06/15/99 - BOSTON GLOBE [6/14] - Jill Zuckman  BUSH HOPES TO SHAKE FRONT-RUNNER CURSE As he arrives in New Castle this morning in his first presidential campaign foray, Texas Governor George W. Bush is mindful that front-runners in New Hampshire have a history of becoming also-rans.   "I guess I have to be prepared for the unexpected," Bush said in a recent interview.    Every four years, one political candidate or another starts off strong. And every four years, someone who was supposed to easily win the nation's first primary trips along the way.    "New Hampshire's a very independent, sometimes cranky state," said Steve Duprey, chairman of the state's Republican Party. "It has a history of occasionally causing frontrunners problems."    Even Bush supporters in New Hampshire are nervous that their popular candidate may be too far ahead for his own good... Thomas D. Rath, a Concord, N.H., lawyer, has seen presidential candidates come and go. He remembers when Edmund S. Muskie appeared to cry in 1972 outside the Manchester Union-Leader, contributing to his disappointing finish in the primary and providing an opening for George S. McGovern.     Rath also remembers Walter F. Mondale locking up all the labor and political endorsements, only to be upset by Gary Hart in 1984. "New Hampshire is not afraid to say to candidates, 'I'm not sure you're the front-runner till I say you're the front-runner,' " said Rath, a senior adviser to former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, who is decidedly not a front-runner.    If Bush is nervous about entering New Hampshire, he has good reason. His father never had an easy time of it in the Granite State. In 1980, George Bush came out of the Iowa caucuses with momentum but was stopped cold by Ronald Reagan in the New Hampshire primary.    In 1988, Bush was on the verge of losing the state to Bob Dole when then-Governor John H. Sununu helped rescue Bush's bid in the final days. And in 1992, President Bush won New Hampshire but was wounded by Patrick J. Buchanan's surprisingly strong showing... But as Bob Dole knows from his 1996 New Hampshire loss to Buchanan, anything can happen to spoil the aura of inevitability. While stumping in New Hampshire, for example, Dole said he was surprised that jobs and the economy were such big issues in the campaign. The remark was a turning point that crystallized fears about Dole and helped to pave the way for Buchanan... 06/15/99 - THE ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION - Ron Fournier - AP  BUSH TAKES MILD LINE ON ABORTION ISSUE; URGES GOP TO SOFTEN STANCE ON IMMIGRATION Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush said Monday he would not require his Supreme Court nominees to pass an anti-abortion "litmus test" ...   Bush spoke in Spanish as he challenged his party to adopt a softer stance on immigration. "Our party somehow has gotten the imagery that we don't welcome legal immigrants," he added in English.     Abortion is the most divisive issue in Republican politics, pitting social conservatives against the more moderate establishment wing of the GOP. Bush is trying to straddle the gap between the two factions without alienating independent and Democratic voters he would need to win the general election...Democrats still argue that Bush is too extreme on abortion for most voters. "Republicans try to avoid the issue to get nominated," Democratic Chairman Joe Andrew said Monday. "They never can." Bush has said he is opposed to abortion and would support a constitutional amendment making the procedure illegal --- except in cases of rape, incest and when a woman's life is in jeopardy. But he also says Americans don't support the measure, thus there is no need to pursue it.     Bush told reporters he would nominate Supreme Court justices based on three criteria: judicial temperament, "do the judges share my overall philosophy, and will the judges strictly interpret the Constitution as opposed to using the bench to legislate?"...     Bush was asked how he interprets the Constitution on abortion, and whether he would require his nominees to agree.     "There will be no litmus tests, except for whether or not the judges strictly interpret the Constitution," he said. "I am not a lawyer. My job is to pick judges who are qualified to serve on the bench." ... In contrast, GOP rival Pat Buchanan is "a 'yes' on an anti-abortion litmus test," according to Buchanan spokesman Bob Adams... On affirmative action, his relationship with Congress, taxes and character, Bush left more room than he did on the abortion question.    Appearing relaxed and confident, Bush:     Said he opposes quotas and racial preferences but believes both the private and public sectors should be encouraged to reach out to minorities. He declined to state his position on a California law that eliminated affirmative action programs.   Promised not to raise corporate or income taxes but did not extend the pledge to other taxes... 06/13/99 - ASSOCIATED PRESS [6/9] - MARTIN CRUTSINGER  RUBIN WARNS PROTECTIONIST BACKLASH COULD THREATEN GLOBAL ECONOMY Congress is threatening to set off a devastating chain-reaction of trade protectionism by pushing ahead with a bill to sharply limit foreign steel shipments into the United States, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin warned Wednesday.   Delivering what is expected to be one of his last speeches as a member of President Clinton's Cabinet, Rubin said he was worried about demands for the erection of trade barriers in the United States and a retreat from further integrating the United States into the global economy. "In our country, some argue that we should turn inward and retreat from the world," Rubin said in a speech to the Bretton Woods Committee, a group that supports international lending agencies such as the World Bank. "I believe ... just the opposite - that we turn inward at our peril."     Rubin said he was particularly concerned by a House-passed measure that would impose quotas on shipments of foreign steel into the United States. U.S. steel companies argue that without increased protection from cheap imported steel, they will be forced to lay off thousands of American workers. Rubin and others in the administration contend that the bill is clearly in violation of global trading rules administered by the World Trade Organization and would trigger copycat protectionist moves by other countries against American exporters...    In his speech, Rubin said "that bill could well pass the Senate, and such action in the strongest major economy in the world creates a real risk of strengthening the already increased protectionist pressure being felt around the world."  ... Responding to Rubin, Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, one of the supporters of the steel quota measure, said, "Free trade does not mean free to subsidize, free to dump or free to distort the market. Ohio Valley steel has suffered long enough from dumping. Senate action is long overdue..." Rubin's comments marked the second effort by a top economic policy-maker to blunt rising protectionist pressures spawned by a U.S. trade deficit that has soared to record levels because of the global currency crisis.     Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has warned in two major speeches in recent weeks that increased protectionism threatens the prosperity Americans are now enjoying.     Echoing Greenspan's comments, Rubin said, "We must broaden understanding of our stake in the global economy. That understanding is not broadly shared among the American people and ... the voices of those advocating that we turn inward are growing more numerous and getting stronger." ... [WEBNOTE] See also: 05/04/94 THE RISE OF SOVEREIGNTY FEARS 06/13/99 THIRD PILLAR OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER 06/03/99 TRADE WAR TALKS START SKIRMISH IN U.S. 06/11/99 - THE NEW YORK TIMES - FRANCIS X. CLINES  BUSH TO OPEN IN IOWA He arrives with the classic tension of the front-runner candidacy: he cannot afford to drift back toward the rest of the pack, but he has to get his hands dirty in grass-roots politics," Mr. [Ralph] Reed said... Mr. Buchanan demonstrated the power of the Iowa caucuses in 1996 when he finished a strong second to Bob Dole and went on to defeat Mr. Dole in the New Hampshire Republican primary before the party rallied round Mr. Dole in subsequent contests... [WEBNOTE] Those boys just rallied 'round the wrong flag. If they want to beat Gore in 2000 they better start hoisting the Buchanan Banner! 06/11/99 - NEWSWEEK [6/14] - RICHARD S. DUNHAM   SORRY, GEORGE THE FREE RIDE IS JUST ABOUT OVER ... The Bush that Americans are about to take the measure of is a novice Presidential campaigner whose speeches can fall flat, whose grasp of national issues is unknown, and whose competitive streak -- and short fuse -- raise questions about how well he functions under pressure...    Bush's platform attempts to fuse a traditional GOP emphasis on tax cuts, limited government, and individual responsibility with what an adviser calls a "modern conservative" emphasis on inclusiveness, improving schools, and providing tax incentives for low-income Americans and struggling middle-class parents. Critics, such as America Firster Pat Buchanan ... will try to fire up hard-core conservatives by painting Bushism as a pale imitation of Clinton-Gore policies. "His fusion platform is a confusion platform," scoffs Lyn Nofziger, a Buchanan adviser...    Bush will try to resist pressure to detail key positions before the fall for fear of being picked apart by critics. For example, he'll spell out his thinking on tax cuts this summer but will focus on general principles such as the need for tax reform and new incentives for individual savings -- possibly in the form of tax-advantaged accounts for retirement, medical emergencies, and education. And he is scheduled to make a major address on the New Economy in Silicon Valley on July 1... [WEBNOTE] Hmmm, the "New Economy".... I wonder if that's anything like his daddy's New World Order? GOOOOOOO PAT! MORE FROM THE INTERNET BRIGADE NEWSWIRE...

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