‘Race, economics still divide the US’

‘‘Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whispered in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the President of the US has something that he needs to attend to,’’ Kerry said.

Kerry also ridiculed Bush’s claim that the US has ‘‘turned a corner’’ in an era marked by terrorism and economic recession.

‘‘Just saying that you’ve turned a corner doesn’t make it so. Just like saying there are WMDs (in Iraq) doesn’t make it so. Just like saying you can fight a war on the cheap doesn’t make it so. Just like saying ‘mission accomplished’ doesn’t make it so,’’ Kerry said.

Meanwhile, rocker Bruce Springsteen, who has stayed out of party politics for 25 years, said the stakes are too high and urged fellow Americans to vote Bush out of office. A day after announcing that he would join other stars in nine ‘‘battleground’’ states for a rock ’n’roll tour aimed at ousting Bush, Springsteen explained his decision in a sharply-worded editorial in The New York Times.

‘‘Personally, for the last 25 years I have stayed one step away from partisan politics,’’ he wrote. ‘‘This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.’’

Republicans and Democrats both asked to use Springsteen’s 1984 hit Born in the USA for use in political campaigns. Springsteen declined.

Of the ‘‘Vote for Change’’ tour in October, one month before the US presidential election, Springsteen said, ‘‘Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November.’’

He then launched a blistering attack on Bush for undertaking an ‘‘unnecessary war in Iraq,’’ running record budget deficits, cutting spending on social programs and giving a massive tax cut for rich Americans.

‘‘Our government has strayed too far from American values,’’ he wrote. ‘‘It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.’’