PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN Bush vows changes in health insurance, retirement programs
Meanwhile, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland is set to endorse John Kerry.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
WASHINGTON -- For the first time in his re-election campaign, President Bush hinted Wednesday that another four years in the White House could bring dramatic changes to the nation's health care and retirement programs.
In a half-hour address to 7,000 Republican donors, Bush promised a "new era of ownership" that would give Americans more control over their health insurance and savings plans and make health care cheaper. Though he offered few specifics, it was the president's strongest suggestion yet that he would forge ahead with a plan to create private retirement savings and health accounts.
Many Democrats have opposed such plans, saying they actually place benefits more out of reach for middle- and lower-income people. But on Wednesday, Bush indicated that he would offer the proposals on the campaign trail in populist terms.
"During the next four years, we'll help more citizens to own their health plan, to own a piece of their retirement, to own their own home or their own small business," Bush said. "We'll usher in a new era of ownership in America with an agenda to help all our citizens save and build and invest so every person owns a part of the American dream."
Appeal to moderates
The president's comments signaled a return to his 2000 theme of "compassionate conservatism," a mantra intended to appeal to moderate swing voters who support government's role in such areas as public education while also appeasing a conservative base wary of mounting budget deficits.
"Government should never try to control or dominate the lives of our citizens. Yet government can and should help citizens gain the tools to make their own choices and to improve their own lives. There is no greater force for good in the world then the energy of free people," Bush said, speaking at a fund-raising dinner at the Washington Convention Center.
Bush's remarks struck a contrast to his intense focus on foreign policy and self-described status as a "war president," in effect acknowledging that the election will also be decided by domestic concerns.
Though the Iraq war remains prominent in voters' minds, a new survey by the Pew Center for the People & amp; the Press shows that the GOP is losing ground fast on key domestic issues. On health care, for instance, half of registered voters say the Democrats would do the best job reforming health care, while just 23 percent said that of Republicans.
Kucinich at convention
Meanwhile, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who collected few delegates in his campaign for president, plans workshops on how to find world peace and other alternative activities for delegates and supporters at the Democratic National Convention next week in Boston.
The Cleveland Democrat also will be given time to address delegates at the convention from the speaker's podium, said Allison Dobson, a spokeswoman from the Kerry-Edwards campaign. The exact time that he will speak wasn't immediately known.
"This is a chance for us to come together and reflect on the progress that we were able to make," Kucinich told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "We are also going to be speaking to the future of the Democratic Party. We are not going to take our eye off the fact that we have work to do in this election."
Kucinich, who has remained in the presidential race despite John Kerry's obvious lock on the party's nomination, will formally endorse the Massachusetts senator today during a joint appearance with Kerry in Detroit, according to spokesmen for both candidates.
Uniting supporters for Kerry
Kucinich has said he will unite his supporters at the convention behind Kerry. "The convention is going to be a great show of unity for the American people. Democrats are going to be united and we are going to win as the united Democratic Party," he said.
Kucinich delegates and more than 2,000 supporters are planning to converge on Boston for a week of events that begin Saturday with a forum called "We all want peace, but how do we find it?"