In swing state, Bush touts support for steel, coal
WHEELING, W.Va. -- President Bush yesterday credited his steel tariffs with stabilizing the West Virginia economy and attacked his Democratic opponent over another issue that's crucial in this region: coal.
Speaking to 10,000 supporters in Wheeling, Bush issued an aggressive defense of his actions on the steel tariff, saying his moves helped the industry consolidate and has kept quality jobs in the state.
"I thought I needed to stand up for steel, and I did stand up for steel," Bush said at WesBanco Arena, a minor-league hockey venue. "The plan worked. These folks back here are here working at good jobs, good high-paying jobs," he said, referring to union members behind him.
The steel tariff is a touchy issue for Bush and may be key to his standing in the swing states of West Virginia, which Bush won in 2000, and in Pennsylvania, which he narrowly lost.
The president won praise from the industry and its workers for imposing tariffs on foreign steel in March 2002. But he came under fire for jettisoning the protective tariffs in December, some 16 months before they were scheduled to expire, amid threats of a trade war with the European Union and Japan.
Eyeing a second crucial West Virginia industry, Bush said his administration has boosted by 160 percent the funding for developing "clean coal" technologies. He accused Senator John F. Kerry of flip-flopping on the issue by saying he supports finding new uses for coal, which he once called a "dirty" energy source.
"He's out there mining for votes," Bush told the crowd to laughter. "Tell your friends and neighbors, 'Be careful of somebody whose position shifts in the wind.' "
Kerry's campaign blasted back, saying Bush was on the offensive on coal to avoid talking about his own record on the issue. Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic nominee, said Bush has slashed funding for mine safety programs and has fallen far short of his 2000 campaign progress of $2 billion over 10 years for clean coal technology.
"George W. Bush broke his promise to the voters of West Virginia," Singer said. "No wonder he's lashing out on the campaign trail . . . John Kerry knows that coal mining creates jobs and believes that with the right investment and commitment coal will be an even cleaner part of America's energy future."
Singer said the back-and-forth moves over tariffs show that Bush lacks "steady leadership."
Yesterday's rally in West Virginia, a closely contested state, was the kind of event Bush is favoring in the days before his arrival in New York Wednesday night for the Republican National Convention.
Supporters waved giant blue and yellow W's as he spoke, and campaign volunteers decorated the arena with signs saying "Steelworkers for Bush" and "W Stands for West Virginia."
Rick Casini, a local steelworkers union steward who said he is a Democrat, introduced Bush as the "man who saved steel," crediting his tariffs with allowing the industry to restructure itself with protection from foreign competition. Steel prices have remained high in recent months, buoying GOP hopes in steel country.
"President Bush took action when no other president did," Casini said. "The historic steel tariffs . . . saved steel here in West Virginia."
Before his speech, Bush met privately with Casini and five other members of the Independent Steelworkers Union, which represents some 2,000 workers at ISG Weirton Inc., near Wheeling. Bush told them that he did what he "thought was right" regarding the tariffs.
According to a campaign aide who sat in on the meeting, the union members said Bush could expect strong support from rank-and-file union members, even though leaders of their group and the United Steelworkers of America support Kerry.
But some Bush supporters say even lifelong Democrats in West Virginia are eager to support the president this year. Though he revoked the steel tariffs earlier than scheduled, he did respond to the industry's needs by imposing them in the first place, said Jay Higgins, 59, a retired coal miner from Glendale, W.Va., who attended yesterday's rally.
"People have short memories," said Higgins, saying that's the only way he can understand the unions' backing of Kerry. "The president has done a lot to help steelworkers and coal miners here."
Also yesterday, Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, criticized Bush for calling the war in Iraq a "catastrophic success." In an interview with Time magazine, the president said problems in Iraq have developed because US forces were "so successful so fast that an enemy that should have . . . been done in escaped and lived to fight another day."
In a statement, Edwards said Bush's description is "half right."
"His successful misleading of the American public is truly catastrophic," Edwards said. "It was catastrophic to rush to war without a plan to win the peace."
The president yesterday defended his decision to invade Iraq.
"The goal is to have peaceful Democratic countries in the heart of the Middle East, who are allies in the war on terror," Bush said in Wheeling. "That's our goal. It's in our interest."
Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com. 