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

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (515005)	12/23/2003 2:50:26 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Dr. Dean Says Deficit, Jobs Will Be Top Election Issues Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean said a $500 billion U.S. deficit and the loss of 2.3 million jobs are the main issues of next year's election, rather than President George W. Bush's war on terror and efforts to capture Osama bin Laden. ``Should we be running half-trillion dollar deficits every year, should we be 3 million jobs short of where we were when George Bush took office?'' Dean said in an interview with Bloomberg News from New Hampshire, where he is campaigning. ``Those are the kinds of things the election is ultimately going to be fought on.'' Bush led Dean 55 percent to 37 percent in an ABC News- Washington Post poll done after the former Vermont governor said that catching Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein hasn't made the U.S. safer. The possible capture of terrorist figures including al- Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden wouldn't guarantee Bush a second term, Dean said. The U.S. blames the al-Qaeda network for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. ``It would be fantastic if Osama bin Laden were caught, and I hope he is,'' Dean said. ``But I don't think that has anything to do with the political campaign.'' Buy Uranium Dean said if he were in charge of the war on terror, he would spend money on intelligence, port security and buying enriched uranium from former Soviet states to keep it from terrorists, rather than on Bush's tax cuts. ``I think the president has not done what he says he is doing'' to fight terrorism, Dean said. The full interview will air on Bloomberg Radio on Saturday at 10 a.m. New York time. Dean has widened his lead over his rivals for the nomination, according to the ABC News-Washington Post poll of 1,001 adults taken Dec. 18-21. Among Democrats and independents, 31 percent of voters favored Dean, up from 20 percent a week earlier. No other candidate got more than 10 percent, with rivals Richard Gephardt, Joseph Lieberman, and John Kerry trailing at 8 or 9 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Dean said his top opponents are ``Washington Democrats'' who defend some of Bush's tax cuts. ``I don't think we should be supporting any part of Bush's economic comments,'' he said. Hillary for VP? Dean said he hasn't considered a vice-presidential running mate and that he ``wouldn't exclude anybody right now,'' including U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. On trade, Dean said he's opposed to expansion of trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement unless worker rights and environmental protection are included. He said he isn't opposed to NAFTA, the World Trade Organization or global trade. He only wants that to be coupled with protection for workers and the environment. The White House in July projected a U.S. government deficit of $475 billion for the current fiscal year. Some of Wall Street's biggest firms, including Merrill Lynch & Co., have said the deficit will hit a record $600 billion for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, up from $374 billion the previous year. Bush has said economic growth and spending discipline will cut the deficit in half within five years. Some economic indicators have improved in recent months. Consumer sentiment in December was 92.6 in a University of Michigan survey released today, 5.9 points higher than a year ago. The unemployment rate declined to 5.9 percent in November from 6 percent in October as the U.S. economy added jobs for a fourth straight month. Last Updated: December 23, 2003 13:12 EST