Confessions of a Liberal Republican

ELECTION 2004: CANDIDATES, ISSUES, POLLS, AND PREDICTIONS

GEORGE W. BUSH

BIOGRAPHICAL SYNOPSIS: Yale graduate, Texas Air National Guardsman, Harvard MBA, partial owner of Texas Rangers franchise, Governor of Texas, President of the United States

POLITICAL ASSESSMENT: Moderate Republican (economically conservative, conservative on foreign policy, moderate on social issues)

MAJOR POLITICAL ACTIONS: Two sets of major tax cuts during first term, two major wars waged (Afghanistan, Iraq), creation of Office of Homeland Security and later Department of Homeland Security, Bush Doctrine of Preemption, passage of Medicare/prescription drug bills, failure of ANWR drilling initiative

PUBLIC APPROVAL: High - 90% (September 21, 2001); Low - 50% (November 16, 2003); Current - 50% (November 16, 2003)

ELECTION ODDS: Primaries - 100% (no declared primary challenger); General Election - 60% (economy turning around, Democrats in disarray, Iraq is the only real issue)

FAMOUS QUOTE: "States like these [Iran, Iraq, and North Korea], and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world."

INFAMOUS QUOTE: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."