WASHINGTON, DC.: Hoping to capitalize on high poll numbers and increased consumer confidence, President Bush spoke at the White House Rose Garden about the U.S. economy, and the future of his package.
"It’s not a question of how big the package is, but how much the American people need the package. And they have asked for the package, and they want the package," said Bush.
The size of Bush’s package caused sharp rebukes from Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Said Daschle in an interview on CNN, "Bush’s package is too large, and he’s going to try to ram it through Congress. But Americans have other concerns than what the package will do for them. They want security, and a Government that will support them, and not to have Bush’s huge package pushed down their throats."
A number of congressmen in both houses have hopped aboard the package and hope to ride it all the way to the finish. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) was optimistic that an overwhelming majority in the House would enthusiastically embrace Bushs package. When asked about possible opposition, DeLay expressed confidence: Any oppositions going to be token, and I think pretty quickly well force them to swallow Bushs package whether they want to or not. I think some of this whining youre seeing from the Democrats is a little bit of package envy.
But the opposition is gaining strength, growing stronger and harder. Some Democrats have put their own packages on the table in response to Bush’s. Former House Minority Leader and presidential hopeful Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO.) is showing his own package to the public and has suggested it is more palatable and beneficial. "My package differs from Bush’s in that it’s a bit smaller, but does more for more people. Bush’s package is desired strongly by the wealthy, but leaves out the poor and middle class. Other than offering a teasing glimpse, his package would do nothing for them. My package, on the other hand, will work harder and faster to pump more into the middle class and putting a juicy bonus on their table. The American people want my package, and they want it bad," said Gephardt to a crowd standing around him on the other side of the White House.
One potential problem for Bush comes from renegades within the ranks of his own party. Fearing that the size of Bushs package could widen or tear the deficit gap, Republican moderates in the Senate have banded together to snip Bushs package to a more manageable size. Said long-time Bush antagonist Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): Given the sluggish economy and rising costs of war and reconstruction in Iraq, its irresponsible for the President to come barging into Congress like he owns the place, swinging his package around and asking us to take in the whole thing at once.
Theres reason to believe the public may share the concerns of the Democrats and Republican moderates. In a recent poll, only 28% of Americans desire Bush’s package strongly. Others feel that the concerns of war make such a huge package untimely. "Bush’s package will take too long to satisfy me, and it’s soft in places. We need something smaller, and hard on the middle class needs," said Torvald Jorgenson, a small business owner attending Bush’s package speech.
While these numbers might worry some White House officials, others insist that opinions will change once the public gets a good, close-up look at Bushs package. For many that worked in the White House of the first President Bush, the situation feels uncomfortably familiar. Some staffers recalls how in the aftermath of George H.W. Bushs huge victory in the first Gulf War, the President was too slow to respond to the needs and appetites of a hungry electorate. When he finally did present his package to the American people, the voters declared loud and clear that they considered it limp and ineffective.
President Bush insists that his package is entirely different from his fathers. While this is undoubtedly true, the situation today could be fairly described as more complicated than the situation 12 years ago. As the size debate rages on, politicians and economists alike are left to wonder if Americans will ride Bush’s package to economic prosperity, or if theyll simply feel a taint.
– Mike Hightower and Sadron Lampert IV, April 2003
P.S. Bush really did make that quote.