New York, July 26: US President George W Bush's solid poll ratings will drop, his re-election campaign manager says, warning Republican activists against complacency in the 2004 race. "These numbers will come down. We must prepare for an election every bit as close as the 2000 election," Ken Mehlman said in remarks prepared for delivery today to Republican National Committee members.
Mehlman's speech closed out a four-day RNC meeting punctuated by worries that Bush's political stature has been hurt by the ailing economy, the death toll of US troops in Iraq and questions about the administration's use of shaky intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
Mehlman promised more jobs for America and, in keeping with the meeting's theme, lambasted democrats seeking to replace Bush in the White House.
"Some criticise this war on terror as unilateral or pre-emptive. But didn't September 11 teach us that we cannot wait while threats gather? That we must connect the dots, even if other nations refuse to see the pattern? That pre-empting terrorists before they acquire weapons of mass destruction, before they come to our shores, before they can harm America is the goal?" Mehlman said.
The bulk of his address was devoted to his argument that 2004 is destined to be a close election. The Bush campaign repeatedly makes this point, both to energise Republican activists and to minimise political fallout if his job approval rating declines. Bureau Report