On the day of the 2000 presidential election, Susan Page, USA Today’s Washington bureau chief, wrote two stories: “How Bush Won” and “How Gore Won.” Neither ran.
Three years later, President Bush — the sixth president she has covered — continues to surprise her, Page told a crowd of about 60 community members at Monday’s Crain lecture series. The address was sponsored by the Medill School of Journalism.
“We thought he’d be cautious in his policies and conciliatory in his politics,” said Page, Medill ’73 and former editor in chief of The Daily. “He’s been the most partisan presidents since Richard Nixon.”
Speaking at the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, Page looked at the president’s chances of re-election in 2004. She cited the most recent USA Today poll, which was evenly split with 46 percent of respondents believing that Bush will be re-elected and 46 percent believing he will be defeated.
“This Bush has not gotten the same boost (from war) that his father did,” Page said. “I think this reflects the fact that the country was divided before the war started and has remained divided.”
Page said she feels Bush will have to return to domestic affairs as the economy, not foreign policy or terrorism, will be the most important issue in 2004.
“People vote on: ‘Is their income going up or down? Can they get a job? Can their kids get a job when they get out of college? What’s the price of gas?'” Page said. “We’ve lost 2 million jobs since Bush took office. If you want to look at one number that could affect the outcome of the election, that’s it.”
But the president still has many advantages, Page said. She characterizes Bush as an intelligent politician and mentioned it is unlikely he will face any real opposition in the Republican primary, unlike his father who ran against Pat Buchanan in 1992. She also described the Democrats as disorganized, with nine potential candidates and no clear front-runner.
In addition to the upcoming election, Page discussed Bush’s relationship with the media.
“One of the advantages Bush had in the 2000 campaign was that the press always liked him,” Page said. “But as a president he’s run the White House that is most closed of any presidency I’ve covered.”
Bush has held the fewest public press conferences of any modern president, Page said. Although she approves of the government’s efforts in keeping coverage of the war in Iraq unrestricted, she noted that this war is the exception, not the rule.
Jeannie Vanasco, a Medill freshman, was encouraged by Page’s insights both on Bush’s chances in the upcoming election and his capabilities as a leader.
“A lot of the times when his approval ratings go up I’m afraid he’s going to get re-elected because I disagree with a lot of his policies,” Vanasco said. “I thought her speech cooled off some of my own bias. A lot of people think of him as stupid. She showed he’s an intelligent man even if he doesn’t have totally intelligent policies.”
