kerry swept two primaries in the South to knock out rival Wesley Clark, Dean went on the attack at a news conference in Milwaukee, Wis. Dean cited reports that former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli, who is now backing Kerry, contributed to a group that ran ads in December using images of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to question Dean's ability to combat terrorism. Torricelli left the Senate in 2002 in a cloud of ethics allegations.

"I don't think John Kerry is capable of changing the political culture in Washington," Dean said, likening the attack ad to the work of President George W. Bush and Republicans and making reference to Kerry's support for a resolution authorizing the war in Iraq.

"First he sided with the president on the war. ... now we find he is more like President Bush than we ever imagined. This is exactly what we don't need in Washington ... "