SELLERSBURG, Ind., Oct. 28 — In an appearance that amounted to his first traditional campaign rally of the election season, President Bush on Saturday told wildly cheering supporters here that Democrats did not want to investigate, prosecute or even detain terrorists and had no plan for Iraq.
, introducing a relatively new line in his election-year stump speech, Mr. Bush criticized the “activist” New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling this week that same-sex couples were entitled to the same legal rights and benefits as heterosexual couples.
“We believe that marriage is a union between a man and a woman and should be defended,” Mr. Bush said, reminding the crowd of his two conservative Supreme Court appointees, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “I will continue to appoint judges who strictly interpret the law.”
Aides said Mr. Bush’s appearance on Saturday was the first of many planned for the final days before the Nov. 7 election, as he pivots from the role of fund-raiser-in-chief to that of cheerleader-in-chief.
For Mr. Bush, it was a return to the kind of campaigning he likes best. He gave his speech in rolled-up shirtsleeves, standing before an ecstatic crowd packed into a high school gymnasium. They waved pompoms and held signs that said “Welcome to Bush Country” or simply “W,” and hooted their support with deafening enthusiasm. Their cheers nearly overwhelmed the shouts of an antiwar demonstrator, whose protests were barely audible, and occasionally drowned out the president.
Mr. Bush came onstage with Representative Mike Sodrel, one of three Indiana Republicans facing tough Democratic opposition this year. The president’s list of Democrats’ deficiencies included their votes against the administration’s program to wiretap phone conversations of terrorism suspects without warrants and their opposition to trying terrorism suspects in special military tribunals without habeas corpus.
“In all these vital measures for fighting the war on terror, the Democrats in Washington follow a simple philosophy: Just Say No,” Mr. Bush said, borrowing the line from Nancy Reagan’s 1980s campaign against drugs. He continued that theme in a call-and-response with the crowd, asking, “When it comes to listening in on the terrorists, what’s the Democratic answer?”
“Just say no,” the audience answered.
“When it comes to detaining terrorists, what’s the Democratic answer?” Mr. Bush asked.
“Just say no,” the crowd of roughly 4,000 answered.
“When the Democrats ask for your vote November the seventh, what are you going to say?” Mr. Bush asked.
“Just say no,” the crowd replied. |
