Bush Replays Themes That Worked in 2000 Election
By Ronald Brownstein
Times Staff Writer

February 24, 2004

WASHINGTON — President Bush, in sharpening on Monday his case for reelection, signaled his determination to return to arguments that worked against Al Gore in 2000.

At the heart of Bush's speech at a Republican fundraiser was a determined effort to frame the 2004 election as a stark choice between more government and more individual freedom — the same contrast he used with success against Gore in the final two months of their razor-tight race.

"The American people will decide between two visions of government: a government that encourages ownership and opportunity and responsibility, or a government that takes your money and makes your choices," Bush said.

That formulation echoed Bush's insistence in 2000 that he wanted "to empower the American people" while Gore wanted "to empower the federal government."

Many Democrats agree that assertion hurt Gore in the closing weeks of the campaign. Bush's return to the argument suggests that a key question in this year's campaign could be whether Americans are more worried about big government or the powerful corporate interests that Sens. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina — the two remaining major Democratic presidential candidates — promise to confront.

The choice between big government and small government "obviously worked to a large extent for Bush in 2000, and could well do that again in 2004," said Democratic pollster Geoff Garin. "But I think we are in a very different context in 2004, where the public is much more attuned to the need for government to play an active role in policing excessive corporate power."