president sees America as a child needing a parent

PRESIDENT AS PROTECTOR
Card says president sees America as a child needing a parent
By Sarah Schweitzer, Boston Globe Globe Staff | September 2, 2004

NEW YORK -- White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said yesterday that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent.

Card's remark, criticized later by Democrat John F. Kerry's campaign as ''condescending," came in a speech to Republican delegates from Maine and Massachusetts that was threaded with references to Bush's role as protector of the country. Republicans have sounded that theme repeatedly at the GOP convention as they discuss the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq.

''It struck me as I was speaking to people in Bangor, Maine, that this president sees America as we think about a 10-year-old child," Card said. ''I know as a parent I would sacrifice all for my children."

The comment underscored an argument put forth some by political pundits, such as MSNBC talk-show host Chris Matthews, that the Republican Party has cast itself as the ''daddy party."

A Kerry spokesman, seizing on Card's characterization of Bush as a parental figure for the nation, contended that the president had failed.

''Any parent that ran a household the way George W. Bush runs the country would find themselves in bankruptcy court on the way to family court," said Phil Singer, a Kerry spokesman. ''Just over the last year, 1.3 million people have fallen into poverty, including 700,000 children, and 1.4 million people have lost their health insurance while family incomes have declined three years in a row. America can do better."

In his speech at the W Hotel, Card offered a glimpse of the themes Bush will emphasize in his address to close the Republican convention tonight. He said Bush would stress a forward-looking vision for the country, contrasting it with the one presented by Democrats at their convention in July.

''The Democrats who met in Boston had a wonderful party, because Boston hosted a wonderful opportunity for them to get together," said Card, a former state representative from Holbrook. ''But they tended to talk about yesterday, and our president knows that leadership is all about tomorrow."

Card, the person who informed the president nearly three years ago about the attack on the second World Trade Center tower, also sought to cast Bush as a decisive leader who chose to remain seated in a Florida classroom after hearing the news in order to avoid creating fear.

''The president accepted my words but did not introduce fear to any of those young students or through the national media to the American people," Card said. ''After an appropriate period of time, he excused himself from the classroom . . . and exercised the ultimate responsibility of a president."

He added, ''But there is no doubt about the president's commitment to make sure that he protects us no matter what the polls may say, no matter what focus groups might suggest, no matter what the UN gave permission to."

Card made little mention of the war in Iraq but told of his trip accompanying Bush to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where injured soldiers have been treated.

''He has walked into a room, where a soldier tries to stand, to pay respect to the president," Card said, ''but he doesn't have any legs, to give an officer's salute, but he doesn't have any arms. And the president leans over and everyone stands at attention, and as the president presents a Purple Heart, tears flow.

''And I can honestly say that never once have I seen a situation where a soldier or a Marine or a sailor or an airman didn't say, 'Thank you for the privilege of serving, Mr. President, and I'm anxious to get back to help my comrades.' "