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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ColtonGang who wrote (169767)	8/10/2001 2:50:37 AM
From: ColtonGang	Respond to of 769670

JUST AS I SAID EARLIER.............In his most prominent forum since his address to Congress last winter, Bush used a nationally televised speech to make his first significant break with conservative orthodoxy. He agreed to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research – in a strictly limited manner that left liberals unsatisfied, but brought accusations from conservatives that Bush broke a campaign pledge and set the country on a "slippery slope" toward the killing of embryos for study. Bush's advisers were hopeful that his measured decision and his reflective, genuine tone last night would mute criticism. "I have made this decision with great care and I pray it is the right one," a somber Bush said from his Texas ranch. Still, several conservative leaders used unusually tough words in their reactions. "The president has introduced the camel's nose into the tent, and inevitably we'll soon have the whole beast in there," said Kenneth Connor, head of the anti-abortion Family Research Council. "Moral principles are not divisible. It's going to encourage members of Congress to advocate additional research and to kill additional embryos." The reverberations could go far beyond the esoteric matter of embryonic stem cells. Conservatives and moderates alike will be watching to see whether the stem cell decision was an exception to Bush's overall conservative approach or a sign that he is returning to the more moderate "compassionate conservative" image he built during the presidential campaign. Few predict an outright rift with conservatives, to whom Bush owes his election. Most observers expect Bush to be pulled back and forth between moderate exigencies and conservative instincts for the duration of his term. But three separate events in a 36-hour period this week provide some evidence that Bush may be working to portray himself as "a different kind of Republican," as he said often during the campaign. In addition to last night's stem cell announcement, top Bush administration officials met yesterday with their Mexican counterparts to discuss a liberalization of the nation's immigration policy. Their proposals could reverse GOP policies of the 1990s. And late today, the Bush administration will file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that is widely expected to defend a Transportation Department affirmative action program that gives preference to minority contractors – and in the process dismay many conservative activists. "I think there is a shift going on," said Gary Bauer, a conservative leader who opposed Bush in the Republican presidential primaries. "On economic policy he's been Reaganesque, but it seems to me increasingly on social policy there's this disturbing trend." It's far too soon to tell whether the events of today and yesterday represent a real shift by Bush or a coincidence of events to be overshadowed by the conservative tenor of Bush's first six months. Some conservative leaders are confident Bush remains with them. "It's unhappiness but not outrage," said David Keene, who heads the American Conservative Union. "You'll get grousing, you may even get screaming, but at the end of the day they'll probably be with him." This fall could bring many more delicate issues before Bush. Conservatives will object if he backs a minimum wage increase or restraints on defense spending. And many conservatives are angered about the increasing cost and relaxing standards of Bush's education proposal in Congress. Much of these moves are about pure politics – winning elections in 2002 and 2004. The stem cell decision was more complicated, though, and conservative Republicans said they were impressed with the obvious thought Bush put into the matter. "The important thing is he did it on character and on principle," said GOP pollster John McLaughlin. "There's going to be opposition on the right but probably similar opposition on the left/////////////Washington post