(Hat-tip to Kos)
Link
Good goin' George. Middle America is gonna love that! I hope it's on video tape somewhere.
ANNANDALE, Va. -- President Bush stumped for votes and touted tax cuts Monday in northern Virginia, drawing more than 600 supporters and a few dozen Democratic protesters who said his presence in traditionally Republican Virginia is a sign his campaign is in trouble.
In between were Chris Ostendorff of Oakton and her son Chuck, two undecided voters who wanted to hear the president speak but were unsure if they would vote for him.
"I'm still making up my mind," said Chuck, who will be voting for the first time in November and wants to pursue a career in the military. "I was impressed with his speech, but I suspect I would also be impressed with a speech by (Democrat John) Kerry. It's going to be tough to decide."
At several points during Monday's rally, Bush touted the No Child Left Behind Act, which is designed to impose accountability standards on local school systems.
But Chris Ostendorff, a special education teacher, said the law has caused problems, particularly in special education, where students can't always meet a fixed federal standard.
"And I'm not sure how I feel about federal regulation" of local education, she said, still undecided about her vote.
Bush's rally was designed to show how his policies have enabled individual Americans to take "ownership" of the economy and to highlight entrepreneurial success.
Sharon Rainey of Great Falls was one of the entrepreneurs on stage with Bush. She talked about her business, FYI Network, an Internet-based referral and bulletin-board service. The Bush campaign said the tax cuts he supported saved her $1,200 last year.
Rainey, a Bush supporter, said she doesn't know exactly why the Bush campaign contacted her, except that they wanted a small business owner on the panel. She guessed that "a friend of a friend" told the campaign about her business.
Nobody reviewed or scripted her remarks, she said. "They just said, 'Tell your story,' so that's what we did."
She and her family met Bush briefly a few minutes before the rally at Northern Virginia Community College.
"He basically just told us to relax and that we were going to try and have some fun," she said. "He spent most of the time trying to make us feel comfortable."
Bush criticized Kerry's plan to eliminate the tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 a year, saying that the "the rich in America happen to be the small business owners" who put people to work.
Bush also said high taxes on the rich are a failed strategy because "the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway."
Asked about that comment, Jonathan Beeton, spokesman for Kerry's campaign in Virginia, said "George Bush can speak with authority about really rich people. ... That's his base, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. But that doesn't make it right."
In general, Democrats said, the fact that the Bush campaign stopped in Virginia during a recent campaign swing that has also covered the traditional battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin shows weakness in Virginia.
"It seems he wouldn't come to Virginia unless he had a reason," said Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Kerry Donley. "He's seeing his support slip away, and he wants to stop the bleeding early."
Several dozen Kerry supporters demonstrated outside the rally, some wearing costumes dressed as "Miss Leader" and "Hallie Burton." Bush and Kerry supporters engaged in heated but respectful discussions after the rally.
Lois Garrett of Gordonsville, a Bush supporter, said the only problem she had with the Kerry supporters was that they were receiving some media attention.
"I just look at them and smile," she said. "They're damn lucky to be in this country because they would be backslapped if they lived anywhere else. I just pray that they will open their eyes."
Link
Good goin' George. Middle America is gonna love that! I hope it's on video tape somewhere.
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