BY DAN
KENNEDY
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Monday, August 09, 2004
STUMPING WITH BUSH. I drove
up to Stratham, New Hampshire, on Friday to watch George W. Bush
address the faithful at an outdoor rally and picnic. It had been four
years - since the
South Carolina primary, in
2000 - that I'd had a chance to see Bush in such a setting, and I'd
forgotten how effective he can be. Not to mention how out of touch
with reality.
The Portsmouth Herald
says
there were 5500 people attending, which seems a bit high. I watched
from the TV riser next to Jorge Quiroga, of WCVB-TV (Channel 5), who
estimated the crowd at about 2500. That seems more like it. But
there's no question that a lot of Bush supporters (non-supporters
not
allowed) turned out at
Stella and Douglas Scamman's farm. Indeed, I had to park at a
supermarket and walk about a mile up the road.
For a half-hour or more, band music
was blasted through the PA system, including a number that I only
know as the theme from Monty Python. Finally, at about 1 p.m.,
a few minutes late, we could see that Bush was slowly making his way
to the podium. He was introduced by Senator Judd Gregg, who's up for
re-election. Gregg immediately invoked 9/11, speaking reverently of
the moment when Bush took a bullhorn amid the rubble of the World
Trade Center and vowed revenge. Bush, Gregg said, offers "leadership
with resolve and purpose to defeat terrorism, to defend America, and
to assert leadership around the world."
Dressed in a light blue shirt,
tieless and with rolled-up sleeves, Bush then grabbed the podium and
talked for 45 minutes - a stemwinder for him, and curious given the
amount of criticism John Kerry has received for speaking only a few
minutes longer than that in his acceptance speech at the Democratic
National Convention. Of course, Bush had a captive audience, and
didn't have to worry about anyone changing the channel.
"Listen, there is no better way to
spend a Friday afternoon than at a picnic in New Hampshire," Bush
said. "We won New Hampshire last time, we're going to win New
Hampshire this time, and we're on our way to a great victory in New
Hampshire."
What followed was all boilerplate,
as he spoke partly from notes and partly from memory. He talked about
his family (he was on his way to Kennebunkport for a family wedding).
He paid tribute to New Hampshire Republicans such as Gregg ("an
amazing senator"), Senator John Sununu, Governor Craig Benson, and
Congressman Jeb Bradley. He was folksy. "You might remember I was
knockin' on doors here a while ago. Like four years ago. And I met a
lot of good folks here," he said, conveniently omitting the fact that
most of those good folks voted for his rival, Senator John
McCain.
Bush's spin on terrorism, Iraq, the
economy, Dick Cheney ("I didn't pick him for his looks"), education
reform, and the like is not worth repeating, although it bears noting
that he appears ready to keep hacking at Kerry for his choice of
North Carolina senator John Edwards - a trial lawyer - as his running
mate. "We need to get rid of these frivolous and junk lawsuits," he
said. "My opponent made his choice, and he put him on the ticket. I
made my choice - I'm standin' with the docs and the
patients."
Bush did not mention this
frivolous
lawsuit, which he brought
against a rental-car company in 1998. No doubt if he'd hired Edwards
he could have done a lot better than $2500.
When Bush is relaxed and in front
of a friendly crowd, he comes across as looser and more human than
Kerry seems to be able to manage. There are little touches. ("I want
to thank the youth football coaches who are here today ... thanks for
being good moms and dads") There are deftly worded attacks, such as
his mocking criticism of Kerry for voting against $87 billion to
support US troops and to reconstruct Afghanistan and Iraq. ("There's
nothing complicated about supporting our troops in harm's way," he
said, never mentioning that he, in fact, had threatened to
veto the $87 billion if it weren't structured to his
satisfaction.) There is the almost-undetectable, coded attack on
lesbians and gay men. ("We stand for institutions like marriage and
family, which are the foundation of our society.") There is the
unadulterated horseshit, such as his call to "rally the armies of
compassion," which surely are needed more than ever after four years
of him and Cheney.
More than anything, there is 9/11,
which is clearly the theme of his re-election campaign, and which
will be on full display at the Republican National Convention in a
few weeks. He ended as Judd Gregg had begun, talking about that day
at Ground Zero. "I remember a guy grabbing me by the arm ... he
looked at me with bloodshot eyes and said, 'Don't let me down,'" Bush
said, adding: "I will do whatever it takes."
"Four more years! Four more
years!" came the response from the crowd.
Will this work? I don't know. Can
well-performed schmaltz overcome four years of failure and deceit?
The Republicans have this down to a science. On the other hand, they
reached their high-water mark in presidential campaigns in 1984, when
Ronald Reagan was re-elected. The last time they won a majority was
in '88, when Bush's father defeated Michael Dukakis.
This shouldn't work, but it
might give Bush a temporary push heading into the fall. I'm hardly
original in saying this, but I think it's pretty obvious that it's
all going to come down to the debates. One thing Democrats need to
keep in mind, though, is that Bush - frequently derided for his
tongue-tangled ways - can be a more effective communicator than they
think.
posted at 9:32 AM |
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2 Comments:
The Liberty Bell March, by John Philip Sousa.
He ended as Judd Gregg had begun, talking about that day at Ground Zero. "I remember a guy grabbing me by the arm ... he looked at me with bloodshot eyes and said, 'Don't let me down,'" Bush said, adding: "I will do whatever it takes."On 9/13/2001, at Ground Zero, the Secret Service let some guy grab the President's arm? Without wrestling him to the ground?
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
