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3/31/04
Calling Bush out on strikes
The Democratic Party's sometimes funny "Home of the Whopper" campaign that charts what they see as Bush White House fibs turned personal yesterday, calling President Bush a lousy baseball manager. They don't exactly compare him to Peter Angelos, whose nearby Baltimore Orioles have gone from world class to bush league under his ownership, but they do suggest he ruined what could have been a great team when he ran the Texas Rangers. In a release titled "Play Ball," the Democratic National Committee says: "During his meeting today with baseball's Hall of Famers, Bush announced he would throw the first pitch in the St. Louis Cardinals' home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 5. Recall Bush's record as General Managing Partner of the Texas Rangers: blunders, errors, and mismanagement. Sound familiar?" The Democratic opposition research team dug up these nuggets for proof: Bush traded Sammy Sosa. 'Nuff said. It also hits Bush for trading closer Robb Nen in 1993. He became a nine-time winner of the Rolaids Relief Man Award. And they also knock Bush's 1992 firing of Manager Bobby Valentine. Bush aides were naturally miffed and suggested that unlike any other charge the Democrats could throw at the president, none will energize him more on the campaign trail than calling him a baseball failure.
See Bush's speech to Hall of Famers: www.whitehouse.gov
3/25/04
Who's the real new JFK?
Who has the real claim to wear John F. Kennedy's mantle–Bill Clinton or John Kerry? Some of Kerry's allies ruefully (and privately) say Clinton was a pretender to the title. The former Arkansas governor pushed his JFK connection for all it was worth, but the link was minimal, the Kerry allies say–a handshake when Clinton was attending a ceremony honoring young leaders at the White House many years ago. Kerry, however, shares Massachusetts as his home state and has long been a protégé of Sen. Edward Kennedy, the slain president's brother. He even went boating with the charismatic president in his younger days–which the Kerry allies say was a lot more impressive than just shaking his hand.
That snowboarding look
Some of John Kerry's Democratic supporters are unsettled at his choice of a ski resort in Idaho for his winter break. They say the images of his snowboarding down the slopes reinforces the caricature of the Massachusetts senator as a rich blue blood. (We won't even get into all those houses he owns, or his fancy boat and jet.) This summer, the betting among Democratic insiders in Washington is that he'll choose a more Middle American spot for some R&R before the fall campaign erupts–such as his wife's home in Pittsburgh, a key city in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Or Florida.
3/23/04
Quayle dismisses talk of a close election
Former Vice President Dan Quayle thinks the fall election won't be the nail-biter most analysts do. "I think it's a 5 to 7 percent election, rather than 1 percent," he told U.S.News and
the Bulletin. In a telephone interview, Quayle expressed confidence that
President Bush would win, but he said that was based on the GOP pegging Sen.
John Kerry as a liberal, and successes in the war on terrorism, in Iraq, and on
the jobs front. "Assuming they identify this guy as the most left-wing presidential
candidate in history–'from Massachusetts and totally out of touch with reality,
raising taxes, soft on defense, would not make a good decision when it comes to
fighting international terrorism'–then the Bush campaign and the president will
be in an extraordinarily good position," he said. "Particularly if the president can
paint a bright economic picture." Quayle added that he expects the campaign to
be decided very late. "In the last two weeks of the campaign, it's going to swing
one way or the other and it's going to swing rather dramatically."
3/18/04
Towey doesn't see religious attack
Just as their initials are identical, former President John F. Kennedy and Sen. John F. Kerry share the same religion, but experts don't see a voter backlash this time against the Catholic candidate. "I do see religious tolerance" in politics, said Jim Towey, head of the White House faith-based initiatives office. Towey, a Democrat, said that it is unlikely that religion will play a major role in the fall elections. He especially dismissed concerns that either candidate's religion will be debated. "I'd be very surprised to see that as an issue in the race," he said. For Bush’s part, he added, don't expect the president to play up his faith. "He doesn't consider himself to be some super Christian," said Towey. "I don't see him in any way promoting his faith over any other faith." Towey described Bush's approach as "very personal. . .very quiet." Discussing the president's initiative with reporters, Towey added that he expects both candidates–and future presidential hopefuls–to make biblical references in their speeches. And when asked if he could ever envision a nonreligious, or even atheist, president, he simply said "no."
Chao builds ties to FOP
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao travels to Philadelphia tomorrow [Friday] to receive the Fraternal Order of Police President's Award in recognition of her efforts on behalf of the nation's police officers. The award further cements the politically important group's ties to the administration. Labor and FOP officials said today that Chao has done more than any previous labor secretary to woo and work with police, though most of her efforts have gone unnoticed nationally. "It's a natural relationship and just part of what we do," said a Chao aide. While with the FOP Friday, Chao will address the union's executive board. FOP officials said that they are giving Chao their top award for several reasons, including her and President Bush's support of police who are reservists in the war on terror, her move to bring FOP members with her on a recent trip to Iraq, her efforts to establish a Labor scholarship program for the spouses of police killed in the line of duty, and efforts to protect and clarify overtime rights of cops.
'Passion' could help Bush
Some conservative Republican leaders believe that Mel Gibson's movie about Jesus Christ's death, "The Passion," could help drive President Bush's core constituency to the polls. The theory in conservative circles, according to two leaders, is that for those who see the movie, supporting a moral and devoted leader who does not change positions for political benefit will be the election's mission. "They see Bush as that person," said a key conservative. Robert Knight, with Concerned Women for America, meanwhile said that the movie is a big piece of a larger "wave" among Christians to go with a candidate or movement that will strike back at what many see as moral reversals and petty politics. "There's a profound thread that's being woven here," said Knight, who cited a backlash to a series of recent events that include a boom in gay marriage and the raunchy Super Bowl halftime show. "America has had its excesses rubbed in its face and is looking for somebody who can make things right." Knight said that "The Passion" helps to drive that feeling. "It puts things in perspective." Another Christian conservative leader said that there is a parallel between the movie and Bush: Both have been under heavy media criticism. "A lot of the phone and Internet buzz about the movie has been railing against the media as being anti-Christian bigots and a 'We're going to show them' by turning out for the movie. The media seems to be giving Kerry a lot more favorable coverage than Bush, so there may be a connection there," he wrote in an E-mail.
3/16/04
A 10 for Bush staffers
Longtime Republican booster and star of "10," Bo Derek, made a surprise visit to Bush-Cheney 2004 headquarters in Arlington, Va., Monday to cheer on the GOP team. "She was great and really gave us a boost," said one insider. Another added that Derek toured most of the operation and that she "is just a great lady. She took time to tour the office, visited the communication office, and spent quality time with staff." And, added a male Bush staffer, Derek is "still drop-dead gorgeous."
Dole, Quayle cited by Kerry allies
Refusing to backpedal on claims that foreign leaders would prefer a new president, Sen. John Kerry's associates today claimed that the Democrat is just echoing similar claims leveled by key Republicans against Bill Clinton when the foreign policy of the first-term president was under fire during his re-election. Associates have researched the GOP attacks on Clinton and found that both Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, and former Vice President Dan Quayle used the same type of language attacking Clinton's foreign policy as Kerry has of Bush's. However, said the Kerry allies, no Republican suggested at the time, as some are now, that the attacks undermined U.S. credibility. "These guys are so desperate to avoid talking about the economy, jobs, or healthcare, they're eating their own," a Kerry insider said this morning. It's part of a broader counterpunch strategy employed by the Kerry camp to show that his criticism of the Bush White House is similar to the GOP attacks on Clinton. Kerry insiders think it helps to inoculate Kerry from GOP charges that he's a flip-flopper. Previously, for example, when the White House accused Kerry of jeopardizing national security by voting against increasing funding for some weapons systems, the Democrat said that, in fact, he was following then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney's calls to cut spending. "Just as Defense Secretary Dick Cheney was on Kerry's side in the early '90s when it came to eliminating the outdated weapons systems, turns out the Republicans had no complaints in 1996 when their head honcho Bob Dole echoed Kerry's comments re our allies wanting a change," another Kerry associate writes in an E-mail. However, Republicans said the Kerry counterpunch still doesn't answer their demands that he identify just which foreign leaders have told him that they'd like change in the White House.
A GOP St. Paddy's Day
What would the annual New York St. Patrick's Day Parade be without a little politics? To wit, Republican National Committee insiders said this morning that GOP boss Ed Gillespie has been invited to march tomorrow. "He wouldn't miss it," said one staffer. The New York invite comes just months before the Republicans will host the convention to renominate President Bush at Madison Square Garden. The parade is advertised as the 243 consecutive march. Gillespie has long played up his Irish roots, hosting a birthday party at an Irish pub during the GOP 2000 presidential convention in Philadelphia. Gillespie will be marching alongside Steven McDonald, an NYPD officer who was shot in the line of duty in 1986 and paralyzed from the neck down. McDonald, who forgave his teenage assailant, has made several trips to Ireland to speak and listen to others discuss the possibilities of reconciliation through forgiveness. He also spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention. Gillespie is a first-generation American. A Gillespie aide, said that "his father emigrated from Ireland, and Ed often talks about his father's experiences as an immigrant to illustrate the need to reach out and bring new people from all ethnic backgrounds into the Republican Party."
3/9/04
Bill Clinton, 100 years later
Bill Clinton, 100 years later
The William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation plans to celebrate Bubba's 58th birthday August 19 by installing a time capsule at the entrance to his Little Rock library now under construction. We hear that for a donation, supporters will get their note about the prez and the future placed in the capsule. Clinton also plans to pen a card. The other items, reports our Suzi Parker, will be pictures of the library and memorabilia–but sorry, no blue dress.
The Clinton Center.
3/3/04
Clinton library already a winner
It hasn't even been built yet, but the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park is winning awards. Thanks to the marketing geniuses behind the Little Rock library and museum facility, Broadway-like handbills promoting the November opening have already won awards for originality. The center won awards in the Arkansas Advertising Federation competition and there could be more to come since the center's taking them to national contests. There are three handbills. One shows Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea declaring victory in 1992 under the headline, "Get ready to party like it's 1992." The second shows Clinton and former Russian President Boris Yeltsin laughing under the heading, "Come see that foreign policy can be fun." And the last shows a solitary Clinton looking out the Oval Office on his last day in the White House. The headline, "As of November 18, the Oval Office opens in Little Rock."
View the promotions
Bush ads hit airways Thursday
First lady Laura Bush makes an appearance in President Bush's first reelection ads of the year, bragging on her hubby's leadership qualities. In the first of three ads–one in Spanish–set to air, Bush opens with; "One of the things that must never change is the entrepreneurial spirit of America. This country needs a president who clearly sees that." Then Laura adds, "The strength, the focus, the characteristics that these times demand." A second ad titled "Safer, Stronger" suggests that times were bad when Bush arrived on the scene but that now things are heading up.
View the new Bush-Cheney ads
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