Finally, there are social and religious conservatives to pay attention to. Bush adviser Karl Rove has worried aloud about 4million religious conservatives who failed to vote in 2000. Next year, Bush shouldn't expect his evangelical Christian faith, now well known, to lure them to the polls. He'll need to address their concerns--abortion, gay marriage, pornography, anti-Christian bias. Harping on these isn't necessary, but making his positions clear and unequivocal is. Bush made a gratuitous mistake at his last press conference by saying the country isn't ready to ban abortion. That may be true, but he'd have been smarter to focus on the next item on the pro-life agenda, making violence against unborn children a federal crime. Social conservatives need to be encouraged. They will be--if they're certain the president is on their side.
Republican strategists who sniff a landslide in the making may think none of this is required. Maybe they're right. There's no doubt Bush is far better off than his father was going into the 1992 election. But politics is a dynamic process characterized by wild swings. Just think if Saddam Hussein were captured or killed. Support for Bush's Iraq policy would jump 20 points instantly. But also consider the possible political consequences if the U.S. military suffered a dramatic setback in Iraq next year or if another 9/11-class terrorist attack occurred at home or if the economy had a hiccup or if a serious scandal struck the Bush administration. None of these is likely. But Bush needs to be strong
enough politically to withstand such scenarios, especially in the not-farfetched event he faces a Democratic foe capable of making the presidential race competitive.
--Fred Barnes, for the Editors
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