Hahn Delivers Response to Bush’s Radio Address

Stepping into a national role for the second time in a week, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn delivered the Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address Saturday--the first mayor to do so in recent memory.

In his four-minute remarks, which were taped and broadcast about 8 a.m. locally, Hahn called on Americans to unite behind the president while pressing forward with the routines and activities that marked their lives before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Earlier last week, Hahn was picked to chair the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Task Force on Airport Security. He will lead a group of big-city mayors in developing suggestions for the Bush administration about how to secure safety at large airports and return the facilities to normal business.

Hahn’s selection as the official Democratic spokesman was more surprising. The Democratic National Committee typically asks members of Congress to deliver the response to the president’s weekly radio address.

But the party asked Hahn to offer his remarks in an effort to focus attention on the work of a Democratic leader outside Washington, according to DNC press secretary Jennifer Palmieri.

DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who asked Hahn to speak for the Democrats, “thought it would be appropriate to highlight the work of a mayor since it has been so dramatically demonstrated to the American people what role they play in everyone’s lives,” Palmieri said.

“They manage the front lines of life in America,” she added. “In particular, McAuliffe wanted to highlight Mayor Hahn as a new leader in the Democratic party and someone we’re very excited about.”

Although Hahn comes from a local political family of longtime Democrats, the mayor’s office is a nonpartisan seat in Los Angeles, and Hahn made an effort to appeal across the political spectrum during the recent mayoral campaign.

In an interview Friday, Hahn said he felt it was appropriate for him to give Saturday’s response because it was one of support for the president, but added that he might not have felt comfortable doing so in a more typical situation, when party leaders often use their response time to criticize Bush.

“In this case, the Democratic party wanted to say that we’re 100% behind the president,” Hahn said.

Hahn’s remarks offered strong support for Bush as he readies the country to go to war. And the mayor urged everyone to exercise their rights and help rebuild the nation’s psyche and economy.

Hahn asked Americans to participate in humanitarian efforts such as donating food, money and time to agencies and volunteer groups assisting victims.

He encouraged people to participate in local elections and register to vote. And he asked Americans to invest and spend money as they were planning to do before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Hahn, who was on a lobbying trip to Washington when terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was delayed in returning to Los Angeles for two days.