.Bush Wins Endorsement of New York Firefighters
Wed Sep 1, 2004 10:28 PM ET
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By Caren Bohan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Bush won the endorsement of firefighters on Wednesday as he arrived in the city that redefined his presidency after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- a theme that has dominated his renomination convention.
He did not go to Madison Square Garden where he will accept the Republican National Convention's nomination. Instead, he went to the Elmhurst section of Queens and met with firefighters and the widows of several firefighters who died during the attacks.
Bush's eyes welled up as he accepted the endorsement of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, the city's main firefighters union, which broke with its parent union to back the Republican president.
"It really means a lot to me because the truth of the matter is the inspiration I receive from the firefighters is something I'll never forget," he said.
His meeting with the firefighters was briefly shown on a large screen in the convention hall and the delegates cheered as Bush waved to the camera.
Before arriving in New York, Bush squeezed in one more campaign stop in the vital state of Ohio.
"I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes," Bush told a campaign rally in Columbus after reminding the party faithful of the famed moment when he stood in the rubble of the twin towers in the days after the attacks and vowed to fight back.
In Ohio, Bush claimed roots in the state, telling a boisterous crowd of more than 20,000 at the Nationwide Arena hockey stadium that his grandfather was raised in Columbus, "so I'm here to ask that you send a homeboy back to Washington, D.C."
No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio, and the state's job losses of more than 200,000 since Bush became president has caused problems for him. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is keeping the pressure on with plans to hold a rally in Springfield, Ohio, on Thursday night after Bush's televised acceptance speech.
WILL RETURN THIS WEEKEND
It was Bush's 23rd visit to the state, his third in the past eight days, and he will be back again on Saturday. A Strategic Vision poll released days ago gave Bush a 6 percentage point advantage over Kerry, whose campaign hit a rough patch in August, allowing Bush to draw even with him in national polls. Continued ...
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