National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice’s testimony yesterday before the September 11 commission kept the national spotlight squarely on security and defense, President Bush’s strongest suit, rather than on Sen. John Kerry’s issues, Democrats and Republicans say.
“Every day that the news is on national security issues or homeland security issues is a good day for the president, even if he’s under attack on it because that is his strength and where he has the greatest credibility with the American people,” said Charlie Black, a Republican strategist who works closely with the White House.
Dick Morris, the top political strategist for the Clinton White House, agreed.
“Clearly, the focus on national security issues will in the long run help Bush,” Mr. Morris said. “Most importantly, Americans see Bush as a much stronger leader than Kerry by almost 20 points. … The more the subject is national security and any of its manifestations, the more Bush is going to be helped.”
Mr. Kerry has spent the past two days delivering what his campaign team touted as major speeches on controlling federal spending and reducing the deficit, but top headlines and lead stories on news programs have remained focused on national security.
Mr. Bush continues to enjoy a double-digit lead in polls over Mr. Kerry on the issue of national security. A recent Los Angeles Times poll found that 56 percent approved of Mr. Bush’s handling of the war on terrorism, and 39 percent disapproved.
Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed think that Mr. Bush’s national defense and antiterrorism policies have made the country more secure, and 18 percent think that his policies have led to less security.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have been split over the September 11 commission and the war in Iraq. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, the chamber’s senior Democrat, said Wednesday that the Bush administration has “blundered” and “should instead be working toward an exit strategy.” But Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said the recent surge of violence in Iraq “will only serve to strengthen America’s resolve and seal America’s unity.”
The Kerry camp also has been torn on whether to weigh in on accusations by former Bush counterterrorism coordinator Richard A. Clarke that the Bush White House was obsessed with Iraq to the exclusion of such other matters as Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda terror group.
Yesterday, after initially noting that the campaign has not been commenting on testimony before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, spokesman David Wade lashed out at the Republicans for what he said was politicization of national security.
“I’d hope the Republican Party would see national security not as a way to win an election but as a way to make America safe, but they look for politics everywhere they see it. John Kerry has a plan to make our country safe for one reason only, because it’s in the best interests of the American people,” Mr. Wade said.
But with the focus of the media remaining on Iraq, Mr. Kerry’s prime messages — the Bush administration has failed America on jobs; his tax cuts need to be rescinded; the United States needs to seek international cooperation on world issues — have been all but ignored.
“Yesterday’s speech may have been lost in the noise so, in that sense, Kerry may have lost a little bounce,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
But Mr. O’Hanlon and the Democratic strategists reached yesterday said the recent increase in casualties in Iraq is doing damage to Mr. Bush’s standing.
“The more important factor is what’s going on now in Iraq today, the casualties and chaos, and if that continues that’s going to have more impact on voters than weapons of mass destruction and somebody’s testimony,” Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh said. “Voters are going to be much more focused on what they see on the evening news.”
“Ultimately, anything that puts the environment back on terrorism is helpful to Bush. I would even argue that within the rubric of terrorism, something that focuses us on 9/11 — as opposed to yesterday in Iraq — is probably helpful to Bush,” Mr. Morris said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.