An Eager Iowa Embraces Bush During Visit

Mere moments after George W. Bush planted his ostrich-skin boots on Iowa soil, Carmen Halverson regarded him with a practiced eye. She pronounced herself pleased.

Halverson has seen loads of presidential candidates come and go. The Texas governor, she adjudged Saturday, is the real deal: “Down to earth and approachable.”

At the time, Bush was 30 feet away, surrounded by a swarm of reporters and well-wishers, making his approachability more abstract than real. But Halverson, the chair of the Blackhawk County Republican Women, had already seen and heard enough.

“He has a good appreciation of what the job entails and a good idea of what it takes to get there,” she declared after Bush spoke for scarcely two minutes at an airport welcoming rally.

And so it went Saturday as the Republican presidential front-runner came calling on an eager Iowa. It was Bush’s first meet-the-people journey outside Texas after months of self-imposed campaign quarantine. The people he met seemed determined not to be disappointed, regardless of anything Bush said or did.

And Bush seemed equally determined to dispel any notion he hoped to swan his way to the nomination as critics--mainly his Republican rivals--have suggested. “You can expect someone who’s gonna travel this state as hard as I possibly can,” Bush promised. “I intend to win this nomination the old-fashioned way, and that’s to earn it.”

Hours later at a tourist stop in eastern Iowa, Bush used his first major campaign address to offer a broadly thematic overview of his candidacy, replete with GOP staples such as calls for lower taxes, less regulation, a beefed-up military and “a foreign policy with a touch of iron.”

And just in case there were any doubts, given the exploratory status of his campaign, Bush stated definitively: “I’m running for the presidency of the United States. There’s no turning back, and I intend to be the next president.” A formal declaration of his candidacy is expected in the fall.

In one of several shots at the incumbent administration, Bush said: “I do not run polls to tell me what to think. I make decisions based on a conservative philosophy that is ingrained in my heart: Trust local people to make the right decision for schools, cities and counties. Understand that capitalism is the backbone of our free-enterprise system. Always put America and American workers first. Understand the importance of family and the need for personal responsibility.”

Bush, 52, spoke at length of those left behind or doing without amid the nation’s great plenty, distinguishing himself from the rest of the crowded Republican field. “The next president must close this gap of hope,” he said.

Standing in an open-air exhibition hall, with rolling green farmland as a backdrop, the governor promised as president to give a greater role to faith-based organizations--churches, synagogues, mosques and charities--to help address the nation’s social problems. “I will lift the regulations that hamper them,” he vowed. “I will involve them in after-school programs, maternity group homes, drug treatment programs and prison fellowship programs . . . Supporting these men and women--the soldiers in the army of compassion--is the next bold step of welfare reform.”

Taking up a challenge from some opponents, Bush defended his philosophy of “compassionate conservatism” and, in turn, challenged his critics. “Is compassion beneath us?” he asked. “Is mercy below us? Should our party be led by someone who boasts of a hard heart?”

Arguing that it is both conservative and compassionate to cut taxes, reform welfare and raise education standards--while working to make sure all Americans benefit--Bush said, “I am proud to be a compassionate conservative. I welcome the label. And on this ground I will make my stand.”

The 25-minute address, delivered in the measured cadences of Bush’s soft Texas drawl, was frequently interrupted by applause. Even Brian Kennedy, arguably the least objective observer in the crowd of 2,000, allowed that Bush had done fine.

“What you saw is that he’s got solid skills,” said Kennedy, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party and now the national political director for Lamar Alexander, a Bush rival. “But it’s not like he’s the world’s greatest campaigner.”

That, however, seemed a distinctly minority view.

For all the hype that preceded Bush’s daylong visit, Dale Hassman said he was even more impressed than he expected. The 59-year-old “lifelong farm boy” came to the Amana Colonies in eastern Iowa, shopping for a Republican to support in next February’s caucuses. He left the speech a Bush man.

“He’s got a real stage presence,” said Hassman, who noted that even from 20 feet away the governor managed to look him in the eye. “When he makes eye contact like that, you know he really means what he says.”

At an evening stop in Des Moines, Bush acknowledged he was late arriving in Iowa, especially compared to rivals who have spent years campaigning in the state. But casting his tardiness as a matter of principle, Bush told several hundred supporters he stuck by a pledge to remain in Texas until the state Legislature adjourned. “I hope you understand it’s a promise that I needed to keep,” Bush said. “What we need in politics are people who do what they say they’re going to do.”

While Bush was taking his star turn, Alexander and others in the GOP field were campaigning elsewhere in Iowa, grasping for whatever attention they could get. Elizabeth Hanford Dole, second to Bush in most opinion polls, petted a pig at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines and offered a 10-point farm aid program. She called herself a “courageous conservative,” in a subtle jab at Bush and his reluctance, up to now, to make any but the most innocuous statements.

Former Tennessee Gov. Alexander, also focusing on agriculture, promised to boost export subsidies, farm research and use of ethanol-based fuels, the latter a particularly popular stance in corn-growing Iowa. Also appearing at the pork expo, Rep. John R. Kasich of Ohio praised “the values that are practiced every day on the American farm.”

For his part, the Texas governor seemed to be having a grand time as he hopscotched across the state. Bush seemed thoroughly at ease, loose even, as he plunged into the embrace of large, friendly crowds and guzzled their enthusiastic applause. At times, with a sly look here and crooked grin there, he seemed to treat the whole exercise as a wonderful lark.

Departing from Austin shortly after dawn on a chartered jet his staff dubbed “Great Expectations,” a jocular Bush took to the public address system to welcome his 100-strong press contingent.

“While we hope for a smooth ride today, please keep our seat belts fastened, as we could encounter turbulence at any time during the way,” Bush said. Then, cheekily, “We know you have a choice of candidates when you fly. We appreciate you choosing ‘Great Expectations.’ ”

After taking the day off today, Bush is expected to resume his maiden campaign trip with a day of appearances Monday in New Hampshire.

* COURTING CALIFORNIA

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