AUSTIN, Texas — As he moves closer to a presidential campaign, Texas Gov. George W. Bush is formulating an agenda that would turbocharge conservative efforts to shift power away from Washington, even while giving ground on polarizing social issues that have hurt the GOP politically.
In an interview with The Times, Bush called for shifting authority on domestic issues such as education and health care not only to states but to individuals and faith-based charities. "In many ways," he said at the state Capitol here, "public policy ought to bypass all government and focus on individuals."
But in the wake of the Colorado high school massacre, Bush offered a more tempered message on gun control, indicating flexibility on questions such as raising the legal age of handgun ownership. That echoed his efforts earlier this year to soften his stance on abortion by questioning how feasible it is to pursue a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure, even though he personally supports such a restriction.
Though he is not expected to formally declare his candidacy until later this year, Bush has emerged as the clear front-runner in the Republican presidential race, holding a wide lead in fund-raising, endorsements and the polls. Yet, because he has decided not to campaign nationally until after the Texas legislative session concludes late this month, his views on a range of issues are only slowly emerging, primarily in media interviews.
His conversation with The Times reinforced the sense that Bush, as a national candidate, would present the same kind of ideologically nuanced platform he's relied on in Texas--a posture dubbed "compassionate conservatism."
That approach, while leaving him vulnerable to criticism from the left and right on specific issues, could give him the potential to reach beyond his party's traditional base of voters--much like President Clinton did.
Despite all the political advantages Bush has amassed, his opponents believe he may be most vulnerable to questions about whether he has the experience to serve as president. Bush has contributed to these doubts, especially by initially appearing uncertain how to respond to the crisis in Kosovo. (Eventually, he endorsed the NATO airstrikes, as well as ground troops, if military advisors deem them necessary.)
"We have kind of identified what may be the Achilles' heel of the great Bush juggernaut, which is that the candidate may not be up to being president," says Brian Kennedy, campaign manager for Lamar Alexander, one of Bush's competitors for the nomination.
