Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has accused President George Bush of "playing politics" and of "exploiting" the recent heartbreaking events in the United States.

The president, said John Kerry at a campaign stop in California yesterday, is "taking an event that has caused grief and tears for Mr. & Mrs. Joe Q. Public and attempted to co-opt it in order to gain political advantage both at home and overseas." Kerry said that the recent G 8 resolution forbidding another Jennifer Lopez marriage -- once she is divorced from Marc Anthony -- is "cheap exploitation of human tragedy" and "highly inappropriate."

"Ms. Lopez's private life is a cause of pain and sorrow for all Americans," said the Massachusetts senator, "and for President Bush to use it to gain a few votes, or to make our allies believe that somehow he is capable of forging international coalitions, is unspeakably shameless. Jennifer Lopez's marriages are a matter for Americans to cry over in private, and for world leaders to contemplate quietly." President Bush, reached for comment regarding Kerry's statements, said that "it is the solemn duty of the commander-in-chief to guide the American people through these confusing and tough times. It is that simple."