President stakes claim in Wisconsin

WAUKESHA, Wis. — President Bush yesterday rolled into what he called “Bush Country,” visiting counties he won in the last election in an effort to secure a state likely to be among a handful that decides the 2004 election.

“I’m working hard, because this is going to be a tough campaign. I know it and you know it. I’m taking nothing for granted,” the president told about 5,000 cheering supporters at a county fairgrounds in this heavily Republican suburb of Milwaukee.

Mr. Bush trounced Al Gore in Waukesha County in 2000, winning 65 percent to 32 percent. But urban centers like Milwaukee voted heavily for Mr. Gore, who won Wisconsin by just 5,700 votes.

On Mr. Bush’s second Wisconsin bus tour in less than two months — this time, a 150-mile trip winding through the lush landscape of Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Appleton and Ashwaubenon — he hammered Sen. John Kerry’s liberal voting record in the Senate and what Mr. Bush called the Democrat’s repeated flip-flopping on key issues.

“He voted for the Patriot Act, he voted for NAFTA, he voted for the No Child Left Behind Act, and he voted for the use of force in Iraq,” Mr. Bush said. “Now he opposes the Patriot Act, and NAFTA, and the No Child Left Behind Act, and the liberation of Iraq.

“If you disagree with John Kerry on most any issue, you may just have caught him on the wrong day,” the president said to laughter and applause.

Mr. Bush drew a clear distinction between himself and Mr. Kerry. The Massachusetts Democrat campaigned in Wisconsin in May, telling supporters he would court foreign leaders in hopes of enlisting international aid in Iraq.

“I will never turn over America’s national security decisions to leaders of other, foreign countries,” Mr. Bush said yesterday to thunderous applause.

In towns between each stop, thousands of supporters waving flags and “Bush-Cheney ’04” signs jammed the sidewalks. One held up a sign that said simply, “Cheeseheads for Bush.”

The Bush-Cheney campaign built into the schedule a pair of two-hour road trips — giving the 50-vehicle motorcade plenty of highway exposure — and even added a couple of “unscheduled” stops, including one to a frozen-custard stand, where the president and daughter Barbara got some soft-serve as cameras caught the scene.

The president, who earlier stopped and bought four bear-claw cookies, said he was “carbo-loading” and planned to do some weekend bike-riding to work off the calories.

If Mr. Bush was hoping to excite his base, he appeared to have succeeded. Throughout his three speeches — each one nearly identical — supporters cheered and whooped, some waving flags, others chanting, “Four more years.” Whenever he mentioned his opponent by name, the crowd booed loudly.

Chinedu Chidera, 37, a mother of five and native of West Africa who now lives in Waukesha, said she prefers Mr. Bush to Mr. Kerry because of his pro-family views.

“I like him for his stand on abortion, for his stand on gay ’marriage.’ For those two stands especially, I think he should be president again.”

In Ashwaubenon, Mr. Bush was preceded on stage by comedian Dennis Miller, who joked about Mr. Kerry and running mate Sen. John Edwards’ proclivity for touching each other.

“Those two cannot keep their hands off each other. I have an idea for a new campaign slogan: ’Hey, get a room!’” he said to laughter and applause.