| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"pikalilli" |
| Date: |
13 Apr 2004 09:52:03 AM |
| Object: |
Uneasiness in Bush circles |
http://www.iht.com/articles/514538.html
Bush news conference may be sign of anxiety
Adam Nagourney NYT Tuesday, April 13, 2004
WASHINGTON President George W. Bush's decision to face the news media
after a week in which he kept largely out of view while vacationing in
Texas is a sign of what some Republicans have described as an
increasingly jittery White House.
Officials say they are concerned that events beyond their control,
from the battlefields of Iraq to a hearing room here in Washington,
are threatening a carefully planned re-election campaign.
Bush, who previously held only two news conferences on prime-time
television, was to hold his third on Tuesday evening.
Bush's senior advisers expressed confidence on Monday about the
president's political standing. But other Republicans close to the
White House expressed unease about world events, noting opinion polls
that revealed growing questions among Americans about where the nation
is heading, a measure that pollsters historically watch closely as a
barometer of trouble for an incumbent.
Of particular concern, one Republican close to the White House said,
are indications that a spate of Bush's television advertisements
intended to undercut his Democratic rival, Senator John Kerry, has
been partly blunted by the distraction of Iraq and the hearings of the
commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
"It's a significant matter of concern to people who are involved in
the campaign and people who are concerned about the political future
of the president," said one senior Republican close to Bush's
campaign, who asked not to be identified. "It's less of a concern for
the policy people. The difficulty is that political people do not like
events outside the campaign that are beyond their control."
The uneasiness in Bush's circles was one reason, an aide said, that
Bush scheduled the prime-time news conference. The decision clearly
cheered some Republicans who have been following recent events with
concern.
"There are many things he should say and will be saying over the next
few days," said Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 3
Republican in the House. "And I'm glad he's doing that. He should be
explaining some of the positive things that are happening in Iraq. I
think he should be explaining the level of resistance, and what he
intends to do about it."
All this is taking place at what Republicans describe as a moment of
frustration for Bush and his advisers. In the same month that his
general-election campaign began, the very issues Bush viewed as the
foundation of his re-election appeal - his handling of foreign affairs
and national security - were being challenged.
Some of Bush's advisers argued that the president's credentials on
foreign policy were so superior to Kerry's that any discussion of Iraq
or the Sept. 11 attacks played to Bush's benefit.
"At the end of the day, the more focus there is on defense and
national security questions," the more helpful it is to the president,
Blunt said, reflecting the sentiment around the White House.
But a Newsweek magazine opinion poll published this week showed that
the number of Americans who approved of Bush's handling of terrorism
had dropped to 59 percent, from 70 percent earlier this year, while
Americans disapproved of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq by a
margin of 51 percent to 44 percent. While head-to-head polls of
candidates are viewed as unreliable this early in a campaign, even
some Republicans took note that the Newsweek poll showed Kerry leading
Bush by 50 percent to 43 percent.
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| User: "Dave Simpson" |
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| Title: Re: Uneasiness in Bush circles |
13 Apr 2004 03:59:03 PM |
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[Distribution including loser-scumbag group "alt.impeach.bush" left intact]
It was quoted:
Officials say they are concerned that events beyond their control,
from the battlefields of Iraq to a hearing room here in Washington,
are threatening a carefully planned re-election campaign.
Conservatives who are critics of the Bush administration would dispute this.
Is this re-election campaign truly carefully planned?
Dave Simpson
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