Word: buchananism
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...morning after the New Hampshire primary, George Bush's campaign advisers were trying hard not to act badly shaken. Running against a field of fringe candidates led by conservative columnist Pat Buchanan, the President had managed to win only 53% of the vote. The confusion about what to do next was obvious. Bush began by implying that he would not stoop to personal attacks on Buchanan, then immediately dredged up a nine-year-old article in which Buchanan called for making Social Security "voluntary." A day later, Bush changed tactics again. Campaign officials explained that Bush would not squander...
...struggle," said a Bush official, "is not to overreact." Nearly all the contests during the next 30 days award delegates on a winner-take-all basis, virtually assuring Bush of a sweep. In states where delegates are apportioned according to the vote, Bush has his opponent hopelessly outorganized. Unless Buchanan wins somewhere soon, last week's burst will soon be a memory: G.O.P. rules require that a candidate must win a majority of delegates in five states before his or her name can be placed in nomination at the convention...
...Still, Buchanan poses several formidable problems for Bush at a time when he had hoped to breeze to renomination. As in New Hampshire, Buchanan could become a lightning rod for voters eager to send the President an angry message about his inept handling of the economy, and Buchanan might attract enough right-wing votes to erode Bush's fragile conservative base. Worse yet, Buchanan's attacks have turned the primary season into a referendum on Bush's performance, highlighting weaknesses that the Democrats can exploit in the fall. Says a campaign official: "Buchanan is not the problem...
...sure, Bush sometimes acted as if he were secretly Buchanan's campaign manager. During the early months of the recession, Bush refused to even acknowledge that the country was suffering hard times. He made three hurried campaign swings in hard-hit New Hampshire but never attempted to mask the political expediency of his visits. Said he, with typical inelegance: "But the message -- I care." His deliberate attempts to mix with ordinary Americans seemed uncomfortable and awkward. Bush's poll numbers dropped every time he visited the state. Meanwhile, Buchanan exploited the President's decision to exclude a proposed $500 increase...
...string of blunders probably accounted for Buchanan's surge in the final days of the campaign. "The President," says a top campaign official, "was paying the price for a very poor economy and a perception of noninterest, noninvolvement and nonunderstanding of the recession over a lengthy period of time...