Bush Denounces ‘Liberal Elite’ as Abandoning Defense

In a day dedicated to Democrat-bashing, Vice President George Bush on Wednesday denounced a “liberal elite” for abandoning the more hawkish defense posture of former Democratic presidents.

In West Point, Bush launched an assault meant to remind voters of his foreign policy credentials and the lack of diplomatic experience of his probable Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

And later, speaking to reporters in Lakehurst, N.J., he called for an independent investigation into the activities of House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas).

Foreign Policy Dominates

His comments came on a day dominated by foreign policy concerns, as President Reagan departed for the Moscow summit and the extended negotiations over the fate of Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega broke off.

“We’ve got to see the world as it is, not as we might wish it were,” Bush told cadets and their families during commencement exercises for the U.S. Military Academy.

In what appeared to be a pointed reference to Dukakis’ former Harvard professorship and foreign policy inexperience, he added:

“This is no time for the ivory tower. This is no time for innocents abroad.”

As a political candidate, Bush was banned by federal law from making a campaign speech at the military institute, so technically he spoke only as vice president. But while he did not mention the Massachusetts governor by name, his references to Dukakis were clear nonetheless.

Renewed Campaign Effort

The commencement address, delivered in a driving rain in West Point’s outdoor football stadium, marked a sharp effort to regain his former front-runner ranking in the polls by hammering at the themes of defense and foreign policy, two areas in which the Bush campaign perceives Dukakis to be weak.

And he sought to draw a clear contrast between the current ranks of Democrats and former leaders such as Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy, who, Bush said, benefited from a “great bipartisan consensus.”

“The liberal elite do not understand--they never understood--the common sense behind the consensus,” Bush declared. “They act as if they believe that strength is the preoccupation of bullies, as if they believe that our desire to remain strong is proof that we are the aggressor.”

“They are so blinded by ideology that they cannot see what Americans have understood for 40 years: that peace flows from strength.”

Minimizes Differences

Bush, making his first public appearances since his opposition to the Administration’s Noriega negotiations became known, sought to diminish his difference of opinion with Reagan.

“Yes, I had some serious reservations,” Bush told reporters in Secaucus, N.J. “We have some differences, but I wouldn’t call it breaking (with the President). We have one common objective, getting Noriega out of power and restoration of democracy to Panama.”

Bush refused to say what he would have done to persuade Noriega to leave Panama, but indicated it would not have been a unilateral action.

“I’d like to see us enlist more support from foreign leaders,” he said. “This is a regional problem, not just a bilateral problem.”

Bush also sought to benefit from publicity over the Reagan-Gorbachev summit, calling the talks “good in and of themselves” even if no substantive agreement is reached.

Wants Intent Clear

He also warned that the Administration’s success in bargaining with the Soviets should not be taken as a signal to tone down defense spending.

“It’s naive to think that if you don’t spend money on defense, your competitors won’t either.”

Bush called for “vigorous research” into the testing of a space-based defensive weapons system--the Administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative--and chided Democrats for not joining him.

“They claim . . . they’re all in favor of a strong defense,” Bush said. “But what are we to think when they . . . oppose every new weapons system that would preserve our strength?”

The Bush campaign’s effort to regain its sure-footedness after a week of discouraging polls was interrupted Wednesday when the campaign’s chief spokesman, Peter Teeley, decided to resign.

Teeley, who also served as Bush’s spokesman in his 1980 campaign, will remain a senor political adviser to the campaign, officials said.

The Washington Post quoted Teeley as saying he felt he had been deliberately excluded from campaign decisions.