-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- ANALYSIS: Bush still optimistic, but aides, GOP strategists worried about McCain Copyright © 2000 Nando Media Copyright © 2000 Scripps Howard News Service By MURIEL DOBBIN, Nando Washington Bureau DULLES, Va. (February 26, 2000 2:00 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - While GOP front-runner George W. Bush proclaimed his optimism about the storm clouds gathering over his presidential campaign as he heads into the most critical phase of the primary season, aides and Republican strategists admitted that they are seriously worried about John McCain. Making a quick stop Friday in Virginia, a conservative base where he is expected to sweep Tuesday's primary, Bush spent much of a press conference alternating between explaining that McCain's success was based on his temporary appeal to Democrats who would eventually vote for Vice President Al Gore, and radiating confidence about his chances in the upcoming slew of primaries from Virginia to Washington state, California, New York and Ohio. "I never thought this would be easy," Bush said. "It's hard, very hard. But it's a marathon race. I feel great, and I'm enjoying it." But at times his jovial mood became snappish, as when he reprimanded a reporter for "butting in when I'm just pausing in what I'm saying." However, Republican officials and insiders disputed Bush's contention that McCain was succeeding only because of mischief-making Democrats who tilted the recent Michigan primary vote, and his belief that McCain would fail in his drive to add Republicans to his independent followers. They warned that a primary danger posed by the Arizona senator was his successful claim to the role of outsider and reformer that once formed the base of the Texas governor's candidacy. A California Republican official, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that the combination of Bush's once-formidable campaign war chest and his overwhelming support by the party hierarchy had turned him into the candidate of the establishment. The worst possible scenario facing Bush, suggested the official, was that as a result of the state's voting rules, McCain would win the popular vote in California's March 7 primary while the Texan captured the Republican vote and the delegates. That, the official suggested, might lead not only to "a public-relations disaster for the Republicans" but to a potential conflict over seating at the GOP national convention in Philadelphia. Another official, Barbara Alby, a Republican National Committeewoman in California, warned, "California is very tough. The magic of McCain is that he has come to represent the anti-status quo and the nonestablishment. He has managed to annex that territory. Bush's people aren't pushing him out on the stump enough, and his strength in the party has made him vulnerable to a charge of being establishment." In another warning sign for Bush, there has grown what New Hampshire Republican strategist Tom Rath called "a gnawing sense of unease" behind the scenes about the outcome of March 7, "Super Tuesday," when GOP voters in a dozen states - including California and New York - hold primaries and caucuses. A few months ago, Rath said, it was the conventional wisdom that Bush would cap a triumphal march to the nomination by sweeping to victory over the next few weeks in states where more than 1,000 delegates are at stake. That was before the specter of McCain began to haunt Bush, before his defeats in the New Hampshire and Michigan primaries. It was also before Bush campaign funds slipped from $70 million to $10 million, arousing complaints by Republicans about his wasting money on McCain territory like the Arizona primary, which Bush lost by a wide margin Tuesday. "The trouble was that the McCain phenomenon was allowed to fester and take root in New Hampshire," said Rath. "The Bush people let McCain become 'Saint John,' and that's what he still is." He noted that Bush had the consolation of successes in Iowa, Delaware and South Carolina, as well as statistics indicating that had Democrats not entered the Michigan race on the side of McCain, the Texan would have won. "Bush shouldn't panic," said Rath. "But he has to recapture the focus." The GOP still has a heavy commitment to Bush, Rath said. "Bush is the candidate the party has invested in," he said. "But every time he doesn't put McCain away in a primary, it's trouble." Steve Duprey, Republican state chairman in New Hampshire, said, "This has become a wide-open race between an organized establishment candidate and a momentum candidate. The challenge to Bush is to show he can get independents as well as Republicans. If McCain has any success in his pursuit of Republicans, that could be a problem." Duprey added that Bush was right in calling the race a marathon, but he noted that until a few weeks ago it was a marathon expected to be wound up by the primaries of March. "If it's not over by March," he observed, "keep in mind that you can bleed to death in a marathon." Robert Teeter, a veteran Republican pollster who was campaign manager for the candidate's father, former President George Bush, suggested that the Texas governor had problems "perceptually," although he remained likely to win the GOP nomination. Urging that Bush get back to the kind of grass-roots campaigning that got him elected twice to the Texas governor's mansion, Teeter said, "McCain turned out to be the wild card that nobody expected, and that's tough, because as a combination of a war hero and a good campaigner, he's the perfect anti-Clinton candidate." He advised Bush to "stop doing his message by rote, and relax more." Teeter was also one of several Republicans - including Karen Hughes, Bush's campaign director - who voiced concern about how much the loss of the outsider's mantle to McCain had damaged the governor's effort to portray himself as the only candidate of reform. Bush's victory in South Carolina was heavily attributed to the support of the religious right, led by broadcaster Pat Robertson. His strategy of organizing anti-McCain telephone calls led to criticism of Bush for negative campaigning and forced the governor to deny approving such tactics. The Bush campaign has asked Robertson to stop making the calls. Responding to another issue that has dogged him since the South Carolina primary, Bush made a point Friday of emphasizing that although he "said what he had to say" at Bob Jones University, he had made it clear to officials there that he opposed their ban on interracial dating. "I can't make that any clearer," he said. Bush's campaign schedule will take him from Virginia to Washington state next week, then to California, with trips to New York and Ohio also planned. A new poll showed Bush leading McCain in conservative Virginia by 11 points, which local political analyst Larry Sabato, a professor of government at the University of Virginia, described as only a "moderate" lead. "Bush should swamp the opposition here," he said. "If he can't win in Virginia, where can he win?" Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. "Reptilians make good barbeque." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
