On the first extensive trip of his re-election campaign, US President George W. Bush went rumbling by luxury bus across southern Michigan on Monday with the intensity of a man running as if the election were six days away rather than six months away.
Jumping off at three stops from his new red, white and blue campaign bus, which was plastered on its gleaming side with the slogan "Yes, America Can," Bush fielded questions from a hand-picked crowd at an "Ask President Bush" talk in Niles, and made fun of Senator John Kerry's family sport utility vehicles before a crowd of 5,000 in a hockey stadium here. Bush appeared at a large outdoor rally in suburban Detroit late in the day.
Through it all, Bush suddenly sounded a lot more like a candidate than an incumbent president.
"Listen, I'm here to ask for your help," Bush, in blue oxford-cloth shirt-sleeves, told the crowd in the gym at the Niles Senior High School, in an area hard hit by job losses. "I can't win Michigan without you."
The two-day jaunt, which took the president to southern Ohio on Tuesday, was the first time Bush has traveled by bus as president, and reprises a style of travel much loved by modern candidates, including Bush in 2000 and former US president Bill Clinton in 1992.
The themes of this trip are national security and jobs. Presidential aides said that the "Yes, America Can" slogan was meant to underscore the president's optimism that is, in the words of his campaign spokesman, Scott Stanzel, "Yes, America can fight the war on terror."
The road trip came a week after Kerry, Bush's Democratic rival, made a similar journey through Michigan and Ohio, and reflects the pressure on Bush to campaign hard and early in a tight race.
The president's aides said Bush's trip was developed for maximum media attention in two critical states and was an attempt to portray the president, who normally travels on Air Force One, as in touch with the lives of ordinary voters.
Bush was not, however, getting around on Trailways. Campaign aides said that Bush's bus had three rooms, including a kitchenette, as well as a flat-screen television, black leather sofas and chairs, and the presidential seal displayed on a back wall. Name cards were placed on the chairs for Bush and the first lady, as well as for Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser.
The bus was also outfitted with extensive security and communications equipment. In an additional safety precaution on a trip that was a logistical nightmare for the White House, interstate highway I-94 east into Kalamazoo was shut down shortly before rush hour so that Bush's eight-bus caravan of support staff, and a large press corps, could have the interstate to themselves.
En route to Kalamazoo, Bush motored along back roads where people turned out on a cold but brilliant spring day to wave at the passing president. Some protesters greeted Bush outside Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo.
Once inside, Bush kept up his pounding of Kerry as a waffler who could not be trusted in the White House. Bush first said of Kerry: "I'm not going to take him lightly, he's a worthy opponent," but then criticized Kerry for having "Washingtonitis," including what Bush said were shifting positions on whether Kerry owned any SUVs.
Not long ago, Bush said, Kerry "talked about having a couple of minivans and a big Suburban." But "last month on Earth Day, he had a little different description of the fleet," Bush said. "He said `I don't own any SUVs.' To clear up the confusion, he said this: `The family has it, I don't have it.'"
Stephanie Cutter, the communications director for the Kerry campaign, responded: "Could President Bush clear up the confusion over his energy policy? Will he always be on the side of big oil or will he someday care about the American consumer?"
In Niles, Bush took nine questions from an audience largely invited by the local Republican Party, including one person who wanted to know why the president came to Niles in the first place. "Because I wanted to get out of Washington," Bush replied, to applause.
Another questioner noted that Bush mentions God in most of his speeches and asked how faith affected his daily routine.
Bush replied that while his job is not to promote a religion, "personally, I do rely upon the Almighty." He said that he was reading Oswald Chambers, a Scottish minister and devotional writer born in the late 19th century, and that "if you've read Oswald Chambers, you understand that Oswald Chambers is a pretty good gauge to test your walk."
Bush added that he was sustained by Americans who pray for him. "Somebody said to me one time, `Well, how do you know they're praying for you?"' Bush said. "And I said, `I just do, I know it.'"
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing