http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20040218/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_jobs Sorry guys, we were just kidding!
What do you expect; he has a bunch of idealogues, like Lindsay, advising him. And Bush wouldn't know the economy if it bit him on the ass. Deficits grow and the ideological/politcal types in control of this administration just see that as an excuse for larger tax cuts. Too bad people like Lindsay and Rove and Hughes never get the blame they deserve for the havoc they wreak. m
Scientists Accuse White House of Distorting Facts By JAMES GLANZ Published: February 18, 2004 The Bush administration has deliberately and systematically distorted scientific fact in the service of policy goals on the environment, health, biomedical research and nuclear weaponry at home and abroad, a group of about 60 influential scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, said in a statement issued today. The sweeping charges were later discussed in a conference call with some of the scientists that was organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent organization that focuses on technical issues and has often taken stands at odds with administration policy. The organization also issued a 37-page report today that it said detailed the accusations. Together, the two documents accuse the administration of repeatedly censoring and suppressing reports by its own scientists, stacking advisory committees with unqualified political appointees, disbanding government panels that provide unwanted advice, and refusing to seek any independent scientific expertise in some cases. "Other administrations have, on occasion, engaged in such practices, but not so systematically nor on so wide a front," the statement from the scientists said, adding that they believed the administration had "misrepresented scientific knowledge and misled the public about the implications of its policies." A White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said today he had not seen the text of the scientists' accusations. "But I can assure you that this is an administration that makes decisions based on the best available science," he said. Dr. Kurt Gottfried, an emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University who signed the statement and spoke in the conference call, said the administration had "engaged in practices that are in conflict with the spirit of science and the scientific method." Dr. Gottfried asserted that what he called "the cavalier attitude toward science" could place at risk the basis for the nation's long-term prosperity, health and military prowess. The scientists denied that they had political motives in releasing the documents as the 2004 presidential race began to take shape, with Howard Dean dropping out a day after Senator John Kerry narrowly defeated Senator John Edwards on the Wisconsin Democratic primary. The organization's report, Dr. Gottfried said, had taken a year to prepare â much longer than originally planned â and had been released as soon as it was ready. "I don't see it as a partisan issue at all," said Russell Train, who served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, and who spoke in the conference call in support of the statement. "If it becomes that way I think it's because the White House chooses to make it a partisan issue," Mr. Train said.
Dismal Six Weeks for Bush Has Supporters Edgy Feb 19, 12:45 PM (ET) By Alan Elsner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since the beginning of 2004, President Bush has suffered one political misfire after another, prompting some Republicans to wonder anxiously when the White House political machine will get in gear. "This may have been the worst six weeks of Bush's political career," said Rick Davis, who managed the 2000 presidential bid by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain which lost to Bush. In the latest embarrassment to hit the White House, the administration on Wednesday distanced itself from its own buoyant employment forecast that had predicted 2.6 million new jobs this year. That followed red faces over a statement by Gregory Mankiw, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, who described the process by which hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs are migrating overseas as both natural and good. With many Americans extremely anxious over their job security, that statement seemed particularly callous and politically ill-judged. "For whatever reason, the White House has hit a rough patch and can't seem to get its political machinery in motion," said Keith Appell, a Republican political consultant. "They seemed to be caught by surprise by the force of the negative rhetoric that emerged from the Democratic presidential campaign and now they need to start scrambling to get their own message out," he said. Republicans say the U.S. media have focused on the contest among Democrats to find an opponent for Bush in the November election and have been dominated by the candidates' fierce criticism of Bush over Iraq, the economy and other issues. A CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll issued on Thursday showed the two top Democratic contenders with big leads over Bush. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the front-runner, led Bush 55 to 43 percent among likely voters and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was ahead 54 percent to 44 percent. Appell and other strategists say early year jitters may mean little for the election outcome. Many believe Bush, with a big advantage in campaign funds -- he has raised almost $150 million -- still has the upper hand going into the battle. Still, for a White House renowned for its political skills, the past six weeks have been sobering. The list of misfires is lengthy. STRING OF PROBLEMS Bush's State of the Union Address was not well received and neither was his budget. Major policy initiatives on sending humans to Mars and reforming immigration law had a mixed reception at best. An interview with NBC's Tim Russert, a rare such appearance for Bush, failed to quieten the criticism. The White House allowed a controversy over Bush's service in the National Guard to grab headlines for two weeks. And the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Bush's main justification for last year's war, promises to be a continuing embarrassment. "It seems to me that Bush's people were so busy raising their incredible war chest that they didn't focus on reaching back to their political base and to the people," said K.B. Forbes, a former spokesman for Republican presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Pat Buchanan. Bay Buchanan, who ran her brother Pat Buchanan's maverick 1996 and 2000 presidential bids, said: "They do not have their campaign legs yet. There has been a bit of fumbling. It's not critical but it cannot go on or it will become critical. Bush is not in game form and he needs to get into form quickly." Some commentators believe the White House became complacent late last year when they assumed Bush would be facing former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whom they regarded as an ultra-liberal out of step with the country, in the election. Now, with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry the probable opponent Republicans have to throw out their early expectations of an easy victory and prepare for a tough fight against a respected Vietnam War veteran with a solid U.S. Senate record. Bush's biggest immediate decision is when to publicly embrace a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and whether he should also come out against allowing same-sex couples to have civil unions that give them many of the same rights as married people. Republican sources said Bush's political adviser Karl Rove has assured leading conservatives the president will soon give his backing to a constitutional amendment. "This is absolutely the number one issue for conservatives and the sooner Bush gets out there the more he will energize his support," said Appell.