- ANNANDALE, Va. -- President
Bush stumped for votes and touted tax cuts Monday in northern Virginia,
drawing more than 600 supporters and a few dozen Democratic protesters
who said his presence in traditionally Republican Virginia is a sign his
campaign is in trouble.
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- In between were Chris Ostendorff of Oakton and her son
Chuck, two undecided voters who wanted to hear the president speak but
were unsure if they would vote for him.
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- "I'm still making up my mind," said Chuck,
who will be voting for the first time in November and wants to pursue a
career in the military. "I was impressed with his speech, but I suspect
I would also be impressed with a speech by (Democrat John) Kerry. It's
going to be tough to decide."
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- At several points during Monday's rally, Bush touted
the No Child Left Behind Act, which is designed to impose accountability
standards on local school systems.
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- But Chris Ostendorff, a special education teacher, said
the law has caused problems, particularly in special education, where students
can't always meet a fixed federal standard.
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- "And I'm not sure how I feel about federal regulation"
of local education, she said, still undecided about her vote.
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- Bush's rally was designed to show how his policies have
enabled individual Americans to take "ownership" of the economy
and to highlight entrepreneurial success.
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- Sharon Rainey of Great Falls was one of the entrepreneurs
on stage with Bush. She talked about her business, FYI Network, an Internet-based
referral and bulletin-board service. The Bush campaign said the tax cuts
he supported saved her $1,200 last year.
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- Rainey, a Bush supporter, said she doesn't know exactly
why the Bush campaign contacted her, except that they wanted a small business
owner on the panel. She guessed that "a friend of a friend" told
the campaign about her business.
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- Nobody reviewed or scripted her remarks, she said. "They
just said, 'Tell your story,' so that's what we did."
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- She and her family met Bush briefly a few minutes before
the rally at Northern Virginia Community College.
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- "He basically just told us to relax and that we
were going to try and have some fun," she said. "He spent most
of the time trying to make us feel comfortable."
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- Bush criticized Kerry's plan to eliminate the tax cuts
for those making more than $200,000 a year, saying that the "the rich
in America happen to be the small business owners" who put people
to work.
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- Bush also said high taxes on the rich are a failed strategy
because "the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway."
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- Asked about that comment, Jonathan Beeton, spokesman
for Kerry's campaign in Virginia, said "George Bush can speak with
authority about really rich people. ... That's his base, so I'm sure he
knows what he's talking about. But that doesn't make it right."
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- In general, Democrats said, the fact that the Bush campaign
stopped in Virginia during a recent campaign swing that has also covered
the traditional battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
shows weakness in Virginia.
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- "It seems he wouldn't come to Virginia unless he
had a reason," said Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Kerry Donley.
"He's seeing his support slip away, and he wants to stop the bleeding
early."
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- Several dozen Kerry supporters demonstrated outside the
rally, some wearing costumes dressed as "Miss Leader" and "Hallie
Burton." Bush and Kerry supporters engaged in heated but respectful
discussions after the rally.
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- Lois Garrett of Gordonsville, a Bush supporter, said
the only problem she had with the Kerry supporters was that they were receiving
some media attention.
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- "I just look at them and smile," she said.
"They're damn lucky to be in this country because they would be backslapped
if they lived anywhere else. I just pray that they will open their eyes."
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