Republican crowd cheers for Cheney

A bus tour this weekend will mark Kerry's 21st visit to Ohio.
BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney played to the GOP base in heavily Republican southwest Ohio, declaring Monday that the Bush administration has added jobs, cut taxes and made America safer.
"We are making progress," Cheney said. "We ended the Taliban regime. Saddam Hussein is in jail."
His message was well received by the friendly crowd the Secret Service estimated at about 2,500.
Nicholas Owens, 20, of Batavia, a University of Cincinnati student, said he was eager to vote for the first time, and it would be for President Bush.
"I think the vice president pointed out the most important issue today -- national security," Owens said. "I think that is what people need to be thinking about."
The crowd interrupted Cheney several times with cheers and chants of "Four more years." The mention of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and running mate John Edwards drew boos and jeers.
"Sen. Kerry wants to empower government," Cheney said. "President Bush wants the government to empower people."
Cheney praised Bush's performance in Friday's debate and also referred to his debate with Edwards last week in Cleveland.
"I don't fault John Edwards. After all, it's pretty tough to defend John Kerry's positions when you don't know what they are," Cheney said.
Cheney repeatedly referred to Kerry as indecisive during the rally in a hangar at the Clermont County Airport, about 18 miles east of Cincinnati.
"Sen. Kerry says he sees two Americas, but this makes the whole thing mutual: America sees two John Kerrys," Cheney said.
Kerry's campaign
Campaigning in New Mexico, Kerry accused the president of looking out for special interests. "They're working for drug companies, they're working for HMOs, and they're certainly working for the big oil companies," he said.
Kerry will make his 21st visit to Ohio on Saturday with a bus tour through southern Ohio, his campaign said Monday.
The parents of Army Reserve Spc. Keith "Matt" Maupin, the Batavia soldier who has been missing in Iraq since April, appeared on stage with Cheney on Monday. So did Glenda Kiser, the mother of Army Sgt. Charles Kiser, who grew up in Amelia and was killed in Iraq by a car bomb in June. About 10 people protested along a highway outside the airport.
Clermont County went 67 percent for the Bush-Cheney ticket in 2000. Toni Glinsek, 44, of Batavia Township, said she voted for them then and will again.
"I agree with what President Bush has done with the tax cuts," Glinsek said. "We really benefited from the tax cuts for families."
Earlier Monday, Cheney campaigned in New Jersey, normally a reliably Democratic state, where polls have shown Bush's handling of the war on terror has boosted his standing.
There are 15 electoral votes up for grabs in New Jersey, and 20 in Ohio. Polls show Kerry with a single-digit advantage in New Jersey, while Ohio is a virtual dead heat.