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

To: calgal who wrote (502572)	12/2/2003 11:07:24 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Nader Raising Money for Possible Campaign Tuesday December 2, 2003 10:16 PM By SAM HANANEL Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Ralph Nader has not yet decided whether to make another run for the White House, but he's authorized a new exploratory committee to raise money for a potential bid. The Nader 2004 Presidential Exploratory Committee was formed in late October as part of the consumer activist's effort to gauge support for a run, said Theresa Amato, a committee director. ``He is using it to test the waters,'' said Amato, who served as Nader's national campaign manager when he ran for president on the Green Party ticket in 2000. She said the organization is part of Nader's overall strategy of ``talking to people, calling people, seeing what level of support there is.'' The new committee also has a Web site under construction, www.naderexplore04.org, which Amato said would debut ``very soon'' and play a key role in raising money. Nader has said he would decide by the end of the year, but Amato said Tuesday an announcement is more likely to occur early next year. Nader did not return phone calls seeking comment. Part of his consideration is whether the major political parties decide to take his progressive agenda seriously. Nader has sent letters to Republican and Democratic party leaders urging more of a focus on issues such as universal health insurance and corporate fraud. Amato said Nader is still waiting to hear back from party officials. But she cautioned against reading too much into the committee's formation. ``Some other candidates have used it as the launching pad, but he's using it to test the waters,'' Amato said. ``He is not a candidate now.'' Nader won about 3 percent of the vote as the Green Party's candidate in 2000, but many voters blamed him for taking votes from Democrat Al Gore, paving the way for President Bush's narrow victory. This year, Nader has been an active supporter of Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio congressman considered Nader's political soul mate on social and economic issues. ^--- A group of moderate Democrats will begin running two television commercials in Spanish, calling on Hispanics to support the Democratic agenda and arguing that President Bush broke his promise to fully fund financially troubled schools. The New Democrat Network will air the two spots - the group's first issue ads of the 2004 campaign - in Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., beginning Wednesday. The two cities have heavy concentrations of Hispanics, who will be crucial to the outcome of the presidential election. NDN president Simon Rosenberg said the group is spending ``hundreds of thousands of dollars'' to air the ads over several weeks. He declined to provide specifics. One ad, titled ``Change,'' reminds Hispanics that ``the Democrats have always been our best friends. With them, the progress of our community is secured.'' In that spot, a Hispanic man watches as a run-down school and store morph into renovated buildings. The man holds a Spanish-language newspaper with the headline, ``Latinos applaud Democratic programs.'' The other ad questions Bush's spending on poor schools, which are attended by 60 percent of Hispanic children. ^--- Joe Lieberman likes New Hampshire so much, he's moving there - at least for the time being. The Democratic presidential hopeful is renting an apartment in Manchester so he can spend more time campaigning for the state's first-in-the-nation primary. The campaign has signed a seven-week lease on a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment in downtown Manchester. The home will be used by the Connecticut senator and by members of his family as they campaign in the Granite State during December and January. Lieberman plans to spend nearly the entire month of January in the state. The primary is Jan. 27. ``He may not be from a neighboring state, but by the time the primary rolls around, Granite State residents will consider Joe their neighbor,'' said Peter Greenberger, Lieberman's New Hampshire director. guardian.co.uk

To: calgal who wrote (502572)	12/2/2003 11:32:12 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Bush raises campaign cash, maintains silence on steel tariffs By James Cox, USA TODAY PITTSBURGH — President Bush raised $850,000 for his campaign at a Pittsburgh fundraiser Tuesday, but he left the Steel City without saying whether he would keep or end tariffs he imposed to protect U.S. steel producers. Bush made no mention of the tariffs on foreign-made steel at the event, which was co-hosted by Thomas Usher, CEO of U.S. Steel, the country's largest steelmaker. The president boasted that the U.S. economy "is getting stronger and stronger." He cited improvements in productivity, business investment and housing construction. He also said the United States would not give in to "a bunch of thugs and assassins" in Iraq. Some of Bush's advisers are pressing him to scrap tariffs he put in place in March 2002 to shield the troubled U.S. steel industry from foreign competition while it restructured. He is expected to act this week. The tariffs have been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. The 15-nation European Union, Japan and other countries have threatened to retaliate with punitive duties on American products — citrus, rice, clothing and others — unless the steel tariffs are lifted by Dec. 15. Usher, who has urged Bush not to give in to "blackmail" by the EU, spoke briefly with Bush before the president's speech. Bush told the steel executive he had made no decision, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. Even so, "the administration has clearly signaled they're going to drop the tariffs," said Claude Barfield, trade expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. About 300 steelworkers and other protesters marched outside in snow flurries as Bush spoke. "Betray us now, lose in 2004," one sign read. Bush imposed tariffs of 8% to 30% on steel imports in response to more than three dozen Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by domestic steel companies. The duties, intended to last until March 2005, were to give the industry time to consolidate, close old mills and regain its competitiveness. Protection for the steel industry also was thought to boost Bush's re-election chances in steel-producing electoral battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Since the tariffs were imposed, several steel companies have merged or been acquired by bigger producers. At least four large mills have been shuttered. The United Steelworkers of America has negotiated more flexible contracts. "There's been tremendous improvement in the strength, health and sustainability of the U.S. steel industry over the past 20 months," said Mark Parr, a steel industry analyst at McDonald Investments. Other factors: The economy. Demand for steel has risen and firmed up prices as industries such as autos and construction equipment have recovered. The dollar. The euro has risen 39% against the dollar since Bush initiated the tariffs. That has priced most European steel out of the U.S. market. China. With Asia's economies recovering "and China sucking up all the extra steel around the world, there aren't a lot of imports coming in here," Barfield said. But steel executives and union leaders want more time. Wilbur Ross, chairman of International Steel Group, said he hopes Bush will couple any removal of the tariffs with changes that would make it easier for domestic producers to initiate complaints about imports. Labor leaders and Bush's Democratic presidential rivals acted Tuesday as if it were a foregone conclusion the tariffs would be scrapped. Bush "had no trouble standing up to the Europeans when he wanted to go to war (but) apparently doesn't have the same kind of backbone when it comes to taking a stand for American workers," the USWA said in a statement. Rep. Richard Gephardt, the presidential contender endorsed by the steelworkers, accused Bush of getting ready to declare a premature victory over imports. The Missouri Democrat likened the move to Bush's highly publicized flight to a U.S. aircraft carrier to declare victory in Iraq. "The president appears poised to once again claim 'Mission Accomplished,' " Gephardt said. "And we know what happened the last time he made such a premature claim without a plan of action to back it up." Contributing: Richard Benedetto, Jill Lawrence