Bush's big chance

[Nicholas_J]

Leader
Monday August 30, 2004
The Guardian

Four years ago, when George Bush received the presidential nomination in the City of Brotherly Love, America's Republicans presented themselves as a party of inclusion, unity and reconciliation. It was a formidable piece of political deception. The party that Mr Bush inherited was increasingly one of economic deregulation, social conservatism and global unilateralism with little feeling for those who did not share its values - a far cry from the party of Dwight Eisenhower or Theodore Roosevelt. Nevertheless, in Philadelphia in 2000 the Republicans depicted themselves as moderate and multicultural, and the convention ended with a speech from Mr Bush in which he offered himself as a compassionate conservative and as a healer of divisions. The entire event, as a veteran US commentator remarked, may have been a joke. But it was a joke that came off. Mr Bush left Philadelphia 14 points ahead of Al Gore in the polls, and the rest is history....

And that, after all, is the big difference between 2000 and 2004. Four years ago, Mr Bush was running on a promise. This year he is running on his record. Voters will be given the same message this time around, but this time they have more to judge it against. This is why Mr Bush is having a harder time in the polls against Mr Kerry than he did against Mr Gore. The central fact about US politics today is that Mr Bush is currently losing this election. The convention week has therefore become a crucial opportunity for him to turn the tide in his favour, especially among the unusually few voters who have not yet made up their minds who to vote for in November.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/comment/story/0,14259,1293572,00.html

[acmavm]

1. Interesting, referring to him as Mr. Bush, not pResident bush*.

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