Kerry Tries to Portray Bush as Borrow-and-Spend Leader

[CShine]

Seeking to define himself as a deficit hawk, Senator John Kerry on Sunday issued a report accusing the Bush administration of fueling the deficit and crippling state budgets by approving or proposing programs worth more than $6 trillion without paying for them.

As Mr. Kerry, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, emerges from a two-week hiatus — part vacation, part recuperation from minor shoulder surgery — the report is the opening round in what Kerry aides said would be a weeklong focus on the economy.

Polls show that voters perceive the economy as the most important issue in the campaign as well as one on which President Bush is vulnerable. But the release of the report is significant, too, because it signals a new aggressiveness by Mr. Kerry, who, some Democrats have said, has allowed Mr. Bush to define him as a tax-and-spend liberal while he has been largely out of sight and off the trail.

Mr. Kerry's strategy of focusing this week on economic issues was planned before the government's release on Friday of numbers showing an increase of 308,000 jobs last month. Democrats said that news made it even more imperative for Mr. Kerry to demonstrate that he would be a better steward of the economy than Mr. Bush has been. His most recent public event was on Wednesday, before entering a hospital here for surgery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/05/politics/campaign/05KERR.html

[shockingelk]

1. Finally!

Christ, the NY Times got to this before the blogs. No mention on Franken's show either.

Bush IS a big spender, yet many deluded souls are planning on voting for him supposedly because they don't like big spenders.

Bush: $6 Trillion Dollar Man!

[bonemachine]

2. Good call!

This is a message that can appeal to economic conservatives. After all, which is worse: Tax and Spend or Borrow and Spend?

[shockingelk]

3. should appeal to all Americans

Nobody likes spending more than necessary other than the right wingers who WANT to bankrupt the federal government to eliminate social safety nets and the version of John Kerry that exists in the minds of the Rovatized.

I am a "pay as you go / no service cuts" Democrat. That doesn't translate to getting pleasure out of government spending - there are systemic problems with unnecessary redundancy and bloat.

[Prodemsouth]

4. Didn't work for Mickey D - he attacked Bush 1 as borrow and spend.

what make Kerry think it will work for him?

[TinaTyson]

5. The numbers are a lot bigger now

for one.

[nolabels]

6. Remember * has already inoculated himself

He does things in peer groups, with his vaunted "C" grade a Yale and his fuzzy math directly out of the Big Caterpillar Book.

This is America, we don't do that intellectual thing here }(

[truthisfreedom]

7. Kerry should be using the credit card analogy. we are borrowing money to

pay bills from an enormous credit card, 30% of which is owned by THE CHINESE.

[Malva Zebrina]

8. very good

but will not reach the average voter. I mean that. It lacks appeal. It appeals only to those intellectuals who are willing to spend time and energy on this, The rest of the sheep voters will NOT be concerned about this. I mean it, Kerry.

You need a Howard Dean on your staff. He is alive and not afraid and not embedded in Washington politics. get out of it Kerry. You are deflating.

You need to address the war, damn it. And it too bad you voted for it, because now you cannot address this atrocity called the war on terror or Iraq.

I fear for this election, with approaches such as this from Kerry and virually no challenges to Bush. Kerry is letting Bush take over. He is weak at this point. I fear for this election if this is what the approach from Kerry will be.

Geez--it is discouraging.

[Prodemsouth]

9. I have to agree- Kerry's words don't stick with you. I never was a Dean

supporter in the primary I think I am begining to see what so many others saw all along, I feel stupid. Don't get me wrong I am voting for Kerry, but his campaign does not inspire me with confidence