The Hindu : Bush takes a swipe at Kerry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

International

International

Bush takes a swipe at Kerry

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 24. In what seems to be indications that the White House has formally opened the upcoming political season, and seriously at that, the U.S. President, George W. Bush, took swipes at Senator John Kerry, saying that his likely opponent is one who would raise taxes, expand the Government and weaken the country's defences.

At a reception for the Republican Governors' Association, Mr. Bush portrayed himself a candidate and stressed that the choice before the people was one between a country that led the world with strength and confidence and an "America that is uncertain in the face of danger."

Mr. Bush's comments came at a price tag of $1000 a head in the form of a fund-raiser.

The Bush-Cheney campaign hoped to rake in as much as $170 millions and some predicted that this figure could come close to a record $200 millions.

"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," Mr. Bush said.

The President gave every indication that while Mr. Kerry might be a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, issues of defence, foreign policy and the war on terrorism would be high in this campaign.

"If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift towards tragedy. That will not happen on my watch," he said.

What has not gone unnoticed in the remarks of Mr. Bush is that for the first time, he is responding to criticisms from the Democrats directly. In the recent past, the White House left the defence of the President to senior administration officials; and in the last few days, senior officials in the Republican party and the chair of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, Marc Racicot, have been coming forward to respond to attacks.

Political aides, according to one version in the media, were going to wait for at least another month or so before they wanted to let Mr. Bush directly rebut the charges or put forth his messages, but with the Democratic front-runner, Mr. Kerry, leading the charge and focussing on the White House and not on his rivals, it was decided the strategy in place was not the right one.

Further, even if the White House consistently maintains that the opinion polls do not matter, it must be rattled by the consistent slipping of Mr. Bush in surveys, especially in match-ups against Democratic candidates.

According to one poll, in a head-to-head match-up, Mr. Kerry beat Mr. Bush 52 per cent to 43 per cent among registered voters. And the President's job approval rating was down to just 50 per cent from 71 per cent in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Saddam Hussein Government last April.

Meanwhile, in New York — which has now come to attract much attention for March 2 Super Tuesday — Mr. Kerry went about his business unmindful of the comments from Washington and from the President.

"I think George Bush is on the run and I think he's on the run because he doesn't have a record to run on," Mr. Kerry told reporters.

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