it gave way to much coverage to the few demonstratorsPerhaps.
But compare HER report to THIS rather typical media coverage, which does not even mention the MAIN STORY from last night's event: the intense Iranian-American supporters of President Bush.From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette :
Campaign 2004: Bush comes out swinging at campaign kickoff event
Thursday, March 04, 2004By Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
LOS ANGELES -- President Bush wasted no time taking on his rival, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, in the first day of the general election campaign.
At a fund-raiser in California last night, he painted the American voters' choice in November as a stark decision between a Democratic leader who would create uncertainty for America in turbulent times and one who could provide security.
Wally Skalij, pool photo via AP
President Bush addresses the White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in Los Angeles.
Click photo for larger image.
Bush lost California to former Vice President Al Gore by nearly 1.3 million votes in 2000 and trails Kerry by some 13 percentage points in hypothetical match-up polls in California. But his visit to the Golden State -- less than 24 hours after Kerry won its Democratic primary in a landslide -- underscored the aggressive posture that his campaign has taken: the Bush team will campaign everywhere and plans to be competitive even in states like California, which has favored Democratic nominees in recent years.
At an evening fund-raiser at the Shrine Auditorium at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Bush said that by electing a Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California voters had shown the nation that "no party can take this state for granted."
"The vice president and I are going to be spending some quality time in the state of California," Bush said. "With your help, we are going to make California part of a nationwide victory in November of '04."
In remarks that were a clear outline of his 2004 campaign, Bush drew heavily on his experience leading the nation in the war against terrorism, capturing Iraq leader Saddam Hussein and freeing Afghanistan from the rule of the Taliban. He cast himself as a decisive leader who showed the world through Saddam's capture that America "means what it says." And he said America was "proud to lead the armies of liberation." Because his administration acted, he said, "the world is more free and America is more secure."
Bush also said his "historic tax relief" had made the nation the fastest-growing economy of any nation in the world. And Bush immediately took on Kerry, saying the Democrat had not shown how he would lead the nation against terror and that he would burden voters with higher taxes and less independence to make their own decisions. He also cast Kerry as a flip-flopper.
"He's spent two decades in Congress and he's built up quite a record," Bush said. "In fact, Sen. Kerry's been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.
"The voters will have a very clear choice this year," Bush said. "Between keeping the tax relief that is moving this country forward or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people. 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. I'm ready for this campaign."
He also bashed the Democrats' message as empty and without solutions either for restoring jobs or carrying out the war on terror.
"My opponent hasn't offered much in the way of strategies to win the war," Bush said. "So far all we hear from that side is a lot of old bitterness and partisan anger. Anger is not an agenda for the future of America."
There is deep hostility against Bush among Democrats in Los Angeles, including an active sector determined to embark on an "Impeach Bush" movement because of the president's contention that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Dozens of them protested outside the fund-raiser with signs saying "Bush Lied" or "Censure Him."
But the president was warmly received not just by his financial backers, but by community leaders from all over the country at a conference yesterday afternoon for the White House Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the city's Convention Center.
During a winding speech punctuated by "Amens" from the crowd, Bush told his listeners he had come to the "City of Angels" to honor the people "doing God's work" and pledged to help them navigate the complicated pathways of the federal government to get more money for their faith-based community work -- a contentious initiative that he has said is one of the priorities for his administration.
"Let me put your minds at ease," Bush said to his listeners. "We're talking about healing our nation, we're not talking politics. We're all here doing everything in our power to save lives. ... I'm here to thank you for hearing that call. Actually, I shouldn't be thanking you, I should be thanking a higher power," he said.
All of the Democratic candidates, including Kerry, have expressed reservations about programs they believe blur the line between church and state and they have struggled to find ways to reach out to talk about faith in a way that is palatable to their party's base. Bush addressed the controversy in his speech, noting that he was forced to issue an executive order to move his initiative forward after it was held up in the U.S. Senate.
"There's been a big debate about this, of course, because we want to make sure there's a separation of church and state," Bush said. "But if you have an ... objective and you've got people of faith that can achieve that objective, doesn't it make sense for the government to not fear faith, but to welcome faith?"
Outside the convention center a handful of Democratic protesters said it was ironic that Bush was attending the faith-based initiative conference without stopping by a job fair that was taking place next door.
(Maeve Reston can be reached at mreston@post-gazette.com.)
