Telling reporters that "Americans deserve more than spin," Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry wrapped up his preparations for Friday's debate with President Bush.

"(Americans) deserve facts that represent reality, not carefully polished arguments and points that are simply calculated to align with a preconceived perception," Kerry declared during a quick news conference outside the Arapahoe County hotel where he's been staying for several days.

Kerry said Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have failed to recognize a deteriorating situation in postwar Iraq and "may well be the last two people on the planet who won't face the truth."

In his strongest statement yet, the Democratic presidential nominee suggested that if Bush fails to recognize the severity of problems in Iraq, then if Kerry takes office in January he will face a situation as chaotic as the Middle East in the early 1980s.

"If the president just does more of the same every day and it continues to deteriorate, I may be handed Lebanon, figuratively speaking," Kerry told reporters at a brief news conference.

In 1983, suicide attacks against the U.S. embassy in Lebanon killed 63 people, and the bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut six months later killed 241 American servicemen. Dozens of Westerners were taken hostage during that period.

Kerry spoke the day after Charles Duelfer, the U.S. weapons hunter in Iraq, reported that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction programs had deteriorated by the time of the U.S.-led invasion last year. Kerry said the report "provided definitive evidence as to why George Bush should not be re-elected president of the United States."

Kerry was scheduled to leave Colorado later Thursday afternoon.

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For the past two days, Kerry has been prepping for his second debate with Bush.

Kerry campaign spokesman Mike McCurry said Kerry's getting increasingly comfortable with the give-and-take of the format in the second debate, in which voters who say they're undecided will ask the questions.

McCurry said Kerry had been going through the paces in the Inverness Hotel ballroom, which has been constructed to simulate the environment of Friday's debate, complete with curtains, television lights, podiums, and a series of red lights indicating the remaining time left for a response.

Attorney Greg Craig served as a stand-in for President George W. Bush.

On Wednesday, Kerry made no public appearances but his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry met with a group of Republicans who are supporting the Democratic ticket this election.

Bush Returns To Colorado

After Friday's debate, Bush will be making another visit to Colorado. Bush is expected at two events Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday, he is expected at a rally in Denver. The location of that event will not be released until this weekend. Bush is also scheduled to hold a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser for Republican Senate candidate Peter Coors.

On Tuesday, Bush will speak at the Colorado Springs World Arena.

This will be Bush's third visit to the state.

The president was in Colorado three weeks ago for a rally at the Coors Amphitheater in Greenwood Village.

It is only natural that Bush would choose to visit Colorado Springs, said Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the city by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, he said.

"Presidential candidates tend to campaign in areas where they can turn out a large and enthusiastic audience, and where they can reduce the influence of protester and counter demonstrators," Loevy said. "Year in and year out, El Paso County is a big producer of Republican margins over Democrats in Colorado elections."

But Democratic Party officials said they view the president's visit as a sign that Kerry is gaining more support in Colorado -- threatening the state's trend toward Republican candidates in presidential races.

"I continue to look at the maneuvers being made by the Bush-Cheney campaign over the last month ... as a sign that Democrats are doing extraordinarily well," said Steve Haro, director of the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Colorado. "Democrats are making progress here, and Kerry has a legitimate shot."

"By and large, we don't get visits from Republican presidential candidates in El Paso County, or Colorado for that matter," Loevy said.

"Colorado is very much back on the presidential agenda. This is unusual."

If you want to attend the Bush rally in Denver on Monday you'll need tickets in advance. You can get them at the Bush-Cheney headquarters at 300 West Plaza Drive, Suite 100 in Highlands Ranch.