Republicans rallying for the president's pitch

[Guest guest]

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/29/Opinion/Republicans_rallying_.shtml

 

Republicans rallying for the president's pitch

 

When the Republican National Convention opens

Monday, the GOP will put on a moderate face. But

voters should not be fooled.

 

A Times Editorial

Published August 29, 2004

 

With the presidential race virtually deadlocked,

President Bush will use this week's Republican

National Convention in New York City to try to bolster

his image as a strong leader in the war on terrorism

and to sketch a second-term domestic agenda. Democrats

have consistently underestimated George W. Bush over

the years, but few incumbent presidents have faced the

sales job Bush must do to persuade voters he deserves

a second term.

 

Recent polls show that the war in Iraq could be the

decisive issue in this election, and on that front the

president has much to answer for. Bush has been

telling voters that the economy has " turned the

corner, " but in some key battleground states battered

by the loss of jobs, that claim rings hollow. The war

and the economy are largely beyond the president's

control in the two months before the election, so it

is not clear what Bush can say or do to reassure

undecided voters - the 10 to 15 percent of the

electorate who could decide the election - on these

issues.

 

Public opinion has turned against the president on

both the war and the economy. More Americans than not

now believe invading Iraq was a mistake and that

Democrats would do a better job managing the economy

and creating jobs. A majority also believes the

country is moving in the wrong direction.

 

These opinion trends do not bode well for Bush's

re-election prospects. For the moment at least, the

president is clinging to the one advantage he has over

John Kerry, the Democratic challenger - more Americans

trust Bush than Kerry to lead the fight against

terrorism.

 

The convention opens Monday in Madison Square Garden

not far from ground zero of the 9/11 attacks, the spot

where Bush found his voice as a leader after the World

Trade Center towers were brought down by two hijacked

airliners. However, the president has squandered the

political strength he gained from his post-9/11

leadership with his ill-considered invasion of Iraq,

where nearly 1,000 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives

so far.

 

Unfortunately for the president, his first-term record

on domestic issues will do little to offset the

popular discontent with the war. Bush, no doubt, will

tout his tax cuts, the Medicare prescription drug

benefit and the No Child Left Behind education reform

as major domestic achievements by his administration.

But these Bush initiatives are more controversial than

popular and are unlikely to sway undecided voters

concerned about the war, the economy, health care and

the red ink in Washington. Bush's tax cuts, coupled

with the spending binge in Congress, have produced

staggering deficits. The president has yet to veto a

single spending bill. No amount of spin should blind

Americans to the fact that Bush has been one of the

most fiscally reckless presidents in history.

 

The convention presents Bush with an opportunity to

give voters some idea of what he would like to

accomplish in a second term. Americans are still

waiting to hear Bush explain his exit strategy in

Iraq, and what, if anything, he plans to do about

budget deficits that threaten the future of our

children. So far, he has offered little more than

campaign rhetoric.

 

Although the details are sketchy, the president and

Republican congressional leaders have hinted that his

domestic policy agenda in a second term would be

centered around initiatives that, if enacted, would

fundamentally alter the nation's systems of taxation

and social insurance. On the campaign trail, Bush

talks about moving the nation toward an " ownership

society. " He told supporters at a recent Washington

fundraiser: " During the next four years, we'll help

more citizens to own their own health plan, to own a

piece of their retirement, to own their own home or

their own business. "

 

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the

Republican vision of an " ownership society " is this:

" Wage income would be taxed at something close to a

flat rate instead of today's graduated rates.

Investment income would largely be tax-free. And

individuals would shoulder more of the risk for their

financial security, in return for potentially greater

rewards. "

 

It is a politically risky agenda, and it will be

interesting to see if the president is bold enough -

and honest enough - to roll it out in any detail in

New York.

 

Like the Democrats in Boston, the Republicans in New

York will try to reassure independent voters by

presenting a moderate face at their convention. The

Republican hard right will be largely out of sight,

and the prime-time speaking slots will be filled by

prominent party moderates - Sen. John McCain,

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former New

York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani - who disagree with Bush

on such issues as abortion and gay marriage. But the

moderate face the Bush convention presents to a

national television audience will be cosmetic, and

voters should not be fooled. George W. Bush is the

most conservative president in modern times, governing

to the right of even Ronald Reagan. He can no longer

pretend to be a " compassionate conservative, " as he

did at the GOP convention four years ago in

Philadelphia. The Bush administration has extended its

compassion and generosity mainly to corporate America

and the wealthiest taxpayers - not to struggling

families or the 45-million Americans without health

insurance.

 

As voters tune in the political extravaganza in New

York, they should not be seduced by the patriotic

symbols and themes, by the rhetoric of the speakers or

by the president's promises for the future. This

election should be a referendum on George W. Bush's

first term. So let the show go on, but voters should

not confuse Bush's convention with his record.

[Last modified August 29, 2004, 01:42:22]