George W. Bush

excerpts from the Iowa Daily Report

December 1-15, 2003

Bush economy recovering

Reuters reports that Bush picked up $750,000 in Dearborn, Michigan. It also reports, as other news agencies are, that Bush will end the Steel tariffs:

"Our economy is strong and it is getting stronger," Bush said at an event that raised $750,000 for his already-healthy campaign coffers. "Our manufacturing sector is getting stronger." (12/1/2003)

Bush push for cash

Time is running out for the Bush-Cheney campaign to raise funds to combat opponents. The Associated Press reports that President Bush will attend four fundraising events this week:

He heads to Michigan on Monday for a fund-raising luncheon in Dearborn, outside Detroit, and ends the day in New Jersey at a $2,000-per-person reception in Whippany, near Newark.

And:

The week's other fund-raisers come Tuesday in Pittsburgh and on Friday in Baltimore. Like Monday's Michigan event, the Baltimore appearance is paired with an "official" event on the economy.

The events will be coupled with events that focus on the economy. He will be pushing for cutting health care costs by reducing medical liability lawsuits, decreasing class-action lawsuits and making other broad changes to the legal system, increasing domestic energy supplies and making all recently passed tax cuts permanent:

Bush was to appear at Dynamic Metal Treating Inc. in Canton, Mich. He planned to participate in an event designed to sell his economic agenda. (12/1/2003)

Musicians against Bush

There seems to be a new political movement to do in Bush among musicians, according to the Washington Post’s Inside Polities:

"Bruce Springsteen told a crowd of 50,000 New Yorkers on Oct. 4 to 'shout a little louder if you want the president impeached.' Two weeks later, John Mellencamp posted an open letter to America on his Web site, declaring, 'We have been lied to and terrorized by our own government, and it is time to take action.'

Meanwhile, Moby, Eddie Vedder and Michael Stipe are organizing a TV ad campaign that will run anti-Bush commercials during the week of the State of the Union address in January," the magazine reports. "Dave Matthews is railing against the war in Iraq. ... Thirty major artists interviewed for this story cited many concerns: U.S. policy on Iraq, the Patriot Act, the Bush administration's assault on the environment, the economy and the media." (12/1/2003)

Honesty drives them mad

National Review's Adam Wolfson explores the reasons why liberals loathe President Bush, and he thinks he has come up with the answer. Bush doesn’t believe in the perfectibility of (wo)man.

"Almost all modern liberal thought begins with the bedrock assumption that humans are basically good. Within this moral horizon something such as terrorism cannot really exist," writes Wolfson. Yet the president "calls the terrorists 'killers' and 'evildoers,' and speaks of an 'axis of evil,' " and his directness is reflected in his foreign policy. None of this sits well with those delicate liberal sensibilities. "The Left vilifies Bush because he insists on calling a spade a spade, and in so doing threatens to bring down their entire intellectual edifice," Wolfson concludes. (12/2/2003)

Laura to Afghanistan

Laura Bush is thinking of going to Afghanistan, the NY Times reports:

In a brief exchange with reporters at the North Portico, where the tree had just arrived in the traditional horse-drawn cart, Mrs. Bush said that she would like to go to Iraq, as her husband did on Thanksgiving, but that she would "really like" to go to Afghanistan.

The White House says the trip is in the early planning stages and if it takes place it would be in the Spring. (12/2/2003)

Democrats have tougher job

If President Bush carries the same states in 2004 that he won in 2000, he will win seven more electoral votes. This is the result of the now famous red states (those carried by Bush) gaining population in the South and West. The NY Times covers the story:

"Before a vote is cast, we've increased our margin," Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for Mr. Bush's campaign, said. "In a race that's very close, those small readjustments in the electoral map will have significance."

If that isn’t enough bad news for Democrats, the Times reports that certain states that went for Al Gore are not necessarily holding for them:

Democrats know that white men in rural parts of states like Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin — all of which went for Mr. Gore — are increasingly voting Republican, largely because of issues like President Bill Clinton's personal behavior and recent court rulings on gay rights. As a Democratic strategist said, "Older white Americans moved away from us on impeachment and guns, and now same-sex marriage is a killer."

The good news is that everyone agrees that the race is going to be close. The Times reports:

Republicans are also mindful that neither Mr. Clinton nor Mr. Bush won more than 50 percent of the vote in the last three presidential elections. "No matter how well the economy is doing, no matter how well we're doing in Iraq, and even if we're running the best campaign in the world, this election will be decided within a margin of 4 or 5 percent," Mr. Dowd said. (12/2/2003)

We’re going to the Moon

The National Review has a story that indicates President Bush will announce a return to the Moon.

When President Bush delivers a speech recognizing the centenary of heavier-than-air-powered flight December 17, it is expected that he will proffer a bold vision of renewed space flight, with at its center a return to the moon, perhaps even establishment of a permanent presence there. If he does, it will mean that he has decided the United States should once again become a space-faring nation. For more than 30 years America's manned space program has limited itself to low Earth orbit; indeed, everyone under the age of 31 — more than 125 million Americans — was born since an American last set foot on the moon.

On July 20, 1989, President George H. W. Bush marked the 20th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing with a speech at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington in which he called for a permanent American presence on the moon and, ultimately, a mission to Mars. (12/3/2003)

Bill signing

President Bush is scheduled to visit the Department of Agriculture and sign the Healthy Forest legislation. Judges would have to weigh the environmental consequences of inaction and the risk of fire in cases involving forest-thinning projects. Any court order blocking such projects would have to be reconsidered every 60 days.

The Associated Press reports this legislation has been stalled for years, and the compounding of forest fires over the years was the impetus for action.

For three years, a deadlock in the Senate had prevented the passage of legislation intended to speed forest treatment. But 15 raging fires driven by Santa Ana winds through Southern California prompted Democrats to compromise on the bill. The wildfires burned more than 750,000 acres, destroyed 3,640 homes, 33 businesses and 1,141 other structures.

Even after the California fires, 2003 was slightly below average in terms of acres burned and nowhere near the severity of the 2000 and 2002 fire seasons. In the past year, 3.8 million acres have burned across the country. Twenty-eight firefighters died battling the blazes, according to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

The bill — the first major forest management legislation in a quarter-century — is similar to Bush's "Healthy Forests Initiative," which he proposed while touring a charred forest in Oregon in August 2002. The measure streamlines the approval process for projects to cut excess trees out of thick, overgrown forests or stands of trees killed by insect infestation.

It is expected that Bush will sign the Medicare legislation on Monday. (12/3/2003)

Bush in steel country

President Bush was lobbied hard on steel tariffs while picking up $850,000 in Pennsylvania. The WTO is about to levy tariff sanctions against the U.S. if the tariffs are not withdrawn. The tariff duties, of up to 24 percent, are spread over 10 different steel product categories.

Reuters reports that protesters greeted the President, braving chilly weather:

Outside, protesters shouted "Don't cave in," and one carried a sign warning of the political stakes. "Betray us now, lose in 2004," one sign read.

AP also reported:

Pennsylvania's other Republican senator, Rick Santorum, told reporters he expected Bush to lift some of the tariffs, but not all of them "across the board." (12/3/2003)

NASCAR at the White House

President Bush was in the fast lane yesterday with NASCAR officials. The association brought their fast cars and parked them in the White House driveway. Reuters reported that Bush enjoyed the downhome event:

"NASCAR is one of the fastest growing sports in America today -- 75 million Americans now count themselves as fans," he said.

Of those NASCAR fans in his government, Bush said: "I see a lot of the Bubbas who work in my administration who have shown up."

NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth, the 2003 Winston Cup champion, was featured on the White House Web site, taking questions from online readers in the "Ask the White House" section, which typically features senior Bush administration officials. (12/3/2003)

Editorial comment

In the Sioux City Journal: “Our president took a huge risk, flew over to Iraq, met with the troops, served them Thanksgiving dinner, ate with them, took pictures, and talked with them, all to show he was thankful for what they had given up and what they were doing for the United States and the world. Yet today, all the Democrats can do is keep criticizing him over it and there was very little praise for him doing it. If there was, it was, "Oh it was nice, but ... (insert criticism)." I sure didn't see the Democrats leaving in the middle of the night, heading to a war zone to spend a very special day with the American troops! Thank you, Mr. President.” -- Brett A. Lyon (12/3/2003)

Hate Bush gathering

Drudge reports on the follow-up to Laurie David’s Bush hating gathering. It seems probable that ‘Hate Bush’ was not in the invitation, as previously reported by Drudge:

While drawing distance from the electronic invite [Laurie David claims the subject line of her email was altered], David, nevertheless, explained how "Hate Bush" served as a surprising rallying call to gather on the boulevards.

"Tonight's meeting was organized on behalf of Americans Coming Together and the Media Fund," David told the cameras.

"The piece that ran on the Drudge Report was completely inaccurate in the characterization of this meeting and was a total misrepresentation of what we are doing here tonight. In fact, tonight's meeting is a private gathering for friends and colleagues to learn more about what they can do to elect a Democratic president and Democrats across the country.

"But the real story is the enormous response we got from this community once word got out of this meeting. It's obvious there's a strong desire to change the national leadership of our country.  (12/3/2003)

Big spenders

Republicans are having a Nicene battle over the spending going on in Congress. The Hill covers the story from an interesting viewpoint:

Well-placed sources said Bush hung up on freshman Rep. Tom Feeney after Feeney said he couldn’t support the Medicare bill. The House passed it by only two votes after Hastert kept the roll-call vote open for an unprecedented stretch of nearly three hours in the middle of the night.

Feeney, a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives whom many see as a rising star in the party, reportedly told Bush: “I came here to cut entitlements, not grow them.”

Sources said Bush shot back, “Me too, pal,” and hung up the phone. (12/3/2003)

Bush to lift steel tariffs

The Bush administration will lift steel tariffs. The administration will announce measures to curtail the possibility of other countries dumping after the tariffs are lifted. The administration was briefing steel industry officials before the announcement this afternoon. The Associated Press reports that the measures will include:

…The administration was making permanent early reporting requirements to detect any big influx of steel into the United States.

The reporting program requires steel importers to apply for import licenses, giving the government a quicker way to detect possible import surges than waiting for Customs Service data when the steel arrives at U.S. ports.

The administration also was expected to pledge an aggressive use of U.S. antidumping laws to impose tariffs on specific steel products should imports surge once the tariffs are lifted.

The administration package also was expected to include pledges to continue pursuing global negotiations aimed at getting other countries to limit government subsidies for their domestic steel producers and to curb over-capacity in the steel industry. (12/4/2003)

Air wars

Bush haters are going up with $1.9 million of TV ads. MoveOn.org will begin broadcasting the 30-second ad Thursday in major media markets in Florida, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio and West Virginia. The TV industry estimates that average viewers will see the ad about 10 times over the course of its run. These states are key battle grounds for the Presidential election. The organization in an email boasted of their success in their test ad in Ohio:

We have some great news. Weeks of on-the-ground testing have shown that our "$87 Billion" TV ad successfully gets the truth out about President Bush and his policies. In West Virginia, where we ran the ad, there was an impressive 4% drop in support for Bush. In Ohio, where no ad ran, little changed. Even experts who have been in this field for years were blown away.

MoveOn.org has received a $20 million matching pledge from George Soros to defeat president Bush. The organization is just one of many organizations who are funneling soft money into the election process. The ad according to the Associated Press is critical of the $87 billion for our soldiers in Iraq and that country’s rebuilding:

“We could have built 10,000 new schools. Or hired almost 2 million new teachers. We could have rebuilt our electric grid. We could have insured more of our children," the announcer says. Images of children, teachers and a woman reading by a flickering light illustrate the point. "If there's money for Iraq, why isn't there money for America?" the announcer asks.

The Washington-based group, formed in the late 1990s to oppose the impeachment of President Clinton, has more than $6 million in its ad fund so far to air bush hating commercials in battleground states. (12/4/2003)

Middle East Peace

Washington Times covers the Middle East Geneva Plan:

President Bush yesterday called a new unofficial Middle East peace plan "productive" as long as it adheres to his principles that the Palestinians end terrorism and Israel pulls back settlements in land he envisions as part of a democratic Palestinian state.

"We appreciate people discussing peace," Mr. Bush said. "We just want to make sure people understand that the principles to peace are clear."

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will meet today with the architects of the so-called Geneva Accords — Yossi Beilin, a veteran Israeli negotiator, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, a former information minister for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.  (12/5/2003)

Baker to negotiate debt

President Bush appointed Howard Baker to negotiate debt reduction on behalf of Iraq. Iraq's foreign debt could be as high as $125 billion. The Associated Press reports that:

Bush said he made the appointment in response to a request by the Iraqi Governing Council.

"The future of the Iraqi people should not be mortgaged to the enormous burden of debt incurred to enrich Saddam Hussein's regime," Bush said.

With experience in diplomacy and world finance, Baker "will help to forge an international consensus for an equitable and effective resolution of this issue," Bush said.

Baker will serve as a volunteer, working out of an office at the White House and traveling to other countries.

Of the total Iraqi foreign debt, some $40 billion is owed to the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and other countries who are among 19 nations belonging to the Paris Club, an umbrella organization that conducts debt negotiations. (12/5/2003)

Bush to meet Fox

President Bush will meet Mexico’s President Vicente Fox in the Western Hemisphere at an Organization of American States summit in Monterrey, northern Mexico on Jan. 12-13. The two are expected to discuss immigration and trade issues. (12/5/2003)

Better numbers

Not only is the economy improving but president Bush’s chances of reelection are improving according to the Associated Press’ latest poll:

People are increasingly comfortable about job security for themselves and for those they know — 44 percent now, compared with 35 percent in early October. And more approve of the way Bush is handling the economy — 50 percent compared with 45 percent in the October poll, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs.

More in the poll say they favor the president's re-election than oppose it, with 41 percent saying they will definitely vote for him and 36 percent definitely against him. One in five is considering voting for someone else. (12/6/2003)

Right direction wrong direction:

In the new poll, 43 percent said the country was headed in the right direction, and 51 percent said it was on the wrong track. In mid-November, 38 percent had a positive view, and 56 percent said wrong track. (12/6/2003)

Bush pressured on Jailed activist

An Associated Press story highlights the growing congressional support for President Bush to intervene with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on behalf of a Boston scholar who has been jailed in China for spying for Taiwan:

Eight senators, including three members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked Bush in a letter Friday to discuss the case of Boston scholar Yang Jianli with the premier next week.

China’s visit comes a time of increased trade tensions with President Bush placing trade sanctions on certain clothing exports from China. There will also be discussions concerning curbing N. Korean nuclear ambitions and having china place pressure on N. Korea to abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions. Several Democrat candidates have called for more sever sanctions against China. Sen. John Edwards has called for China being required to wait two more years before the World Trade Organization’s. (12/6/2003)

Mehlman Email

Ken Mehlman, campaign manager of Bush-Cheyney ‘04, has emailed Republicans asking them to view video of Democrats ranting and raving against the President. The message states:

Democrat candidates for President continue their angry, personal attacks while President Bush focuses on creating jobs, growing our economy, winning the war on terror and making sure our seniors have a prescription drug benefit.

How do Democrats respond to this historic record of accomplishment?

Howard Dean compares President Bush to the Taliban and calls him the "enemy" and "despicable." Dick Gephardt calls the President "a miserable failure." John Kerry compared President Bush to Saddam Hussein, called for "regime change" and accused him of fraud. (12/7/2003)

Keeping our promise to seniors

Associated Press reports Bush spoke in front of a large blue banner with a prescription sign and the words: "Keeping Our Promise to Seniors" as he signed the Medicare legislation providing prescription drugs:

"I'm pleased that all of you are here to witness the greatest advance in health care coverage for America's seniors since the founding of Medicare," the president said.

He said then-President Lyndon Johnson, when he signed the Medicare Act of 1965, established a "a solemn promise to America's seniors. We have pledged to help our citizens find affordable medical care in the later years of life."

"And today, by reforming and modernizing this vital program, we are honoring the commitments of Medicare to all our seniors," Bush said. (12/8/2003)

Laura’s touch

U.S. News has a clip about Laura Bush’s fund-raising abilities:

Mrs. Bush has raised as much as the vice president," brags an associate. "And it's not been that visible, really." That's because her appearances have been closed to the press. Insiders say Bush follows a regular pattern: Travel someplace to promote one of her pet projects like reading, women's health, or historic preservation. Then tell donors at a later gaggle what a great experience it was; very little of her stump speech is devoted to reviewing the administration's accomplishments. "She's a very popular draw," says an insider. "There's something very normal about her." Better yet, says an outside adviser: "People like her for all the reasons they didn't like Hillary Clinton." (12/8/2003)

Bush urges Taiwan restraint

President Bush said Tuesday after meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that he opposes the apparent interest of Taiwan's leaders in taking steps toward independence, according to the Associated Press:

"We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo," Bush said, "and the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally, to change the status quo, which we oppose." (12/9/2003)

TV ads

* The Republican National Committee is airing the Terrorism ad that they ran in Iowa before the New Hampshire debates tonight.

* MoveOn.org is running a new ad. The ad portrays President Bush as Santa Claus, checking off a list as he doles out gifts — or corporate giveaways — to campaign donors:

As "Jingle Bells" plays softly in the background, a Mrs. Claus-sounding announcer says, "Yes, big contributors, there is a Santa Claus, but he's not at the North Pole. He's in the White House."

A highlight of the ad accuses Bush of giving drug companies what they wanted in the Medicare bill, and of giving defense companies no-bid contracts for work in Iraq.

The liberal grass-roots organization says Bush will eliminate overtime pay for millions of workers and give media corporations more control of the airwaves. (12/9/2003)

Bush to meet with Iraqi Rep

President Bush meets with the Iraqi Principal Diplomatic Representative and members of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra at 1:35 p.m. at the White House. (12/10/2003)

Organizational genius

MoveOn.org was the subject of Des Moines Register’s columnist Rekha Basu concerning the house parties the organization held to review the documentary, “The Whole Truth,” -- billed as exposing the lies of the Bush administration told to get us into the war in Iraq:

Filmmaker Robert Greenwald doesn't necessarily break new ground in "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War." Most of the evidence is already available to those who make the effort to find it through various media channels. But he does a good job of putting it all together and of juxtaposing the experts' assessments against assertions made by the president, vice president, secretary of state, national security adviser and defense secretary.

Greenwald could have sat around waiting for some network to buy his film but then decide not to air it. By then, we might have moved on to Iran or some new battleground. As one person who helped distribute it observed, "They can't even get a love story about Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan on TV. So how are they going to get this kind of film on a major network?"

Basu reports there were viewing parties in Des Moines, Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Davenport, Marshalltown, Turin, North Liberty and Fairfield. She writes that her group connected by speakerphone with about 950 parties afterwards for a brief conference call with the filmmaker. She also summarizes about the new communication technologies to change grass-roots politics.(12/10/2003)

Bid flap

The White House announced that it helps their friends and opened up a rift with France, Germany and Russia as well as all of those who have called for the so called “Internationlization of Iraq”.

"Prime contracts for reconstruction funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars should go to the Iraqi people and those countries who are working with the United States on the difficult task of helping to build a free, democratic and prosperous Iraq," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The directive from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, dated Friday and posted on a Pentagon Web site Tuesday, limits bidders to firms from the United States, Iraq, their coalition partners and other countries which have sent troops to Iraq. It says restricting contract bids "is necessary for the protection of the essential security interests of the United States." Several times this year, Secretary of State Colin Powell cautioned that countries that did not assist in Iraq's liberation from Saddam Hussein could not expect to be rewarded.  (12/11/2003)

Bushies think it’s Dean

The New York Times reports on how the Bush-Cheney team is gearing up for Howard Dean. The Bush team sees Dean as one of the easier candidates to run against according to the article. They however are studying the insurgent campaigns of the past to see how best to deal with his candidacy according to the Times article:

But the Republican National Committee and the Bush campaign are intensively reviewing their opposition research on Dr. Dean. The party is conducting polling not just on how Mr. Bush would match up against Dr. Dean but also on what effects Dr. Dean, as his party's presidential nominee, would have on other races, especially for Senate seats.

Republican inside and outside the campaign are studying parallels between Dr. Dean's candidacy and other insurgent campaigns, including those of Senator Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and of Senator John McCain of Arizona, who nearly derailed Mr. Bush's march to the Republican nomination in 2000.

The Washington Post article expresses more cautionary vibes coming from some quarters of the Bush-Cheney camp. Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi offers reasons why the game is changing if it is Dean:

"Every decision that we've made, from the beginning, was to build a campaign that could defeat George Bush and win the nomination," Trippi said. "Their whole theory has been to excite their base and depress the Democratic base. They haven't planned for a Democratic base that is so energized."

However, the Dean campaign still continues to have one major flaw -- Dean. Many believe that Dean will still be his own weapon of self destruction for his campaign:

One longtime Republican operative conjured his idea of Dean in debates. "He'd be like Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men,' " the operative said. "When he's being questioned, he gets redder and redder, like his head is exploding, and then he blurts out, 'You can't handle the truth.' Dean is just exactly like that. I see it written all over him." (12/11/2003)

In the money

Republicans are doing better than Democrats – even without the soft money, according to the Washington Times:

During the first six months of 2003, with the new soft-money ban in effect, federally registered Republican Party committees raised $139.1 million, while Democratic committees raised $56.4 million, according to Federal Election Commission numbers.

Soft money describes the unlimited contributions that wealthy individuals, unions and corporations could make to political parties. Hard money in contrast, is subject to caps.

But overall fund-raising totals for both parties have gone down, compared with the first six months of 2001 when soft money was allowed. During that time, Republicans raised $160 million in both hard and soft dollars and Democrats raised $77 million in both. (12/11/2003)

Bush Defends Contracts

"International law? I better call my lawyer," President Bush said.

That was President Bush’s response to a question about German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder statement that the awarding of contracts must apply to international law. Bush’s response demonstrates the great divide between international idealist and those who believe in national real politics. Most all of the Democrat candidates have fallen into the international idealist. Bush stated his belief in understandable terms:

"If these countries want to participate in helping the world become more secure, by enabling Iraq to emerge as a free and peaceful country, one way to contribute is through debt restructuring," Bush said.

Bush explained that helping reduce Iraq's estimated $120 billion foreign debts will not mean that those nations can compete for the $18.6 billion. U.S. officials said the decision applied only to the $18.6 billion in reconstruction funds approved by the U.S. Congress last month. $13 billion in international aid pledged at a recent donors conference in Madrid was eligible for broader international participation. Companies from countries not directly involved in Iraq's postwar reconstruction can also act as subcontractors if selected by those eligible to seek contracts under the U.S. fund. (12/11/2003)

Bush support

Grassfire.org Alliance is airing a minimum number of ads in Iowa that are titled, “Tell the Truth.” The ad does a better job of explaining the Iraq war and the need to support our troops than the Republican National Committee’s recent ad. The organization states that it is in response to MoveOn.org.  Their website is at Grassfire.net and you can watch the commercial there.

The thirty second spot features pictures of our soldiers in combat. It explains that Sadam Hussein regime tortured, raped, and hung children in front of their parents. It asks Americans to support President Bush and our soldiers from the media attacks. (12/11/2003)

Contract ban

President Bush received an encouraging word of support from the Iraqi foreign minister on his banning of those who opposed the war form $18.6 billion appropriated by Congress. Reuters reports:

Not only did these countries not help the Iraqi people, some of them opposed the war and others supported the dictatorship of this bloody regime in oppressing the Iraqi people through the years," said Hoshiyar Zebari during a visit to Qatar Thursday.

"We Iraqis remember these things, and remember those who stood by us and those who stood against us," he said in remarks aired Friday by Arabic-language television network Al Jazeera.

Zebari suggested that there was room for these countries which include France, Germany and Russia to make improvements in their relationship with Iraq:

"There is room regarding these countries and this issue could be revised if these countries changed their negative attitude and their disregard of the Iraqi cause," Zebari said. (12/12/2003)

Stature

The Washington Times reports that the Bush-Cheney campaign will not engage the Democrats directly anytime soon. The Bush camp believes that it would only give stature to a group of candidates that they do not see as having gravitas. The Times reports:

"If he gets down ... with the Lilliputians, he is going to look like another one of them," said a White House source close to the president.

However the Republican National Committee will continue to respond:

"We're always here to catch the incoming and throw a few shots back," explained RNC spokeswoman Christine Iverson. (12/12/2003)

Immigrant amnesty

The White House yesterday said a new immigration review is under way that could lead to amnesty for millions of illegal aliens living and working in the United States.

Confirmation of the review came during a White House briefing, just two days after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said during a town hall meeting in Miami that the government had to "afford some kind of legal status" to the 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens in the country.  (12/12/2003)

The President’s weekly radio address:

Good morning. This week I was honored to sign the Medicare Act of 2003, the greatest advance in health coverage for America's seniors since Medicare was founded nearly four decades ago. This new law will give seniors better choices and more control over their health care, and provide a prescription drug benefit.

Beginning in 2006, most seniors now without prescription coverage can expect to see their current drug bills cut roughly in half, in exchange for a monthly premium of about $35. And for the first time, seniors will have peace of mind that they will not face unlimited expenses for their Medicare.

These and other major improvements in Medicare came about because Republicans and Democrats in Congress were willing to work together for the interests of our senior citizens. We were able to pass this law because we listened to the people, set the right priorities and worked hard until we finished the job.

The reform and modernization of Medicare was one milestone in a year of accomplishment. We worked with Congress to take action in a number of areas on behalf of the American people. Last May, the House and Senate passed my jobs and growth package into law, delivering substantial tax relief to 91 million Americans. We reduced taxes for everyone who pays income taxes, increased the child tax credit, cut the taxes on dividends and capital gains, and gave 23 million small business owners incentives to invest for the future.

And now we are seeing the results. In the third quarter, the economy grew at the fastest pace in almost 20 years. Productivity, manufacturing and housing construction are expanding. And we have added over 300,000 jobs since August. The tax relief we passed is working, and our economy is gaining strength.

Legislation passed this year also showed the compassion and the good heart of America. We created the American Dream Down Payment Fund to help low-income citizens afford the down payment on homes of their own. We defended children from the violence of partial birth abortion, and passed new incentives to promote the adoption of children in foster care. And we acted to fight the global spread of AIDS by launching a multi-year emergency effort to prevent millions of new infections in Africa and the Caribbean, and to provide medicine and humane care to millions more who suffer.

This year we took important action to protect the environment. Our whole nation saw the devastation left by wildfires in the west, and we passed healthy forest legislation to thin the underbrush that fuels catastrophic blazes.

Our government also took urgent action on every front in the war on terror. Congress appropriated more than $31 billion for the Department of Homeland Security to prepare first responders and safeguard our ports and infrastructure, and help scientists develop vaccines against dangerous biological threats. Our country stood behind the men and women of our Armed Forces as they liberated Iraq and helped carry out the work of reconstruction there and in Afghanistan. In Congress, members of both parties worked together to provide vital resources for our troops, who are fulfilling their responsibility to defend the nation.

All these actions have made us safer, more prosperous, and a better country. We confronted problems with determination and bipartisan spirit. Yet our work is not done. There will be pressing business in the new year on issues from job creation to health care to public schools. And above all, we will continue to fight the war on terror until the war is won.

On behalf of all Americans, I thank the Congress for a productive year. Working together, we can add to this progress in the year to come. (12/13/2003)

Too many secrets?

US News and Now with Bill Moyers teamed up to report on the Bush Administration’s classifying documents and keeping them out of the public domain:

The Bush administration has removed from the public domain millions of pages of information on health, safety, and environmental matters, lowering a shroud of secrecy over many critical operations of the federal government.

The administration's efforts to shield the actions of, and the information held by, the executive branch are far more extensive than has been previously documented. And they reach well beyond security issues.

Now aired their story on Dec. 12 over most PBS stations. The article reports that the current administration has made secrets at a far greater pace than the Clinton administration:

There are no precise statistics on how much government information is rendered secret. One measure, though, can be seen in a tally of how many times officials classify records. In the first two years of Bush's term, his administration classified records some 44.5 million times, or about the same number as in President Clinton's last four years, according to the Information Security Oversight Office, an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration. (12/13/2003)

Labor Ad hits snag

A labor group is airing a TV ad in Iowa attacking the Bush administration for giving contracts in exchange for campaign contributions. However, New Hampshire caused a snag for the union – an ABC affiliate, WMUR, refused to broadcast the 30-second commercial by the American Federation of Government Employees. Their attorneys flagged the spot as potentially defamatory, according to the station's general sales manager.

The ad states that "for big corporations like Halliburton that get no-bid government contracts worth billions, Christmas comes almost every day. And when contractors go over budget or commit fraud, it seems as long as they keep writing big contribution checks to the Bush campaign, they just keep getting more government contracts paid for by you and me."

The ad is to air on a Boston station on Sunday. The group's media consultant said the ad is factually accurate and was backed up with research. The group represents 600,000 federal and Washington, D.C. employees. (12/13/2003)

• “Good riddance. The world is better off without you, Mr. Saddam Hussein," President Bush said.

• "My name is Saddam Hussein," he told US troops pulling him from his hole. "I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate." US Major Brian Reed replied: "Regards from President Bush."

• "The Democrats can't touch him at the moment," said Columbia University historian Henry Graff. "He said he was going to get him. He got him. What more do you want? Now if we can lower the level of violence over there, he's going to look good."

• “Even in the unlikely event that Saddam never had dealings with terrorists or quit building weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War, even if every single thing Bush said about Iraq was a lie, the Dems can't know for sure. If they call him on the war and Bush can prove he was right - using Saddam's own testimony - it will be a very long time before the country trusts a Democrat with national security.” -- writes Zev Chafets of the NY Daily News.

• "You were never going to get any closure on this whole mess until you got him," a well-informed Bush source said. "This starts building a path to an end game in Iraq."

• "We have two core problems," a senior Bush adviser said, "and in a relatively short period of time, we've seen significant changes for the better to both."

Paid for by the Iowa Presidential Watch PAC

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