Bush Starts Loading Record War Chest for ’04 Campaign

So, how is he going to spend all that money?

The question looms over the 2004 campaign like, well, an elephant, as President Bush embarks tonight on a reelection fund-raising drive that could net him $20 million by the end of June and ultimately $175 million or more -- for use between now and his expected renomination in September 2004.

No presidential candidate has come close to raising that kind of money, which is all the more striking because Bush does not face a challenge for his party’s nomination.

“It’s unprecedented, and it gives the Bush campaign an incredible advantage,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed, who managed the 1996 presidential bid of former Republican Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas.

The president’s enviable position contrasts sharply with those of the nine Democrats vying for their party’s nomination.

While each of them is scrambling for name recognition -- and campaign dollars -- Bush is poised to launch a well-financed campaign over the airwaves and through the mail. And even though he plans to accept federal funds in the general election -- money that comes with a projected spending cap of about $74 million -- whatever Bush raises now can be used right up to election day in a variety of ways to advance his cause and that of all Republican candidates, experts said.

Moreover, as the incumbent, Bush commands the ultimate bully pulpit, with the Rose Garden and Air Force One at his disposal.

“Forget about the shock-and-awe campaign. This is taking the Democrats into the demoralization zone,” Reed said.

Tonight, Bush begins his two-week personal courtship of big donors at the first Bush-Cheney reelection fund-raiser, a reception at a hotel here that is expected to raise about $4 million.

By the end of this month, “Bush-Cheney ’04 Inc.” is expected to rake in $20 million or more.

The other fund-raisers that Bush will attend are Friday in Greensboro, Ga.; Monday in New York City; June 27 in San Francisco (lunch) and Los Angeles (dinner); and June 30 in Miami and Tampa, Fla.

Vice President Dick Cheney is booked to attend four fund-raisers this month.

First Lady Laura Bush also is getting into the act -- big-time. She is scheduled to speak at not only three Bush-Cheney events this month but also 27 more by the end of the year, according to a senior White House official.

Ken Mehlman, the president’s campaign manager, has said that Bush expects a close race, and thus has set his sights on raising $150 million to $175 million in the run-up to his nomination at the Republican Convention in New York City in September of next year.

In the 2000 campaign, Bush raised more than $100 million from individuals during the primaries, which helped him fend off a spirited challenge for the party’s nomination from a crowded field, led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

In the general election phase of that campaign, Bush accepted federal funds.

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No Limits

For the 2004 race, all nine Democrats are seeking federal matching funds for the primary campaign -- and thus are subject to spending limits in each state. By relying on private funds during the primaries, Bush is not subject to such caps.

Experts said they expect the Bush campaign to concentrate its spending in states that the president either won or lost by narrow margins, such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida and New Mexico .

In addition, with a probable Democratic nominee likely to emerge as early as February, the Bush campaign can then begin attacking that candidate.

In addition to buying television ads, sending out mailers and operating telephone banks, Bush’s war chest will allow him to “aggressively get out there early and try to define the Democratic nominee before the nominee gets a chance to define himself,” said veteran political analyst Charlie Cook.

Reed agreed. “Bush will be able to define the Democratic nominee when he staggers out of” the Democratic convention, he said.

Cook said he did not see much political risk for Bush in actively courting contributions even while waging a war.

“People think that politicians raise money and spend money.... They know that and understand that and expect that,” Cook said.

“Is there a perception that the president is too close to rich and special interests? Yeah. But I’d rather have that perception and have enough money to run a good campaign,” he said.

Besides, Cook added, “Democrats will look just as co-opted. It’s not just the president out there raising money in a vacuum.”

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Accusations of Excess

But one advocate of campaign finance reform denounced Bush’s fund-raising efforts.

“This is a classic example of raising as much money as you can possibly get your hands on in politics regardless of whether you need it or not,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21.

“What the Bush reelect effort is talking about is pure excess. They are raising far more funds than they possibly need for the 2004 election, and far more than they can wisely spend,” he said.

But Nicolle Devenish, Bush-Cheney communications director, was unapologetic.

“There’s a real hope that we’ll have the resources” to reach out to “untraditional” supporters of Republican presidential candidates, she said.

“This is a unique opportunity,” Reed added.

Also on Monday, the Bush campaign announced that former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot will step down as chairman of the Republican National Committee to serve as chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign. Veteran GOP operative Ed Gillespie, a Washington lobbyist, is to replace Racicot at the RNC.

Even as Bush spends more time on his political obligations, he has stressed that his main focus will be on the duties of his office. In a May 16 letter to 1 million potential donors, Bush said he would rather devote most of his time to his day job.

But in a speech he gave Monday to small-business owners in Elizabeth, N.J., Bush gave a sign that the campaign may weigh on his mind perhaps more than he has let on. Bush several times reprised variations of his 2000 campaign theme -- that elected officials have “a charge to keep,” a phrase that also happens to be the title of his 1999 campaign autobiography.

“One thing is certain for the American people to know, that this government will use whatever technologies and skill is necessary to secure America by hunting down those who would harm us, one person at a time,” the president said. “It is a charge we have been given, and it is a charge we will keep.”

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Chen reported from Washington, Reynolds from Elizabeth, N.J.