Posted on 08/15/2003 8:49:46 AM PDT by PhiKapMom
The President and Congress are on the summer recess for the month of August so we decided to take some time off with these Countdown Threads as we prepare for the upcoming Presidential election. Today we are back with an Update from Bush-Cheney '04 along with information on the what the Democrat candidates are doing!
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August 15, 2003 |
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Upon being elected to office President Bush took immediate action to create jobs and grow an economy that was in recession. He has not stopped working to grow our economy since. This week, he met with his economic advisors to review the positive impact of his efforts.
Our economy is just starting to see the positive effects of the President’s Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 but President Bush continues to press for legislation to help America’s workers. He has called on Congress to pass his proposals for re-employment accounts to help those looking for work, to end lawsuit abuse that hurts consumers, and help small businesses pay for health care for their employees.
President Bush Announces Capture of Key al Qaeda Leader,
Thanks Servicemen and their Families at Miramar
The President Protects Wildlife and Homes with Healthy Forests Initiative
This week, President Bush reinforced the need for his Healthy Forests Initiative during a visit to the wildfire scarred Coronado National Forest in Arizona. President Bush's Healthy Forests Initiative establishes a more effective and timely process to protect homes, wildlife habitats and forests from catastrophic fires. The President's latest budget more than doubles the funding for forest health programs. Key components of the President's Healthy Forests Initiative include:
President Announces New EPA Administrator, Governor Mike Leavitt
On Monday, President Bush nominated Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to be the new director of the Environmental Protection Agency. The President praised Gov. Leavitt as a leader committed to results in cleaning our air and water, saying "Mike Leavitt will come to the EPA with a strong environmental record and a strong desire to improve on what has taken place during the last three decades.... Governor Leavitt has been a leader in applying high standards in air quality, and he understands the importance of clear standards in every environmental policy."
Excerpts of President Bush's Speech in Miramar, California
Point of View: Democrats' trips help state GOP
By Pat McFerron Republicans, not Democrats, are paying much closer attention to the Democrat nomination process. The most viable explanation is the national Democrats fail to inspire their party faithful, but tend to infuriate those in the opposition. How else can one explain that 40 percent of Republicans know that Al Gore's former running mate, Joe Lieberman, is pursuing the nomination, while only 23 percent of registered Democrats do? Similarly, 21 percent of Republicans can mention Howard Dean's anti-Bush candidacy, while only 15 percent of Democrats are so aware. Only 37 percent of the state's registered Democrats can name even a single candidate running for the nomination. Even among Democrats who have participated in recent primary elections, only 47 percent can name just one of the candidates. In contrast, 58 percent of all of the state's registered Republicans are able to list a Democrat candidate. This should not be interpreted to mean that the Republicans will consider voting for the eventual Democrat nominee; in fact, the opposite is true. Among Republicans aware of at least one of the Democratic candidates, 95 percent are already committed to re-electing George W. Bush. It's easy to see why having one of the presidential candidates representing the Democrats is exciting to Republicans and discouraging to state Democrats. While the Republicans in Oklahoma would be excited about having a trial lawyer (Edwards), a dove (Dean), a member of the Clinton/Gore team (Lieberman), a big labor sympathizer (Gephardt), or any of the other candidates representing their opposition, many of the state's Democrats, including the governor, seem to be avoiding making any endorsements. As such, the Democrat rank and file is not paying attention. Why should they when their leaders at home are at best reluctant to embrace the leadership of the national party? Republicans, however, are paying attention. And they will pay even more attention once a nominee is selected. Given the posturing of the current Democrat candidates, it is a virtual certainty that the eventual nominee will have supported numerous positions -- ranging from advocating gay marriage to promoting tax increases or supporting Bill or Hillary Clinton -- that are out of touch with Oklahoma's conservative values. The real question is whether the conservatives who remain registered Democrats will pay attention. They may already be doing so. Already, 49 percent of those Democrats who can name any of the Democrat presidential candidates are indicating an intention to vote for Bush. This trend is likely to continue if elected Democrat leaders in the state selfishly decide against creating a wall of defense between local candidates and their national party nominee. Without the enthusiastic support and endorsement of local Democrats creating a buffer, Bush's coattails could prove very long in Oklahoma. McFerron is director of survey research with Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates. He has conducted polling for national and state campaigns, including Oklahoma's right-to-work campaign, Oklahoma City's MAPS for Kids election and local and legislative campaigns. Bush Says Power Grid Needs Modernizing By JENNIFER LOVEN
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- President Bush said he will order a review of why so many states were hit by a massive power blackout Thursday and said he suspects the nation's electrical grid will have to be modernized.
"Millions of people's lives are affected," the president said. "I fully understand that their lives will not be normal for the short run."
But he added, "Slowly but surely we're coping with this massive national problem."
The outage spread to states from New York to Michigan and affected major cities in Canada as well.
Once power is restored, Bush said he would order a review of "why the cascade was so significant, why it was able to ripple so significantly throughout our system up East."
Speaking to reporters at a downtown hotel during a two-day California trip, the president said the assessment would determine just what caused the problem and whether the U.S. electrical grid would need to be modernized as a result.
"I happen to think it does," he said. "It's a serious situation."
Still, Bush sought to provide some reassurance to a shaken public.
The first priority, Bush said, is to deal with the consequences of the blackout and "get electricity up and running as quickly as possible."
"I have been working with federal officials to make sure the response to the situation was quick and thorough and I believe it has been," the president said. "We're offering all the help they need to help people cope with this blackout."
Bush pointed to the resumption of some flights at LaGuardia and Newark airports near New York as an example of federal involvement and a sign the situation was beginning to come under control.
Bush credited local and state emergency officials with quickly getting a handle on the problem - and said they have not yet asked much of the federal government
"Not much - because they're well-prepared," he said. "We're better organized today than we were 2 1/2 years ago to deal with an emergency."
Bush also said it "has been remarkable to watch on television" how calmly individuals reacted.
Bush said it wasn't clear yet what caused the initial problem but promised that officials would figure it out once people's immediate needs are met. "One thing I think I can say for certain is that this was not a terrorist act," he said.
Bush was notified about the outage by Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin while he was having lunch with Marines at a military base in southern California. He received updates through the rest of the day from top aides.
Vice President Dick Cheney was on vacation in Jackson, Wyo., during the blackout. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was in Maine, press spokesman Claire Buchan said, but he consulted by telephone with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Officials from the White House and National Security Council later held a video conference call with officials from the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Treasury, State, the FBI and other agencies, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
The meeting was organized to make sure the federal government was ready to help to meet any request that might arise from state and local governments, he said.
Dem Presidential Candidates Oppose Recall Aug 15, 3:41 AM EDT
By RON FOURNIER
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidates oppose the California recall drive, but are divided along with other party leaders over strategy to avoid a Republican takeover.
Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio denounced the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, but said Thursday they want the party to rally behind a Democratic alternative in case Davis is thrown out.
"I'm against the recall, I think it's wrong. But I think people ought to have a choice beyond Arnold Schwarzenegger and Larry Flynt," said Lieberman, endorsing Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. Actor Schwarzenegger and Flynt, a pornography publisher, are candidates on the Oct. 8 ballot.
Most of Lieberman's rivals don't want to talk about an alternative to Davis.
"I think (the recall drive) insults the democracy of this country, and it's wrong, and Californians should not be making a choice about which candidate ought to replace Gray Davis," said Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
The split is emblematic of a debate within the national Democratic Party over recall strategy. Some party leaders say backing Bustamante will hurt Davis' ability to fend off the recall, and would not necessarily guarantee victory for the Democrat against the GOP slate. Others said Davis' recall is inevitable; they want to unite quickly behind a strong Democratic alternative.
"Democrats are trying to come to terms with the situation while standing on constantly shifting terrain," said Democratic strategist Michael Feldman of Washington.
Former President Clinton has given Davis advice for surviving the recall drive, comparing the effort to his GOP-led impeachment trial. Associates say Clinton may campaign for Davis in September if the governor wants his help and if it looks like the assistance would pay off.
They said there is another possibility: If Davis cannot reverse polls that show wide support for his recall, Clinton might find it necessary to urge the governor to resign and pave way for Bustamante. The associates, speaking on condition of anonymity, said any scenarios involving Clinton is highly speculative because the political landscape is so fluid.
Presidential campaign advisers said they will closely watch the recount drive and Davis' poll numbers as they decide whether to get more involved.
For now, Lieberman is the only candidate fully invested in the recall drive.
"Cruz Bustamante is a friend of mine, he's chairman of my campaign here in California," Lieberman said.
While seven of his rivals maintained a heavy schedule in Iowa, site of the nation's first presidential voting, Lieberman rushed to the West Coast to inject himself in the nation's biggest political story.
"It's a political power play against a governor who has governed in hard times," he said.
In Iowa, Rep. Dennis Kucunich, D-Ohio, said Democrats have to fight the recall while also "making sure they have a backup plan."
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said: "It sounds to me like an attempt by the Republicans to reverse the results of an election, which they have a habit of doing."
He said he didn't know enough about California politics to support an alternative to Davis.
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina said he opposes the recall because California has recently elected Davis, and he will not back an alternative.
Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun said she hopes the recall will fail and plans to campaign on Davis' behalf.
Seven of the presidential hopefuls attended a health care forum at Drake University sponsored by Gov. Tom Vilsack, incoming chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. He called the recall drive a "novelty" and said his group is almost certain to donate money to help the California party fight the effort.
The money could help Davis or Bustamante, he said.
At Vilsack's forum, the Democratic presidential candidates criticized President Bush and large pharmaceutical companies.
Most of the major Democratic candidates have offered plans to expand the nation's health care system, and would finance their efforts by repealing various portions of the tax cut the president pushed through Congress.
"America has a choice, it can have tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans or health care for all Americans," Kerry said.
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While Pres Bush stays out of the California Recall, Sen Joe Lieberman is attempting to make political gain by inserting himself in the CA Recall with his support of Davis/Bustamante! Remember the next time anyone tells you that LIEberman is centrist -- he is actually a Democrat liberal supporting two very liberal Dems in Davis/Bustamante! This "centrist" Voting Score from the American Conservative Union is:
Don't know about you, but a 20 Rating for a Lifetime Conservative Voting Record makes Senator Lieberman a Liberal IMHO.
FYI, Cong Chris Shays (R-CT) had a 76 conservative voting record in 2002!
The Media reported based on the statements of Democrat candidates that the hazardous duty pay and separation allowance for our military would expire on Sep 30, 2003, and the Bush Administration was doing nothing. Even when the Department of Defense put out a statement that the military would get the money from other sources if it expired -- the media chose to stay silent on the TRUTH! Below is the DoD Press Release:
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug 14, 2003
DoD Statement on Family Separation Allowance and Imminent Danger Pay
In April, after the President's Budget was submitted, Congress authorized an increase in both the Family Separation Allowance (on a worldwide basis) and Imminent Danger Pay and legislated that these increases would expire on Sept. 30, 2003. The department is aware of the problem that would result for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan if these allowances were allowed to expire. This is an issue of targeting those most deserving, and certainly people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are in these categories. We intend to ensure they continue to receive this compensation at least at the current levels.
My goodness. Did this guy see our (liberal) field poll that came out today?
3 words;
Political Tin Ear.
Joe No-Core-Value-Man
He told me it was difficult to gauge public reaction to his proposals... He said he never met anyone opposed to his views.
I think that is very true of most candidates. They are met by the party faithful who reinforce their beliefs. Rarely does a candidate get to learn the views of the centrists that decide their fate. No handler wants a candidate in a situation where he is confronted by people who are opposed to his views. So candidates live in a world isolated from accurate views of public opinion.
As Mike pointed out, the danger is that a candidate will believe his own eyes and ears and not the people who do the polls and conduct the focus groups.
Kerry strikes me as a man who "knows it all". He is the most likely candidate to ignore good advise and follow the bad advise of his gut. I don't think Kerry is going anywhere. Kerry appears to me to always be thinking of his strategic position. What he says is based on what he thinks of his current situation. Since he has no real beliefs he can't remember what he said in the last stategic situation. And he has as many opinions as he has situations.
It would be fun to hear the media jokes about Kerry. Bet your bottom dollar there are a lot of them.
Years ago I interviewed Mike DiSalle then Governor of Ohio. He was running for relection in a race he lost.He told me it was difficult to gauge public reaction to his proposals... He said he never met anyone opposed to his views.
This reminds me of Bernard Goldberg's story about the Upper West Side chatterer who wondered aloud how Nixon had beaten McGovern in 1972. She claimed that "no one she knew voted for Nixon".
Echo chamber.
I wonder how one compares Kerry to Dean. Dean appears to be driven by his own convictions, although I strongly suspect that he is malleable enough to try to make himself presentable for a general election campaign. Can Dean pull off a Nixon and tack to the right? I'm not sure. Remember that the people around Nixon were very good, and their boss had a political instinct that I have yet to see matched by any other politician, with the possible exception of Bill Clinton.
Agree with you on Kerry, btw. Sort of like a jumped up version of John Edwards: there's no there there. One thing about Dean, though. I'm not sure that he's getting the feedback he needs to be a better general election candidate. Recalling your admonition that the people will tend to vote for the candidate who is trying to solve the problem, I'm not sure that Dean brings a lot to the table other than a jazzed up base.
No one wins elections on anger alone.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
I saw a Dean statement that he made to an AP reporter in 1995. The 1994 election saw the loss of the house and senate seats to the Republicans. The democrats also lost governorships as well as state legislatures in 1994. The Democratic governors were angry with Clinton so Bill called a meeting with the Democrat governors to have them advise him on what to do. Dean was a Democratic Governor in attendance.
After that closed meeting Dean was approched by an AP reporter who asked what transpired. Dean replied, "Well no one urged him (Clinton) to move to the left."
Note what Dean said. It shows skill. Dean did not say they urged Clinton to move to the right although that is the clear inference. If he hads said that the reporter would have asked who urged Clinton to tac to the right. If Dean had then refused to name names the reporters story would have said Dean refused to say who urged Clinton to the right. The reporter could have used what Dean said as a lever on the other governors to gain more information. Instead Dean phrased it as a negative. That did not leave the reporter anywhere to go. That shows some skill.
I think that Dean may be pragmatic. He needs the nomination. He may also think he can move to the right if he wins it. But you can bet that in the 2004 debates a candidate Dean would get his own words thrown back at him. With all he has said, video of Dean saying x followed by video of Dean saying y would be enough to defeat him.
I think at this point, Dean is saying I must do what I must do to get the nomination. Once I get it, I will worry about defeating Bush.
I don't think Dean really believes he can win. But no one thought Clinton could win... but he did. So Dean is gambling hoping for Clinton's luck.
I still think that Gephardt will get the nomination. He has the backing of 11 major unions. And the word is he has most of the 20 percent of the appointed delegates to the convention sewen up. If that is the case, Gephardt needs to only win 30 percent more of the delegates. The other candidates will have to win 50 percent. What I hear is that Gephardt is 40 percent of the way to the Delegate goal, before a single primary is held.
Thanks for the response. Dean is saying what he has to say to get the nomination, and does intend to move right in a General. That's classic Nixon. Unfortunately for Dean, as you suggest, that's where Karl Rove's AudioVisual crew will get him.
In my lifetime, the two guys who didn't try to do that were Goldwater and McGovern. Look what happened to them.
It's not that Dean is not malleable; he is. But he's trying to get the base vote over to him by making them angrier than they need to be. This will hurt him in the long run.
BTW, I didn't know Gephardt had that many delegates locked up. Bob Dole redux?
Oh, btw, would you mind if I linked your "Weekly Commentary" page to my blog. Your stuff is absolutely superb.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Hi Chris,
I would be pleased and honored if you link to my commentary.
thanks
ray
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