Rove: Kerry Has Taste of Bush Campaign
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=694&u=/ap/20040317/ap_on_el_pr/rove_bush_campaign_2&printer=1Wed Mar 17, 6:21 PM ET
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - White House political chief Karl Rove said Wednesday that President Bush (news - web sites) had just begun to demonstrate the kind of targeted, multi-front campaign he plans against Democratic rival John Kerry (news - web sites).
Addressing a small group of conservative activists, Rove assured them that Bush planned a nimble campaign able to counterpunch even before Kerry opens his mouth. The White House adviser pointed with pride to the Bush camp's response Tuesday, when it got word that Kerry planned a national security speech to veterans in West Virginia.
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Rove complained that Democrats were criticizing Bush for failing to stem joblessness, when the unemployment rate is roughly the same as it was during President Clinton (news - web sites)'s 1996 run. Unemployment in February of this year was 5.6 percent; in February 1996, it was 5.5 percent.
He also said the gay marriage issue is beginning to help Bush, because polls are starting to shift in Bush's direction, with more people opposed to same-sex unions. But Rove implored the activists to add their voices to Bush's call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to ensure that Bush is not perceived as standing alone on the issue.
And he expressed irritation that some disgruntled Republicans in Congress and elsewhere have increasingly chosen to go to the news media to air their complaints, rather than bringing them directly to the White House.