Bush and Cheney on the Campaign Trail
— -- ABCNEWS' Karen Travers reports on the campaign to re-elect the president and the vice president. Scroll down to read more.
Let the Games Begin
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 23 — Bush-Cheney '04 officials said Monday would mark a new period of engagement from the campaign and the president, and at the end of the day it was clear that any plans to stay above the political fray until the Democratic nominee emerged had been scrapped.
President Bush made his first move in the 2004 campaign season in a speech to the Republican Governors Association and said, "We'll leave no doubt where we stand. And we will win our second term in November."
On a day that featured two BC04 conference calls, inquiries about buying ad time, and fundraising travel by the Vice President to two Midwestern states, the president laid out the key themes for his campaign: winning the war on terror and continuing the economic recovery and increasing prosperity
Before the RGA, Bush highlighted his administration's "record of historic achievement," and Noted that over three years, he has worked to improve and increase homeland security, toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq and addressed issues on the homefront such as education, Medicare reform and tax cuts.
And though he did not mention his opponents' names, President Bush took his first jab at Senator Kerry, getting a good laugh from the audience by painting Kerry as a politician with changing opinions.
"The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The candidates are an interesting group with diverse opinions: for tax cuts and against them; for NAFTA and against NAFTA; for the Patriot and against the Patriot Act; in favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it.
"And that's just one senator from Massachusetts."
The president even hinted at some of the inside the Beltway rumors on Vice President Cheney remaining on the ticket and assured the audience that he was sticking with his current #2.
"Vice President Dick Cheney spent the day campaigning in Minneapolis and Wichita. But he's recently completed another important assignment. Once again, I put him in charge of my vice presidential search committee," President Bush said. "He tells me he's reviewed all the candidates. And he's come back with the same recommendation as last time."
Cheney, incidentally, brought in $400,000 for the campaign Monday at two fundraisers in Minneapolis and Wichita, and made a stop at a Mexican restaurant in St. Paul.
Number one - Engage!
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 22 — For several months, the Bush-Cheney campaign has said that it would engage once the Democratic nominee emerged. Now there are just eight days until Super Tuesday, the Democratic race is not yet decided and the Bush-Cheney campaign is starting what campaign officials called "a new period of engagement for the president" — beginning today with a speech to the Republican Governors Association in Washington.
Why has the BC04 campaign decided that now is go time? Campaign officials said it was a shift from their original plan to wait until the Democratic nominee emerged but they opted to engage in "the face of this barrage of negative attacks against the president."
The event will curtain-raise the president's campaign stump speech, previewing many of the issues that the campaign will use to highlights the differences between Bush's record and that of the Democratic nominee.
President Bush will focus on "efforts to move the country forward to greater security, greater prosperity, greater compassion and greater freedom," according to a campaign official. Without naming names (but you know who you are … ), Bush will take on his Democratic critics and in particular what one campaign official called "their backward looking and failed ideas that would derail our economic recovery and weaken our ability to fight and win the war on terror."
The RGA speech is part of the campaign's four-point plan to launch a more aggressive stance that will feature ads, increased surrogate activity and more media visibility from the campaign leadership.
Today the campaign will begin the process of putting ads on the air, calling stations to secure time and rates for a national cable buy and a spot market buy, including Spanish-language TV. Campaign officials say that the first spot will be positive and focus on the president's leadership.
Look for BC04 surrogates and campaign leadership to hit the ground running, showing up on more national and local television, radio, and specialty media as well as going on the road more often to stump for the president.
Cheney addresses many supporters, many issues
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 22 - Sitting in the back of the large ballroom here, waiting to hear Vice President Cheney address the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, sat Amy Sheen, wearing a $75 thrift shop wedding dress, and Martin Waugh, wearing his own tuxedo.
They certainly stood out among the men and women in dark suits and young adults in professional attire, but that was the intention of the Traditional Values Coalition, which was there to represent "traditional marriage." The group was one of dozens of conservative political groups on hand at the hotel to spread its message and rally its supporters for the election in November.
Though the vice president did not bring up the issue of marriage in his speech, he did highlight the Bush Administration's "record of accomplishments" that will soon become a regular part of the stump speech.
"The campaign season is on its way, and President Bush and I will be proud to present our record to the voters in every part of the country. We will run hard and take nothing for granted," Cheney said.
Speaking before a crowd comprised mostly of younger voters, Cheney addressed a broad variety of issues, including the war on terrorism, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the importance of making the Bush tax cuts permanent, the improving American economy, and the need to renew the Patriot Act.
After emphasizing that the Bush Administration's "greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American people," Cheney also borrowed from this week's State of the Union and delivered the most well-received line of his entire speech: "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country."
The large, enthusiastic crowd interrupted the Vice President numerous times during his speech, excited to have him kick off the three-day conference that will also feature BC04 campaign manager Ken Mehlman and RNC chairman Ed Gillespie as speakers on Friday. Most wore "Bush-Cheney '04" pins, buttons, or stickers and after greeting Cheney with a loud standing ovation when he walked to the podium, the Vice President acknowledge the support of the audience in the 2000 election and said "And from the sound of things, I think you're fired up and ready for victory in 2004, as well."
Cheney raises money, praises Schwarzenegger
Oct. 30 —
Vice President Cheney spoke before approximately 400 people Wednesday evening at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington at an event that raised $475,000 for the campaign.
Cheney warmed up the audience by filling them in on his schedule for today, telling them that this morning he will greet a brand new Republican governor who is about to take office in California at the White House. Without even hearing a name, the crowd broke into cheering and whistling.
Cheney followed that up: "Arnold ran the ideal campaign. One day he was not even a candidate, the next day he's the governor of California. I never had it that easy."