GOP Didn’t Do as Well as He’d Hoped--Bush : Election: President says he will “absolutely” promise to oppose any new tax increase but adds: “Sometimes you run into realities.”

President Bush said today that Republicans didn’t do as well as he had hoped in midterm elections and that the lesson he learned from Tuesday’s defeats of incumbent governors was that “people feel they’ve been taxed too much.”

He said he will “absolutely” promise to oppose any new tax increases. However, Bush hedged somewhat, adding that “sometimes you run into realities.”

In a gloomy assessment about the economy, Bush said, “We’re in some tough times right now.” He said he will consult with economists both in and out of the government to discuss ways to soften the blow.

Bush avoided use of the word recession , describing the economy as in a slowdown.

In his first public appearance since the disappointment of election night, Bush was asked whether he thought he had damaged himself politically by accepting $140 billion in tax increases as part of a budget reduction accord with the Democrats.

“I oppose raising taxes,” he said. “We had this one compromise, and that just reinforced my views.” He added, “I don’t think what I did was popular with anyone. But like the umpire, you’ve got to call them as you see them.”

Bush said, “I wish I had a Congress that would do it just my way, because I am convinced we can do it (cut the deficit) without any tax increases.” But he acknowledged that voters had rebuffed his campaign efforts to put more Republicans in the House and Senate. Instead, the GOP lost ground in both legislative chambers.

“I’m not talking victory” after moderate GOP losses in the House and Senate, Bush said. Six incumbent governors, of both parties, went down to defeat, generally reflecting tax or economic woes.

Bush said he expects that Democrats will attempt to pass more tax hikes, and said, “They’re going to do it over my dead veto.”

“If that’s the case we’re in for a whale of a fight,” he said. “We’re not going to compromise on that.”

He revived his no-new-tax pledge, saying: “Can I make a promise I won’t support them? Absolutely. But sometimes you run into some realities. But I’m girding up my loins to go into battle to beat back the tax attempts that I think are coming.”

Bush ducked a question about his own reelection plans for 1992. He is widely expected to run for a second term.