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Bush pledges to deploy national missile defense |
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August 5, 2000
PHILADELPHIA, (AP) - George W. Bush accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination, pledging to work for international peace and to set up a missile defense system despite opposition from Russia and U.S. allies that fear it will trigger a nuclear arms race. Bush, whose father served as U.S. president from 1989 to 1992, spoke generally about America's security in his acceptance speech Thursday night. "I will work to reduce nuclear weapons and nuclear tension in the world, to turn these years of influence into decades of peace," he said. "And at the earliest possible date, my administration will deploy missile defenses to guard against attack and blackmail. "Now is the time not to defend outdated treaties but to defend the American people," Bush said. Opening a 95-day countdown to the election, Bush and vice presidential running mate Dick Cheney travel to the American Midwest Friday. Bush, the Texas governor, claimed the Republican nomination in a deafening convention celebration and deluge of balloons and confetti. He pledged to "use these good times for great goals" if he succeeds in winning the White House. There was a mood of exuberant optimism about Bush's chances - he is ahead in the polls - but he cautioned that "this will be a tough race, down to the wire" with Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic Party candidate who hopes to succeed President Bill Clinton. Accusing his rival of trying to scare Americans about his proposals for some social programs and tax reform, Bush said Gore "now leads the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But the only thing he has to offer is fear itself." Bush and running mate Cheney will try to build on the convention's momentum by campaigning together in a three-day train ride across Ohio, Michigan and Illinois - states carried by Clinton and Gore in 1992 and 1996 but now prime targets for both sides. Standing before a convention eager for a partisan edge, Bush was unforgiving in assessing Clinton, the man who pushed Bush's father from the White House eight years ago. He said the Clinton-Gore administration failed to take advantage of the nation's prosperity to solve tough problems. "Our current president embodied the potential of a generation. So many talents. So much charm. Such great skill," Bush said. "But in the end, to what end? So much promise, to no great purpose." "This is not a time for third chances," he said of Gore's bid to succeed Clinton. "It is a time for new beginnings." Under Clinton and Gore, he said, "We have seen a steady erosion of American power and an unsteady exercise of American influence." Four times he brought the convention to its feet by declaring: "They had their chance. They have not led. We will." Raising a subject that other speakers had avoided as too controversial, Bush expressed support for anti-abortion laws but acknowledged that "good people disagree on this issue." Reciting a campaign pledge, Bush promised in broad terms to make prescription drugs "available and affordable for every senior who needs them." He said he would abolish the federal estate tax, which affects about 2 percent of Americans in the highest income brackets, cut income tax rates and double the child tax credit. "Give me a mandate," he said, "and I will use it." Poking fun at both Clinton and Gore, Bush said: "I do not need to take your pulse before I know my own mind. I do not reinvent myself at every turn. I am not running in borrowed clothes." The delegates loved it. Republican leaders praised Bush's speech. "He has a different attitude, and that came through loud and clear," said Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci. "People are tired of divisiveness. I think they see he's a different kind of Republican." U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said, "I think our members are so pumped up, we're going to get out of here and just start really rolling." Former New Hampshire Gov. Walter Peterson raised an eyebrow about Bush's delivery. "I noticed his stern demeanor and a lack of a smile, which was attributed to natural nervousness," Peterson said. "I didn't see him smile once. It was a well-crafted speech. I don't doubt regular Republicans were very united behind it." Predictably, Democrats did not like Bush's address. "Despite all the happy rhetoric, despite all the smiling faces, despite all the scripted displays of `inclusion,' Bush-Cheney is the same old mean-spirited and divisive Republican ticket," the Democratic National Committee charged. Gore's convention opens Aug. 14, when Democrats gather in Los Angeles. A two-term governor who tried his hand in the oil business and ran a baseball team, Bush presented himself as an outsider without a stake in Washington's long-running political battles. He said he may "lack the polish of Washington. Then again, I don't have a lot of things that come with Washington." Portraying himself as a leader who can deal with Democrats, Bush said, "I want to change the tone of Washington to one of civility and respect." After his train ride in the Midwest, Bush heads to the West Coast, where Sen. John McCain is to join him for campaigning in California, Oregon and Washington state. The Arizona senator won seven primaries last winter and demonstrated a strong appeal to independent voters whose votes will be critical in the November election. |