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Jewish World Review March 13, 2001 / 18 Adar, 5761

Chris Matthews

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Consumer Reports


Bush to New York (and California) -- Drop Dead!


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- ONE REPUBLICAN refused to help New York City with its financial troubles. "Ford to New York: Drop Dead" ran the headline. Another, Barry Goldwater, was more extreme. The Arizona senator dreamed openly of sawing the entire Northeast off from the United States and letting it drift out to sea.

George W. Bush may be outdoing both guys. He won the presidency without help from the Northeast or Pacific Coast states. He seems to be governing without them. Seven weeks into his presidency, Bush has not set foot in either New York or California. He's been to Mexico but not to this country's two largest states.

This is a big statement for a politician.

Given the speed and readiness of Air Force One, a president's travel schedule can tell you much about his governing strategy. In a few short hours, Bush can go anywhere in the continental United States. The fact that he has limited his travels mainly to the South and western plains, regions that he won last November, says something about where he is politically comfortable and where he is not.

This is a rude departure from the way Ronald Reagan governed the country for eight years.

Reagan also sought a big tax cut, also liked spending his weekends outside of 24-7 Washington, also liked to his keep his workday regular, his agenda clear, simple and successful.

But Reagan also knew from the day he won national office that his job involved leading the entire nation.

He felt as much at home visiting Broadway as shuttling back to Hollywood. He was as comfortable with the ethnic groups of the North as the Christian conservatives of the South.

He enjoyed huge popularity among Irish, Italian, Polish and other Roman Catholics and unusual support for a Republican among the Jewish community.

Part of this came naturally. Part of it was a product of good politics. Reagan never let people forget that he'd played the football hero of Notre Dame in the movies.

Just as he was forever "the Gipper," Reagan made a conscious effort to identify himself with fellow Irish Americans, indeed as the son of immigrants. A Californian, he chose to open his general election campaign on a bit of flatland in New Jersey with the Statue of Liberty as his backdrop.

This week, George W. Bush took his first small step to imitate the Reagan manner. He stopped in Chicago for a cordial visit with Mayor Richard Daley, son of the iconic and culturally conservative Irish American big-city political leader. The stop betokened a shared commitment to family, country and traditional values.

It was the kind of visit Ronald Reagan would have made, the kind that George W. Bush needs to replicate if he is to achieve Reagan's success. To be a great national leader, you must rally all the troops.



JWR contributor Chris Matthews is the author of Hardball. and hosts a CNBC show of the same name. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

Up

03/01/01: Hillary does Hollywood?
02/27/01: A man of conscience
02/22/01: Clinton and AIDS
02/12/01: Crusaders
02/06/01: Use of office
01/30/01: Cramming for the Exam
01/24/01: George W. Corleone?
01/16/01: War and Atonement
01/09/01: A pair of Boy Scouts
01/04/01: Sen. Moynihan's career: 1976-2000
12/27/00: Powell a symbol of opportunity
12/20/00: Armistice
12/01/00: Forget Gush/Bore, Lieberman and Cheney are ones to watch
11/21/00: Dead men voting
11/15/00: U.S. politcal geography: One nation, divisible
11/07/00: A real electoral horror show
10/31/00: The big lie: Every vote counts
10/17/00: Play White House admissions officer
10/11/00: Scandalous lack of awe for the office
10/03/00: Bush-Gore and the ghosts of Kennedy-Nixon
09/26/00: Candidates' night and day sides
09/19/00: Hillary goes legit
09/12/00: AlGore's silent partner
08/23/00: Truth and beauty in Bubba's farewell
08/16/00: The nation's prom king
08/07/00: The good soldier
08/02/00: Welcome to Philadelphia --- we had the first...
07/31/00: Bush-Cheney ticket: A constitutional problem
07/26/00: If Bush is an IPO, Gore is a store
07/24/00: Will being 'better' sink Hillary?
07/19/00: Pre-convention calm?
07/17/00: AlGore is executing a double dose of imitation 07/10/00: Mexicans elect a Bush Republican
07/10/00:Another kind of McCarthyism
07/06/00: How Bubba's teapots clang
07/03/00: AlGore's latest hazard
06/29/00: No echoes in this presidential choice
06/26/00: Death joins the debate
06/21/00: Jerry Brown tells AlGore how to 'wage' campaign
06/19/00: Squishy logic for soft money
06/15/00: Citizen Kane, 113 years later
06/12/00: Kennedy-Nixon redux?
06/07/00: Bush says 'I do' to reality
06/05/00: Clinton's odd silence on his achievements
06/02/00: Pelosi, a voice for human rights
05/30/00: Bubba's escape hatches
05/23/00: Who typifies leadership?
05/19/00: Bubba's legacy involves AIDS
05/16/00: Dubyah's outlook for 'playoffs' remains perilous
05/11/00: Giuliani's travels
05/09/00: A Yale degree, a Bob Jones education
05/03/00: Show of force!
05/01/00: Abortion polls don't reflect reality
04/28/00: Bill Russell and American racism
04/24/00: Vietnam 25 -- The good, bad and ugly
04/19/00: Nader's threat to Gore in California
04/17/00: Berkeley politician visits with Elian's father
04/14/00: Clinton and the Castro curse
04/11/00: Men who saved Elián from the sea
04/06/00: Caine should coach politicians
04/03/00: No. 2 spots: Woman-to-woman?
03/29/00: Gray for veep and Gore might coast to victory
03/27/00: The secret life of a CIA wife
03/22/00: 'We're suckers for underdogs'
03/20/00: Bush's California dream vs. reality
03/06/00: Scary Gore vs. hopeful Bush
03/06/00: McCain's appeal to 'Reagan Democrats'
03/01/00: John McCain fits a hero's profile
02/28/00: Grading the American presidents
02/25/00: Clinton remains No. 1 issue
02/23/00: Will Ross Perot aid POW McCain?
02/18/00: McCain faces fury of GOP establishment
02/17/00: Citizen Springer
02/14/00: McCainia and the frisky independents
02/07/00: A prime-time primary for California
02/02/00: Clinton's final campaign: Take the blame
01/31/00: Which GOPer is willing to pay for his positions?
01/27/00: John McCain's gay radar
01/25/00: This time, candidates get 'authenticity' check
01/18/00: AIDS dooms 1 in 4 in tiny Swaziland
01/13/00: Complacency might be the campaign key
01/10/00: A choice, not an echo
01/06/00: The role of a lifetime
01/03/00: Dangers in Gore's dirty war
12/30/99: Churchill's fighting words saved the century
12/28/99: Candidate Gore's separation anxiety
12/17/99: Catch 22: Leading candidates don't lead
12/17/99: New Democratic leader on the horizon
12/15/99: Is Hillary clueless?
12/08/99: Taking Buchananism to the streets
12/03/99: Why are we so obsessed with 'spin'?
12/01/99: Donald Trump, 'Sinatra of Steel'
11/29/99: Why AlGore will be our next president
11/23/99: After the fall
11/17/99: Our conveniently forgetful president
11/15/99: Next president: Male, WASP, self-selected
11/10/99: Backroom Bill
11/08/99: Please don't feed the 'pander bears'
11/03/99: Battle of the Bubba clones
11/01/99: Pat Buchanan, kamikaze candidate
10/27/99: The year of the woman... voter
10/25/99: The Curse of the Bubba
10/21/99: GOP gives Clinton his finest hour
10/18/99: Clinton's last hurrah
10/13/99: Rough seas for Capt. Ventura
10/11/99: Gore targets Bradley's strength
10/06/99: Bradley's got the right Rx
10/04/99: Buchanan, Churchill and Hitler
09/30/99: Who'll spin political gold in Golden State — Gore or Bradley?
09/27/99: Here's a millennial checklist for candidates
09/22/99: The biography battle
09/20/99: Buchanan's new book is a must-read
09/15/99: Don't rule out Beatty
09/13/99: The man with the sun on his face
09/08/99: W. vs. Jr. on dope and the draft
The FALN: Hillary's Willie Horton
08/26/99: Bill's guilt fuels Hill's race
08/25/99: The seemingly inexhaustible strength of America's free enterprise
08/23/99: GOP candidates are weak also-rans
08/16/99: Bubba on Bubba
08/11/99: Hillary's agonizing attempts to understand
08/09/99: With warm regards, Richard Nixon
08/04/99: Weicker: real third party is on the Left
08/02/99: Dubyah's last hangover
07/27/99: Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh; capitalism is gonna win

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