‘Damn the Deficit’ Days Over: Bush

President Bush, campaigning for Republican candidates in New England, today defended his support for unpopular higher taxes and spending cuts. He said the days of “damn the deficit must come to an end.”

“We’re hanging tough for a good agreement,” Bush said, speaking in one of the most economically hard-pressed regions of the country. He said he hopes that a budget package he can support will be crafted by congressional negotiators by Wednesday’s midnight deadline.

“We’ve got a sluggish economy out there nationally,” Bush said, claiming that a $500-billion, five-year deficit-reduction plan could help the economy by driving down interest rates.

He called on Republicans, many of whom oppose his stand, to put “self-interest” aside and stand with him in support of a budget plan.

The “days of tax and spend and damn the deficit must come to an end,” Bush said at the Vermont fund-raising breakfast.

He was introduced by Rep. Peter Smith (R-Vt.), who is running for reelection and who is one of the few Republicans in the House to have voiced support for a Democratic-drafted deficit-cutting plan opposed by the Administration.

For his part, Smith said, “my differences with the Administration are a matter of record.” He noted his support for the civil rights bill Bush vetoed Monday as well as their differences on the budget.

However, he praised Bush’s support for a package combining tax increases with spending cuts and said Vermont voters are willing to pay higher taxes to get the nation out of deficit spending.

“I wish he’d stop reminding me that we have a few differences out there,” Bush said, praising Smith for having an “independent mind.”

Bush traveled through New England on a small two-engine jet. The runways at some of his stops were too small to accommodate the jumbo jet that he usually uses as Air Force One.

Outside Bush’s first stop, several dozen protesters stood in the rain carrying banners and shouted at Bush’s motorcade urging him not to go to war over oil in the Persian Gulf.

The President’s first stop was a fund-raising breakfast for the state GOP in Burlington. Former Gov. Richard Snelling is favored to regain the office he gave up six years ago, which would return Vermont to Republican control.

Bush also planned to speak at a fund-raising lunch for GOP Senate candidate Rep. Robert C. Smith in Manchester, N.H.