President Bush steps into the ring

[Timber Loftis]

Today's NY Times

February 24, 2004
THE PRESIDENT
Campaign Begins as Bush Attacks Kerry in Speech
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

ASHINGTON, Feb. 23 — President Bush kicked off his general election campaign on Monday night, shedding his above-the-fray posture to deliver a robust defense of his record and begin an assault on the Democratic front-runner, Senator John Kerry.

Facing declining poll numbers and concerted Democratic criticism, and urged by many Republicans to accelerate his timetable for partisan engagement, Mr. Bush used a speech here to assert that the election would present a clear choice between his steady leadership and Democrats who could not be relied on to make the tough decisions necessary to deal with the economy and the threat from terrorism.

"It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward, or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people," Mr. Bush said. "It's a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger."

Without using Mr. Kerry's name, the president mocked him as a politician whose positions changed with the wind. The Democratic field, Mr. Bush said, is "for tax cuts and against them. For Nafta and against Nafta. For the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. In favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts."

The speech, delivered at a fund-raiser to benefit the Republican Governors Association, was billed by Mr. Bush's campaign as the start of a more aggressive phase of the race after months in which the president, to the growing consternation of some in his party, had remained largely on the sidelines.

Much of the speech was forward-looking. It sought to position Mr. Bush as optimistic and steady in the face of serious challenges to the country and relentless attacks by Democrats who, he said, have failed to say how they would deal with the challenges the United States faces at home and abroad.

"Our opponents have not offered much in the way of strategies to win the war, or policies to expand our economy," he said, sounding a theme similar to one his aides tried out when it appeared that Howard Dean would be the Democratic nominee. "So far, all we hear is a lot of old bitterness and partisan anger. Anger is not an agenda for the future of America."

But his message that his party was taking the high road was undercut by a member of his cabinet, Rod Paige, the education secretary. In remarks to the nation's governors at the White House earlier in the day, Mr. Paige called the National Education Association, a longtime ally of the Democrats, a "terrorist organization" for resisting provisions of the education bill Mr. Bush signed into law in 2002.

Mr. Bush, who has told Republican officials in recent weeks that he was eager to begin defending himself, was himself biting at times in his portrayal of his opponents. Alluding to Democrats who have criticized the war but agreed that the world is better of with Saddam Hussein out of power, Mr. Bush said, "Maybe they were hoping he'd lose the next Iraqi election."

In an indirect slap at Mr. Kerry, who in a 1970 interview suggested that the United States military should be deployed only under the auspices of the United Nations, Mr. Bush said he would never "outsource" national security to other governments. Mr. Kerry has since said his views have changed.

Mr. Bush's political advisers said the speech was likely to be as close as the president comes to formally declaring his candidacy. Mr. Bush decided to go ahead with it, they said, after getting bad reviews from even some of his own supporters in two recent high-profile appearances: his one-hour interview this month on the NBC program "Meet the Press" and his State of the Union address last month.

Even before Mr. Bush delivered his speech, Mr. Kerry tried to pre-empt him. In an appearance in New York, the Massachusetts Democrat said he had Mr. Bush "on the run" even before Democrats settled for certain on their nominee. He said the president had failed on the economy, had pursued a "reckless" foreign policy and was practicing "crony capitalism and crony government."

In a statement issued after Mr. Bush's speech, Mr. Kerry said: "George Bush's credibility is running out with the American people. They want change in America and I'm running because I am determined to bring that change and put America back on track."

While, Mr. Bush never mentioned Mr. Kerry by name, his campaign openly said it was now focused on him as its probable opponent and spent much of the day trying to exploit his long record of votes in the Senate to paint him as weak on national security.

In focusing exclusively on Mr. Kerry as an opponent, Mr. Bush's aides risk making a mistake should Mr. Kerry falter and the Democrats nominate Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

In a statement, Mr. Edwards said the election was "not about John Kerry's past or the president's past." He said, "This election is about the future, and the new ideas we have that will change American so that it works for all of us."

Mr. Bush invoked the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks several times in casting the election as a big choice for the American people. He sought to dispel rumors that he might drop Vice President Dick Cheney from the ticket, joking that he had again put Mr. Cheney in charge of his vice-presidential search and that Mr. Cheney had come up with the same recommendation he made in 2000.

The speech got rousing applause at several points from the audience of Republican donors and governors, including the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, and the newest Republican star, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.

Mr. Bush has gradually become more involved in the day-to-day decision making in his campaign. The campaign's advertising team went to the White House two weeks ago to film him for appearances in television commercials. One senior White House official said Mr. Bush had been having a "rolling conversation" with his political strategists in recent weeks about how to proceed as Dr. Dean's candidacy collapsed and Mr. Kerry emerged as the front-runner.

Mr. Bush's media team has moved forward with plans to purchase advertising time, asking stations about rates in 17 swing states, the vast majority of which were decided by five percentage points of the vote or less in 2000. Among them were Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

Campaign officials have said that Mr. Bush's first advertisement will focus on his accomplishments, and that it would not attack Mr. Kerry.

[skywalker]

Hasn't there already been an online ad from Bush that attacked Kerry about special interest funding?

Mark

[ryaldin]

The game plan:

Lock President Bush, John Kerry, and all of their personal political staff and campaign assosciates in the astrodome, and convince them to begin a debate. Leave them there, and let the rest of the nation get on with reality. *sigh*

[john]

Here comes the mud slinging! Just once I'd like to see an election where the canidates actually address issues and not each others shortcomings.

[Azred]

I applaud Senator Kerry et alii for stirring up the Democratic Party to present a challenge to the incumbent Bush, but a rational analysis of the entire political situation shows that a Democrat nominee will not win the upcoming election, assuming Bush doesn't do something stupid. Of course, lowering oneself to attacking a political opponent on a personal level is stupid.

Unfortunately, John, what you want is not likely to happen. A majority of the American people want mudslinging and/or humiliation, else the proliferation of "reality shows" would not exist. *sigh* I agree with our Founding Fathers that giving every citizen, whether native or naturalized, an equal vote is vital for a healthy democracy, but the fact that an uninformed/apathetic person who might be easily swayed by an emotional argument has a vote is a little disturbing. Oh, well...nothing is perfect.

[Timber Loftis]

Well, here's the RNC's early take on how the main 2 points line up:
___________________________________
[Forwarded to me by GWBush.com]

Last night, in a major speech, President Bush outlined our country's priorities and his vision for meeting them.

The President talked about why we should press forward with a successful agenda, and not turn back to the tired, failed policies of the past.

In short, he talked about the clear choice that Americans will face in this November's election:

The Clear Choice on the Economy: "... Come November, the voters are going to have a very clear choice. It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving this economy forward, or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people.... Our opponents talk about job creation, but they're against every one of these job-creating measures. Empty talk about jobs won't get anybody hired. The way to create jobs is our pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur, pro-small business owner agenda."

The Clear Choice on the War on Terror: "It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.... Our opponents say they approve of bold action in the world, but only if no other government disagrees. I'm all for united action, and so are the 34 coalition partners we have in Iraq right now. But America must never out-source America's national security decisions to the leaders of other governments. Some of our opponents are skeptical that the war on terror is really a war at all. They view terrorism more as a crime -- a problem to be solved with law enforcement and indictments.... After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States -- and war is what they got."

* The Clear Choice on Trusting People Over Government:
"The American people will decide between two visions of government: a government that encourages ownership and opportunity and responsibility, or a government that takes your money and makes your choices.... On issue after issue, the American people have a clear choice. Our opponents are against personal retirement accounts, against putting patients in charge of Medicare, against tax relief. They seem to be against every idea that gives Americans more authority, and more choices, and more control over their own lives.... I trust the people, not Washington politicians, to make the best decisions for their own money, their own health, their own retirement, and their own lives."

* The Clear Choice on Optimism vs. Pessimism:
"Our opponents have not offered much in the way of strategies to win the war, or policies to expand our economy. So far, all we hear is a lot of old bitterness and partisan anger. Anger is not an agenda for the future of America. We are taking on the big issues with strength, and resolve, and determination, and we stand ready to lead this nation another four years."
Is the choice clear for you? Then join the President's team as a Bush Volunteer by going here: www.GeorgeWBush.com/SignUp/

[The Hierophant]

Originally posted by ryaldin: The game plan: Lock President Bush, John Kerry, and all of their personal political staff and campaign assosciates in the astrodome, and convince them to begin a debate. Leave them there, and let the rest of the nation get on with reality. *sigh*

What should really be done call a debate involving all of the CEOs and Boards of Directors for all of the companies and (neo-aristocratic) families that fund both the Democrat and Republican campaigns and ask how they plan to run the country. On what 'special' conditions do they provide their $$millions to the presidential campaigns?...

[ 02-26-2004, 08:28 AM: Message edited by: The Hierophant ]

[wellard]

"The President talked about why we should press forward with a successful agenda, and not turn back to the tired, failed policies of the past."

Oh yeah ... like Clinton was real bad for the economy [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] are people so dumb as to forget the undisputed econmic success of the previous administration [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]

[wellard]

Urging swift action on a spiraling budget deficit -- forecast to hit a record $521 billion this year -- Greenspan told the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee.


521 billion debt ... bring back the budget surplus from the (to quote GW abacus Bush)

"the tired, failed policies of the past."

How can one man stuff up the budget so quickly?