Proposal Illustrates Power of Incumbency

[kskiska]

Thursday, January 8, 2004; Page A01

With his Democratic challengers preoccupied, President Bush demonstrated the advantages of incumbency yesterday with a proposal for undocumented workers aimed squarely at the Latino community, which is destined to be one of the most important swing constituencies in the November election.

At a time when the Democratic candidates are worried about attracting the support of their party's most loyal -- and often most liberal -- activists, the president's proposal to legalize undocumented workers looked beyond his conservative Republican base. It was the latest indicator that Bush and his political advisers plan to press their advantages to shape the general election environment well before Democrats even find a nominee.

(snip)

At this point 12 years ago, three in five Americans said they wanted the country taken in a different direction. Last month, a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that almost three in five felt positive about this president's policies. At the beginning of 1992, Bush's father's economic approval rating was about 25 percent. Bush's is just over 50 percent. Last month, according to a Washington Post-ABC News Poll, almost three in five Americans said the economy was not good or poor, compared with nine in 10 who gave the economic negative ratings a dozen years ago.

(snip)

No constituency figures more prominently into that strategy than Hispanics, the most rapidly growing minority group in the country, one with a tradition of supporting the Democratic Party and a critical force in big states including California and Texas and small states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado. Bush's advisers say unless they can attract a bigger share of the Latino vote, the GOP will have little chance of becoming the country's dominant political party.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63260-2004Jan7.html

[Capablanca]

1. This will backfire

The conservatives are going nuts and stating that they will not vote for Bush. The moderates like me see straight through this policy as entirely politically motivated. The Liberals are see the moderates point and believe that a more comprehensive, real vs. phony program should have been proposed. In the end I believe that these types of political maneuvers will backfire.

I am smelling a reaction coming that will make the upcoming election a real battle. I personally cannot wait for the debates and to see who the candidate will be. Whoever it is I am starting to wince at the idea of how bad a beating Bush will get at their hands.