Posted on: Friday, September 3, 2004
'Freedom is on the march'
By Ron Hutcheson
Knight Ridder News Service
NEW YORK — Invoking powerful memories of Sept. 11, President Bush launched his final drive to the November election yesterday by presenting himself as a battle-tested leader who can guide the nation through dangerous times.
Associated Press Bush accepted his party's presidential nomination in Madison Square Garden, a few miles from the site of the terrorist attacks that shook the nation and altered the course of his presidency. The aftershocks from that tragedy on Sept. 11, 2001, set the tone for his acceptance speech, but Bush also sketched out a second-term agenda that includes initiatives on healthcare, education and an effort to simplify federal tax laws.
Declaring that "freedom is on the march," he expressed his determination to finish the job in Iraq, defeat global terrorism and spread democracy throughout the Middle East.
"I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes," he said. "We have fought the terrorists across the Earth — not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake."
But Bush brushed lightly over two issues that could sink his hopes for a second term: the continuing problems in Iraq and the uneven economy. He made no mention of Osama bin Laden, the terror chief who remains at large three years after overseeing the Sept. 11 attacks.
Bush's remarks to cheering Republican delegates — and an expected television audience of about 30 million viewers — signaled the start of the final push to the Nov. 2 election, and he drove home the themes of his campaign.
After a four-day celebration that sought to put Bush in the pantheon of the nation's greatest presidents, Bush acknowledged that some voters are put off by his personal traits.
Associated Press "Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called walking. Now and then I come across as a little too blunt — and for that we can all thank that white-haired lady sitting right up there," he said, referring to his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush.
Turning to domestic issues, he outlined several new initiatives, including:
• Tax simplification. Calling the tax code "a complicated mess," Bush said he would appoint a bipartisan panel to recommend ways to improve the tax code next year. He said any simplification that emerges from the effort would be "revenue-neutral," meaning that it wouldn't result in any net tax cut or increase. • Low-income housing. He called for a new tax credit for developers who build low-income housing and set a goal of 7 million new low-income units in the next 10 years. • Performance tests for high school students. He said he wants to provide $250 million a year to help high schools pay for testing to determine whether students are ready for graduation. • Opportunity zones. His plan would give selected low-income neighborhoods priority for job training, community development grants and other forms of assistance. Bush also took a few potshots at Kerry. He noted that his opponent has called for higher taxes, although he didn't mention that Kerry has said that he would raise taxes only on Americans earning more than $200,000.
"His policies of tax and spend, of expanding government rather than expanding opportunity, are the policies of the past," he said.
In four nights of speeches and campaign videos, Republicans portrayed Bush as a courageous, principled and resolute leader while questioning Kerry's character and his fitness to serve as commander in chief.
Retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who directed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, endorsed Bush from the convention stage before the president's speech.
"I have looked into his eyes and I have seen his character. I have seen courage and consistency — the courage to stand up to terrorists and the consistency necessary to beat them," said Franks, who attended high school with Bush's wife, Laura, in Midland, Texas.
Bush and many of the Republican delegates blinked back tears as he talked about the difficulty of dealing with the deaths of young Americans that he sent into battle.
"I've held the children of the fallen, who are told their mom or dad is a hero, but would rather just have their mom or dad. And I have met with parents and wives and husbands who have received a folded flag, and said a final goodbye to a soldier they loved," he said. "I am awed that so many have used those meetings to say that I am in their prayers."
Acknowledging his flaws as well as his strengths, Bush asked Americans to give him four more years to make the country safer, stronger and more prosperous. He assured cheering delegates at the Republican convention that he would never falter in his "solemn duty to protect the American people."
President Bush, with first lady Laura Bush, asked Americans to give him four more years to make the country safer, stronger and more prosperous. Bush accepted his party's nomination yesterday in Madison Square Garden on the final night of the GOP convention.
"You may have noticed a few flaws," he said. "People sometimes have to correct my English. I knew I had a problem when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it.
President Bush outlined his initiatives for tax simplification, low-income housing and education while driving home his campaign themes.
