On Monday, President Bush made his first response against his probable opponent.
The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The candidates are an interesting group, with diverse opinions: For tax cuts, and against them. For NAFTA, and against NAFTA. For the Patriot Act, and against the Patriot Act. In favor of liberating Iraq, and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts. (Laughter and applause.)As expected, President Bush also confirmed that Cheney would be his running mate again.
I also want to acknowledge a man who is not here -- Vice President Dick Cheney spent the day campaigning in Minneapolis and Wichita, but he's recently completed another important assignment. Once again I put him in charge of my vice presidential search committee. (Laughter.) He tells me he's reviewed all the candidates, and he's come back with the same recommendation as last time. (Laughter and applause.) In fact, I made the choice myself, and I have taken the measure of this man. They don't come any better, and I am proud to have Dick Cheney by my side. (Applause.)Kerry picked up three more states before Super Tuesday. Edwards has this week, and only this week, to turn things around before Kerry's nomination is virtually assured in six days. In a clear sign that he would rather face Kerry than Edwards (and rightfully so), President Bush ensured the media would focus on another story. The timing of this announcement was no coincidence. President Bush is a shrewd politician and releasing the story now greatly reduced the already small chance that Edwards could change Democrats' minds before Super Tuesday. President Bush also wants to make this an issue for his campaign against Kerry, but he could have accomplished this months from now. Making the announcement the week before Super Tuesday was another series of nails in Edward's 2004 coffin.
The news was not all good for John Kerry. He took a painful shot when Joshua Muravchik summarized Kerry's defense record:
The litany of weapons systems that Kerry opposed included conventional as well as nuclear equipment: the B-1 bomber, the B-2, the F-15, the F-14A, the F-14D, the AH-64 Apache helicopter, the AV-8B Harrier jet, the Patriot missile, the Aegis air-defense cruiser and the Trident missile. And he sought to reduce procurement of the M1 Abrams tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Tomahawk cruise missile and the F-16 jet.Ouch. Expect to see this quote in anti-Kerry ads towards November.
In other news, Nader announced he would run for reelection. Despite the yelps from the Democrats, I doubt his entry will make a difference this year. He is not running on the Green Party ticket, so it will be more difficult for him to appear on the ballots of all 50 states. He did not obtain 5% of the vote in 2000, so he is ineligible for matching funds. (I am thrilled with this; since Bush and Kerry have refused matching funds in order to avoid spending limits, we taxpayers may spend less on this presidential election than we have wasted in years). Graham also made the news with his endorsement of Kerry. It looks like he is still hoping to be considered for Kerry's VP nomination although I think that is a long shot.
