Bush Woos Pennsylvania... Again
Hoping to move Pennsylvania into his win column in this year's election, President Bush traveled to the state for the 26th time on Monday, stopping at an affordable housing development to tout home ownership — a bright spot in the economy.
Some 68 percent of Americans own their own homes, and that record high fits well into Mr. Bush's domestic agenda. It's part of his concept of an "ownership society," which promotes the idea of Americans owning their own homes and owning and managing their own health care and retirement plans, small businesses and the like.
"Homeownership is at the highest rate ever," the president said during a conversation with local residents. "That means that more people than ever in our history are able to say 'I own something.'"
Mr. Bush noted a positive economic report Monday that showed industrial production rose by a strong 0.7 percent in February.
"The manufacturing report today was very positive, another indication that the economy is strengthening," he said. "There are still people looking for work — make no mistake about it, but it's getting better. Interest rates are low, which is important if you're a first-time homebuyer. Inflation is down, which is important."
Pennsylvania is expected to be one of the key battleground states in this year's election. A recent poll indicates the state, which has 21 electoral votes, is a tossup between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore beat Mr. Bush by four percentage points in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Bush stopped for about 10 minutes at the home of Pearl Cerdan, a new homeowner in a 10-unit affordable housing development about 10 miles west of Philadelphia. Then he visited a YMCA to have a discussion about home ownership.
The visit to Pennsylvania was equally about politics.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who traveled with the president on Air Force One, said, "His message today is designed to appeal to moderates and independents and Democrats." Specter said Mr. Bush had "laid down a marker that he's going to fight for Pennsylvania."
Mr. Bush has been promoting initiatives to close the gap between white and minority home ownership. While more than 75 percent of white Americans owned their own home in the fourth quarter of 2003, according to the Census Bureau, the rate among minority groups was 49 percent or less.
In December 2003, Mr. Bush signed the American Dream Down Payment Act. The act is designed to help families that can afford monthly mortgage payments but not the down payment or closing costs associated with buying a house. The legislation authorizes $200 million a year in down payment assistance to at least 40,000 low-income families.
Kerry campaign spokesman, Chad Clanton said the "American dream" has diminished under the president's leadership. "In Pennsylvania, over 138,000 people have lost their manufacturing jobs, foreclosure and bankruptcies are up, and health care costs are skyrocketing," he said.
Kerry spent the day Monday criticizing the president's record on homeland security – and deflecting criticism about his claim that some foreign leaders are privately backing his candidacy over President Bush's.
Speaking to a firefighters group in Washington, Kerry said his Republican rival is "big on bluster and short on action" in protecting the nation.
Kerry told the International Association of Firefighters, a 263,000-member union that has endorsed his candidacy, that the president talks tough on terrorism but has failed to back it up with the financial resources firefighters and other first responders need.
"I do not fault George Bush for doing too much in the war on terror, I believe he's done too little," Kerry said. "I think this administration has it backward. President Bush says we can't afford to fund homeland security. I say we can't afford not to."
At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan sought to raise credibility questions about Kerry, suggesting that the Democrat had lied when he said some foreign leaders privately back his candidacy.
Kerry should identify the leaders who purportedly hope he beats President Bush in November, McClellan said. "Either he is straightforward and states who they are, or the only conclusion one can draw is that he is making it up to attack the president," the spokesman said.
Kerry responded to the White House criticism by charging that the administration is trying to change the subject from important issues. He said they "don't have a campaign," so they're trying to divert attention.
Kerry has declined to name any leaders who have voiced support for his candidacy, saying he didn't want to betray any confidences.
In his speech to the firefighters, Kerry also focused on a report in The New York Times that federal investigators were examining television reports in which the administration paid individuals to pose as journalists and praise the Medicare law that offers a prescription drug benefit for the elderly.
"They've hired actors to pose as journalists to sell a bad bill with your money," Kerry said. "After already hiring actors to pose as soldiers in the president's campaign commercials you have to wonder: How many Oscar-winning performances will it take to convince America that George Bush can put America back on track?"