Bush and Kerry: A Tale Of Two Economies

摘要

Amid the cascade of disturbing images of death and torment in Iraq, Senator John Kerry's scheduled May 7 speech to a centrist Democratic Leadership Council gathering in Phoenix was unlikely to make big news. The Democratic standard-bearer was set to reiterate his call for a new "Contract with America's Middle Class," the latest in his increasingly urgent attempts to sidestep the Bush campaign's depiction of him as a flip-flopping, tax-hike-loving liberal out of step with mainstream values. Still, whether or not voters are aware of Kerry's gambit, it's emblematic of an important development on the 2004 campaign trail. From buscapades through the industrial heartland to reams of position papers, the rival candidates are fleshing out opposing approaches to economic policy, from taxes to the role of government. To those paying attention, "the difference between the two is starker than any economic argument in recent history," says Grover G. Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, a tax-cut advocacy group.