So absolutely sure that he is correct, President Bush chose to be predictable.
Rejecting talk of any sweeping change in policy or in his administration, Bush decided to stay the course, blame the Democrats and ridicule Bill Clinton in his acceptance speech Thursday night.
Without promising much and keeping the rhetorical grace notes to a minimum, President Bush laid out his case for re-election and it sounded like Trust Me, Trust Me, Trust Me.
He was resolute in believing in his own policies and in himself, sweeping away the popular wisdom that he had to create a whole new framework for a second term. If he aimed at providing a vision for the future, Bush came awfully close to saying, ”Embrace the past.”
Digging in his heels, just as he did last January in his State of the Union, Bush insisted: ”Our policies haven`t failed, they haven`t been tried.”
Making amends to his supporters, he admitted again that his one-time compromise with Democrats was a mistake, but from foreign policy to his domestic programs, he elevated being stubborn into a form of political passion.
Bush embraced his traditional constituency and spoke intimately to the conservative Republican base gathered inside the Astrodome. Reaching back 12 years, he evoked images of the Carter Administration: ”Gas lines. Grain embargoes. American hostages blindfolded.”
If anything Bush took comfort in being plain and predictable, using precision when talking about standard Republican themes and a kind of sneering humor when talking about his opponent and the Congress.
In one sense, the president couldn`t afford to be artificial, to loft new programs at the end of his first term. To do so would have been so transparent and cynical, he would look foolish.
He even plucked lines from his campaign stump speech about seeking a line-item veto and he obviously listened to James A. Baker III who must have told him to repeat Baker`s line from last week and make no apologies for his interest in foreign policy.
One exception to the plain talk, however, was his suggestion about tax checkoffs to reduce the federal deficit, a confusing proposal that involved taking 10 percent of taxes and dedicating that amount to the budget deficit.
Saving his eloquence for the wondrous changes in the world, ”change of almost biblical proportions,” during the last three years, Bush allowed himself the confidence he usually displays in foreign policy.
He argued that his and Reagan`s policies were in large part responsible for the days of magic in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. But in his description of the domestic agenda, Bush recalled the litany of failed proposals from his first term, blaming them on a gridlock Congress and warning that the Democrats can provide only more failure.
Without using the words, Bush tried to evoke Ronald Reagan`s old
”Morning in America” campaign slogan by saying ”from where I stand, I see not America`s sunset, but a sunrise.”
Blaming the negativism of the media, Bush refused to indulge in the speculation about major shakeups in a second term. And with a flinty righteousness, he rejected talk of internal changes.
With a flinty righteousness, he rejected talk of internal changes. ”The question is, who do you trust to make change work for you,” he asked. ”Who do you trust in this election?”
There were a few curious turns in the speech: Warning that ”sharp lawyers are running wild,” Bush seemed to evoke an image of pinstriped figures from zany movies scaring doctors away from practicing medicine and
”moms and dads won`t even coach Little League anymore” for fear of being sued.
He turned around his old complaint that Reagan`s tax cuts were voodoo economics and claimed Clinton was using ”Elvis economics.” Elvis became the refrain when talking of his rival.
Bush spent a surprising amount of time on the side trails of American politics, attacking Mario Cuomo, the noncandidate governor of New York, and delivering a disjointed series of one-liners about issues that come right out of his campaign focus-group sessions.
Oddly enough in the last few days, the 68-year-old Bush has discovered a Democrat as his new, come-from-behind hero, Harry Truman, a man who also butted heads constantly with Congress. And in his acceptance speech before thousands of Republicans hungry to have their own hero, Bush tried to imitate Truman and say it plain.
Quoting the man from Missouri, Bush appealed for support: ”This is more than a political call to arms. Give me your help, not to win voters alone, but to win this new crusade and keep America safe and secure for its own people.”
