Bush mentioned "hard work" *eleven times* and said "working hard" twice and "how hard it is" thrice in the first debate. (He also spoke of "the hardest decision a president makes" and "the hardest part of the job.") Pundits duly took note of Bush's self-defeating repetition which served to call the audience's attention to the strain of the occupation of Iraq, spinning it for Kerry's advantage.
My take on his purposeful use of "hard work" is that his researchers found the phrase to be resonant with a segment of the working voting public. I doubt Kerry got any advantage from it. Repetition works wonders on teevee (and elsewhere). Except for the global implications it was an interesting dork and phoney show.
Dan Scanlan -- ENVIRONMENTALISM IS MOM AND APPLE PIE!
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