AP Headline: Kerry: Draft Likely to Return Under Bush
The actual quote in the AP article?
Answering a question about the draft that had been posed at a forum with voters, Kerry said: "If George Bush were to be re-elected, given the way he has gone about this war and given his avoidance of responsibility in North Korea and Iran and other places, is it possible? I can't tell you."
Since when does "I can't tell you" turn into "Yes, that is likely"?
Signs are pointing to the draft, but the article's right, Rumsfeld has said it wouldn't, and besides, it requires approval of a newly elected Congress scared for their seats -- and there's no way that they'd ever do it. The draft is a scary thing, and I wouldn't rule it out under a Bush presidency because you never know (as we've learned), but Kerry didn't say what the AP says he said.
To have this sort of thing attributed to Kerry can be perceived as scaremongering. It's best to correct the AP and get them to right headlines that stick with the facts.
If anyone can find the reporter, Mary Dalprymple's email address, put it in the comments so we can get her (or her headline writer) in line.
UPDATE: That was really fast. As dcg pointed out in the comments, the headline's already changed to "may" return. False alarm, folks. Put away the pitchforks and torches for another article.