Word: bushed
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...IMPERIAL CANDIDATE Jealous rivals will try to turn Bush's high poll numbers into a liability by accusing him of remaining aloof from primary voters. Each time he skips a cattle call for candidates or dodges a debate, he'll be slammed for taking rank-and-file Republicans for granted. The Bush campaign's quiet efforts to avoid a presidential straw poll scheduled for early August in Ames, Iowa, have angered some Iowa Republicans. Not that Bush's view of Ames as a booby trap isn't justified. Straw polls--where participants pay to vote--can be manipulated by rivals...
ABORTION True believers don't believe Bush, and true believers vote. Gary Bauer, Dan Quayle, Pat Buchanan and Steve Forbes will all speak to this constituency, arguing that while Bush is pro-life, he doesn't really mean it. He won't push for a constitutional amendment that bans abortions, and though he wants the procedure to be "rare"--a squishy phrase they'll remind audiences that Clinton has used--Bush has not made saving the unborn a priority while in office. That may change slightly in a few weeks if the Texas legislature passes a Bush proposal requiring doctors...
TAXES AND SPENDING If you are a Republican and you have ever raised a tax in your political life, it is sure to be used in a campaign commercial against you. Which is why the admakers for the anybody-but-Bush campaigns will be busy indeed. Their drama will begin in 1997 when Bush offered an ambitious $2.8 billion tax cut that just happened to also include a number of tax increases (one enterprising campaign counts 75). Never mind that Bush can claim credit for signing the largest tax cut in Texas history; rivals will say he merely tacked...
...EDUCATION GOVERNOR? On this issue Bush should be untouchable. During his time in office, test scores have gone up, spending on education has increased, and by the end of the session, his bill ending the automatic promotion of failing students is likely to have passed. Even the Democrats sing his praises--and that's the problem. Conservatives say the Governor's successes have come by--gasp!--working with teachers' unions, and Bush hasn't pushed very hard for the one and only true education reform: school vouchers...
DADDY'S BOY Bush's name may be his greatest asset, but opponents, both Republicans and Democrats like Al Gore, are preparing to embarrass George "Dubbuya" by wheeling out George Senior at every turn. "You know he was never really one of us" will be the refrain of conservatives, who count the elder's failed promise of "no new taxes" in 1988 as one of the greatest betrayals in Republican Party history. They will also compare George W.'s warm relations with Texas Democrats to his father's "accommodationist" approach toward the other party on Capitol Hill. And they...