Bush Spot Offers Positive View of Economic Agenda

President Bush’s campaign released three new television ads Wednesday. Two--each 30 seconds--feature interviews with voters criticizing Democratic rival Bill Clinton. The third is a 60-second, positive spot describing Bush’s economic plan. Of the 11 ads the Bush campaign has run since the Republican Convention in August, this is the second offering a positive discussion of the President’s agenda. The 60-second ad will run on national network television. The campaign refused to reveal where the other two are running or how often, but generally it has bought a mix of time on both network television and selected battleground states in the Midwest, South and Northeast. What follows is an analysis of the positive ad.

The Ad: The spot opens with Bush looking out the window of the Oval Office. In voice-over narration, he says: “Today for the first time in a half a century, America is not at war. And America’s wartime economy is changing to a peacetime economy.” The screen shows a ticker-tape parade. Then it cuts to Bush talking directly to the camera from the Oval Office. “But that change has brought fear and uncertainty. The fear of losing a job. Of losing a home. The uncertainty of tougher economic competition from around the world. But with change comes opportunity. And my Agenda for American Renewal can be the bridge to the future.” The ad shows a copy of the plan. “It provides a choice of quality schools, so our children have the knowledge to compete. It provides job training so workers have the new skills to compete.” As Bush continues speaking, a montage of pictures illustrates his points. “It provides heath care for all, and controls spiraling costs so our people can afford to compete. And my agenda strengthens small business that create two of every three jobs, so we have the new jobs to compete.” The last shot is of Bush, wife, Barbara, and their grandchildren walking toward the camera. “Today we stand at the threshold of a new era. We changed the world around us. Together we must do the same at home.”

Analysis: The ad is correct when it says Bush’s plan provides a choice of schools, though it is a stretch to say all of them would be quality. He would provide vouchers for lower- and middle-income parents who want to send their children to private schools, but the amount would not come close to covering tuition. On job training, Bush proposes spending $2 billion a year over five years to retrain workers, particularly those losing jobs because of trade agreements or cuts in the military budget. This triples current spending, but is more modest than the costlier Clinton proposal, which would require many employers to spend 1.5% of their payroll on training or send a comparable amount to a government training fund. On health care, the ad is misleading when it says Bush’s plan “provides health care for all and controls spiraling costs.” Bush’s plan proposes tax credits for uninsured Americans buying coverage. But the plan is voluntary and would provide lower-income people only a few hundred dollars a year, far short of the average $5,000 it costs annually for health insurance. To reduce costs, Bush would allow Americans who are self-employed to deduct all of their health care costs from taxes. He also wants to encourage states to put a cap on the awards patients would receive from malpractice suits and wants to limit damages in product liability suits.