  |
|
Economy, security to fuel Republican election win: Bush
AFP/Nicholas Kamm
US President George W. Bush gives a press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC. Bush again ruled out holding bilateral talks with either North Korea or Iran, despite the escalating crises with both nations over their nuclear programs.AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 10 12 06A strong economy and security issues will allow the Republican Party to retain control of the House of Representatives and Senate in November elections, US President George W. Bush said Wednesday.
Speaking at a White House press conference, Bush acknowledged voter concern over the situation in Iraq but he singled out the economy and security as the issues that would drive Americans to vote for his party on November 7.
"We'll maintain control because we're on the right side of the economic issue and the security issue," Bush said. "I think the elections will be decided by security and the economy.
"When they get in that booth, they're going to be thinking about, you know, how best to secure the country from attack and, you know, how best to keep the economy growing," he said.
"The economy is growing," he said. "The national unemployment rate is 4.6 percent. Gas (gasoline) prices are down. Tax cuts are working."
"On security, the American people know that our biggest job is to protect this country from further attack," Bush said. "Because they know there's an enemy that still plots and plans and there is."
The president spotlighted his economic leadership, on the heels of a Treasury report that showed the federal budget deficit had narrowed more sharply than expected in the past fiscal year.
The shortfall was trimmed to 248 billion dollars in the fiscal year ended September 30, down 71 billion, or 22 percent, from the prior year's figure of 319 billion, according to preliminary data released Wednesday.
That was better than the US administration's initial estimate of a 423-billion-dollar gap that had been revised down to 296 billion dollars in July.
Bush said the shrinking deficit data vindicated his Republican administration's "pro-growth" policies, and renewed appeals for Congress to put his multi-billion-dollar tax cuts on a permanent footing.
"These numbers show that we have now achieved our goal of cutting the federal budget deficit in half, and we've done it three years ahead of schedule," he said.
"The budget numbers are proof that pro-growth economic policies work," Bush said, trumpeting his economic agenda a month ahead of the crucial elections to Congress.
"By restraining spending in Washington and allowing Americans to keep more of what they earn, the economy's creating jobs, reducing the deficit, and making our nation a more prosperous nation for all our citizens."
Opposition Democrats, viewed by Americans in recent years as better stewards of the economy than Republicans, have been gaining traction on security issues in the latest public opinion polls that show growing discontent with the Iraq war and Bush's handling of it.
On top voter priorities, a Newsweek poll published Sunday showed 20 percent were worried about the economy, 12 percent about terrorism, while Iraq outweighed both issues at 33 percent.
Bush defended his party's record on Iraq. "There have been some votes on the floor of the Senate and the House that make it abundantly clear we (Republicans and Democrats) have a different view of the world," Bush said.
"I believe that in order to defend America, we must take a threat seriously and defeat an enemy overseas so we don't have to face them here," he said.
Asked whether the bloodshed in Iraq was hurting the Republicans' chances, Bush said: "I believe that the situation is Iraq is, no question, tough on the American psyche.
"The American people want to know, can we win? Do we have a plan to win? There are some who say, get out. It's not worth it," he said.
"No question this is an issue, but so is the economy (and security)," he said.
In the November 7 elections, US voters will elect 33 of 100 senators, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 36 of 50 state governors.
Democrats must win at least six seats to gain control of the Senate, and at least 15 seats to get control of the House. Capturing both could hobble the final two years of Bush's second four-year term.
AFP 11 1801 GMT 10 06
Copyright© 2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels