Appearing on MSNBC's "Scarborough Country" on August 26, Dole stayed on the offensive. Explaining why he thought it was fair to respond to Kerry, Dole said: "This is after . . . somebody called Vice President Cheney a coward. They've called President Bush a deserter, that he was AWOL, that he's condoned torture, that he's . . . condoned poisoning of pregnant women. I mean, all these nasty, nasty, over-the-top attacks. And they spent $65 million trying to defame President Bush."