COMMENTARY
Bush's influence in local elections is heavy-handed
By Ben Cayetano
For months, President Bush has been touring the country politicking — and directing his cabinet to do its part as well.
Associated Press
Political observers note that while it is customary for presidents to stump for their candidates, Bush's use of his entire cabinet to campaign for Republicans is unprecedented. Bush, apparently worried about control of Congress, is leaving little to chance.
President Bush has assigned his Cabinet to work on election politicking.
On Friday, Hawai'i got a taste of the Bush full-court press when Bush's undersecretary for health and human services praised Florida as the only state that gets a "green light" for bioterrorism preparedness.
President Bush personally delivered the good news to Floridians (his 12th trip to the Sunshine State this year), raving about brother Jeb Bush, who is now fighting to save his seat as Florida's governor.
Hawai'i, on the other hand, was ranked by the same undersecretary as just one of two states ill-prepared to distribute medicines in the event of a bioterrorism attack.
Never mind that the federal agency responsible for oversight, the Centers for Disease Control, knew nothing of these so-called "red, green and amber light" ratings. Or that Steven Bice, director of the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile Program, was just in Hawai'i last month and praised Hawai'i for being "on track."
And never mind that while the undersecretary issued his ratings, the deadline for the states to submit their first report since receiving the federal grants had not passed. Apparently, the only deadline the Bush administration was interested in was the Nov. 5 election.
Also on Friday, four days before the general election, Mike Liu, Bush's undersecretary in the Housing and Urban Development Department and defeated Hawai'i Republican lieutenant governor and congressional candidate, issued a written demand that board members of the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i resign by the end of the year.
Advertiser library photo • Jan. 18, 1996
Simultaneously, Liu sent copies of his letter to the Hawai'i news media, demonstrating again that the important deadline for Liu was to blast Hawai'i state government before the election.
Former Isle GOP official Michael Liu raps the state housing agency.
One would think that Liu, as a former Hawai'i legislator, would at least offer his home state government a fair chance to answer. After all, Liu's HUD had given HCDCH a "satisfactory" rating for the past eight years, including 2002.
One would think that Liu would also take into account the fact that HCDCH has helped develop and build more affordable rentals for Hawai'i's poor and needy in the past eight years than all of the other administrations combined since statehood — an indication that the HCDCH has been doing some things right.
Over the past four years, HCDCH has awarded more than $150 million in contracts. Liu is focusing on a single contract for approximately $775,000 — less than 1 percent of the total. I, too, have concerns about this particular contract and have asked the state attorney general to investigate.
I also suggested Liu ask the U.S. attorney to join the investigation, but Liu never did. He never did because he knows that no criminal activity took place.
The truth is, what is really occurring is frenetic campaigning of unprecedented magnitude. President Bush, who seems so anxious to wage war against Iraq, is leaving nothing to chance to ensure Republicans get full control of the U.S. Congress.
Right now, however, Bush and his cabinet are waging an unprecedented war of disinformation and misrepresentation on the American electorate. On Nov. 5, the big losers may be truth and fairness.
Ben Cayetano is Hawai'i's governor. He is a Democrat.
