WASHINGTON  - Too little, too late.

That's how Democrats who want George W. Bush's job summed up the president's address on Tuesday to the United Nations.

U.S. President Bush addresses the 58th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Some of the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 said Bush wasted an opportunity to bring the international community on board, militarily and financially, in postwar Iraq. Others admired his words but called for action.

"The president's rhetoric is becoming more stirring, but once again he has failed to tell us exactly what role he expects the United Nations to play now and what timetable he envisions for the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people," Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said.

Kerry, and three of his White House rivals -- North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt -- all voted for the congressional resolution authorizing the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but each has subsequently criticized Bush for failing to have a postwar plan.

A CNN-USA Today Gallup poll released on Tuesday that put Bush's approval rating at 50 percent, the lowest of his presidency, offered Democrats some reason for hope that they might unseat a man the public still sees as a strong leader for his handling of the campaign against terror.

The survey also showed Bush to be more politically vulnerable on issues from the struggling economy to the continued casualties and mounting reconstruction costs in Iraq. The president shrugged off escalating Democratic attacks as 'blips on my radar screen."

"I've got a job to do. I'm occupied," Bush said in an interview with the Fox Broadcast Network aired on Monday.

'I TOLD YOU SO' TONE

Lieberman called Bush's speech an "11th-hour, half-hearted appeal" delivered in an "I told you so" tone that made it more difficult to secure international help in Iraq.

Bush took "too long" to make a compelling case to the United Nations, Gephardt said, and urged the president not to "simply retreat to the White House" but engage in serious negotiations with allies to enhance security, rebuild Iraq and end the U.S. occupation as soon as possible.

Edwards said Bush "missed an opportunity" to bring the international community in by failing to offer them a seat at the table and a meaningful role in decision making.

The U.N. role in Iraq outlined by Bush included helping to develop a constitution, training civil servants and conducting free and fair elections.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, an opponent of the war, called the speech "further proof that the war against Iraq was a complete failure" that had harmed U.S. standing, depleted funds from domestic priorities and distracted from the war on terror.

Another staunch critic who voted against the war, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, accused Bush of trying to force other nations to comply with U.S. demands with his "do it my way or the highway" approach.

"He missed an opportunity once again to unite the world against terrorism and rekindle relationships with our long time allies," Graham said.

© Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd

###