Bush, Kerry, Clark, no April foolin'

Posted by Mark Silva at 10:06 am CST

The Democrats spoke to the nation today in two languages, and delivered two messages: One radio address in English touting the party's commitment to national security, one in Spanish praising immigration.

For his part in the weekend radio contest, President Bush delivered one message in one language: As the April 15 deadline for filing tax returns draws near, his tax cuts are helping the American economy thrive.

It was none other than Sen. John Kerry, Bush's failed challenger in the 2004 presidential election campaign, who – speaking slowly and carefully en espanol – delivered the Democrats' radio address today: "We are a nation of immigrants,'' Kerry said in Spanish, "and we are a nation that is strengthened because of immigrant contributions to our economy and communities.''

The Democrats are attempting to exploit the rift in the Republican Party over immigration reform plans under debate in Congress now, with Bush and allies seeking a plan that accommodates millions of undocumented immigrants already living and working in the United States and conservative House members pushing for a bill that focuses solely on border security.

This is a new opportunity for a Democratic Party that long has claimed the allegiance of Hispanic voters – with Hispanics self-identifying as Democrats by a margin of two-to-one in opinion polls – yet a party whose Latino support has been eroding in recent elections.

Bush, the former Texas governor who is well attuned to both border and Hispanic issues, managed to increase his share of the Hispanic vote from 35 percent in the 2000 election to 40 percent in his 2004 reelection victory over Kerry, exit polls showed.

Ironically, and in a telling measure of the complexity of this contest for the hearts and minds of Hispanic voters, some of the incremental gains in the immigration reform battle scored this week which Kerry touted on the radio today were made with the support of key Senate Republicans.

"This week Senate Democrats won an important victory toward comprehensive immigration reform that honors the contributions of immigrants and provides real security for America,'' said Kerry (D-Mass.), noting the Senate Judiciary Committee had approved "a bipartisan immigration bill.''

That bill, a product of both Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), had the blessing of Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, as it passed out of committee. Only four of the committee's 10 Republicans supported the plan, however.

The bill would enable many of the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to remain here for several years if they pay fines and taxes, undergo criminal background checks and work.

Eventually, after six years and another fine, they could seek legal residency. And ultimately, they could seek citizenship – so long as they aren't "getting in front of the line'' ahead of other immigrants already seeking naturalization legally.

Bush insists on a "comprehensive'' immigration bill, one that includes a temporary worker plan such as this for the undocumented and that also toughens border security. Getting this through the Senate, and then through a conference with a resistant House, may be impossible in an election year in which Republicans are fighting to maintain control of the Congress.

“Today, everyone knows our immigration system is broken -- but Democrats recognize that we can’t fix it unless we do this comprehensively and do it right,'' Kerry said in Spanish today. "lthough this week’s victory is important, we must continue to fight so that comprehensive immigration reform finally becomes the law of the land. Democrats will continue to advocate for tough and smart policies that help secure all Latino families and all Americans. With your help, we can get the job done.''

The English-language security message was delivered by another failed candidate for president: Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe under President Clinton who sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2004.

"This administration has taken us on a path to nowhere – replete with hyped intelligence, macho slogans, and an incredible failure to see the obvious,'' Clark said in his radio address today.

"It started with a fight we didn't finish against Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, and included a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq,'' Clark said. "Along the way we've failed to halt proliferation with both North Korea and Iran and the Administration has shown tragic incompetence in everything from nation building in Iraq to disaster relief in Louisiana.

"Let's face it,'' Clark said, reiterating a theme he had voiced during his short-lived campaign. "We're not going to win the war on terror unless we start making more friends and fewer enemies in the world, and we're not going to be able to protect the American people without a new strategy.''

Clark outlined a national security strategy that his party's leaders advanced this week, in a bid to start staking ground long held by the GOP.

In Iraq, Clark said, "we would make this the decisive year.''

After forging an Iraqi government that includes the Sunnis and takes away the legitimacy of the insurgency and "ends the sectarian grip in the Defense and Interior Ministry,'' the Iraqi constitution should be amended "to meet the needs of all Iraqis, not just the Shia majority,'' Clark argued. Then American military forces could be "responsibly'' deployed, he said, and the U.S. could "redouble our efforts against Osama bin Laden and his network, strengthening cooperation with allies in the region,'' double the size of Special Forces and step up efforts to halt the proliferation of nuclear.

On the home front, he said, 100 percent of inbound and outbound containers could be screened in American ports, and "first responders'' could be given "the resources and cutting-edge technology they need.''

Bush, resting at his Crawford, Tex., ranch for the weekend after a summit meeting in Cancun, Mex., with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, also spent considerable time talking about immigration reform this week. He touted that goal of a "comprehensive'' bill that includes something for both the undocumented and border protection at a news conference with Mexico's Vicente Fox and Canada's Stephen Harper, but he stopped short of saying if he would veto an immigration bill that lacks a temporary worker plan.

He will be talking about "the war on terror'' again this week, at a stop in Bridgeport, Conn., maintaining that he has a strategy for success in Iraq.

But today, Bush was talking taxes.

"I believe our economy grows when you're allowed to keep more of your hard-earned money and make your own decisions about how to save, spend, and invest. So, working with Congress, we've provided tax relief for all Americans who pay income taxes.''

Counting nearly 5 million jobs added since August 2003, Bush touted the nation's unemployment rate, 4.8 percent – "lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,'' and he credited the tax cuts that he won from Congress in 2001 and 2003.

"The evidence is overwhelming: The opponents of tax cuts were wrong,'' Bush said. "Tax relief has helped to create jobs and opportunities for American families, and it's helped our economy grow.''
Bush is asking Congress to make those tax cuts permanent.

"Because America needs more than a temporary economic expansion, we need more than temporary tax relief,'' the president said on the radio today. "To keep our economy growing, to keep our businesses investing, and to keep creating jobs, we need to ensure that you keep more of what you earn -- so Congress needs to make the tax relief permanent.''

The problem, for Bush, in the remaining two-and-a-half years of his presidency, with his job approval now hovering at the low point of his two terms, is convincing Congress to act on these tax cuts – or on immigration reform, for that matter.

In English or in Spanish, Bush faces a rough road ahead.