Thursday, February 03, 2000
Taft: Bush's Ohio campaign energized by challenge
BY JOHN J. BYCZKOWSKI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
URAWA, Japan — Texas Gov. George W. Bush's defeat in New Hampshire might well turn out to be a good thing for his campaign, said his Ohio campaign chairman, Gov. Bob Taft.
Traveling in Japan on Wednesday, Mr. Taft said the defeat will wring out any complacency that might linger in Mr. Bush's organization, and help the Texas governor prepare for what could be a vicious fall campaign against the Democratic nominee.
“I wasn't expecting (Bush) to win the New Hampshire primary,” Mr. Taft said. “From everything I heard, (Arizona Sen. John) McCain spent an enormous amount of time working at the retail level.”
He added that Mr. McCain is the kind of “maverick” candidate that seems to appeal to New Hampshire voters. He said he remains confident Mr. Bush will win the nomination, but it might take longer than previously expected.
“It means that the Ohio primary is going to be significant,” he said. “It's clear from New Hampshire that the Bush campaign nationally and those of us working for him in Ohio can take little for granted, and we're going to have to work hard to turn out the vote for Gov. Bush on March the 7th.”
And the longer race for the Republican nomination might be good prep aration for the race for the presidency in the fall.
“I think it's an opportunity to bring the campaign overall up to a higher level,” he said. “Often a tougher battle hardens the candidate for the trials ahead. And so far maybe it's been a little too easy” for Mr. Bush.
“It's going to be a tough race, a very tough race against what appears to be the vice president in the fall.”
Mr. Taft thinks Mr. Bush needs to improve his debating skills.
“I think that the more Gov. Bush can be involved in the debating situations, the better it is,” he said. “Going through a race as governor of Texas or governor of Ohio, you don't get that much experience in debating or communicating your message in a very intense, brief campaign format like that.”
Mr. Taft also thinks Mr. Bush needs to sharpen his message.
“I think part of the message for Gov. Bush is to really focus on what he's accomplished in Texas and how he's led Texas, and how he's worked with a Democrat legislature to solve problems and address the issues that were at the top of the agenda of the people he was representing there,” such as taxes and the economy.
“I think that Gov. Bush and his views are more reflective of the Republican mainstream than Sen. McCain, and he needs to figure out how to get that across.”
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