WASHINGTON — President Bush is a stickler for routine, whether it's his fitness regimen, his social schedule or his political message. His central themes vary little from speech to speech; even the jokes stay the same.
But as he gears up for his reelection campaign, Bush faces a potential problem: Will his tried-and-true political message do the trick this time around? Or does it need updating for the 2004 race?
Part of the dilemma for Bush is that he may have tapped out much of his domestic agenda -- tax cuts, education and the reform of Medicare -- during his first term.
Bush claims significant achievements in all those areas. He has signed two large tax cut laws. He worked with Democrats to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, which gave school districts more freedom in spending federal dollars, but required reading and math tests to gauge student progress. Congress is close to an agreement to provide prescription drug coverage under Medicare, and Bush is pushing lawmakers to seal the deal.
Political analysts say that Bush's record -- particularly his response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- is his strongest selling point.
"I really think the election will be a referendum" on Bush's first term, said Thomas Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank. "If voters are confident in him, they are going to return him to office based on that more than on a promise of what he'll do in the future."
But by convention, political candidates -- even incumbents -- have to look forward. And Bush's White House communications director, Dan Bartlett, said the president's campaign will articulate a fresh vision.
"This will be a future-oriented campaign," Bartlett said.
The trick will be formulating a message that reminds voters of Bush's achievements while suggesting he still has a lot to offer. What could complicate this is Bush's trademark adherence to a few -- usually four -- core issues.
When he was running for governor of Texas, the four were improving education, reforming welfare, reducing crime and reforming the legal system. As a candidate for president, he stressed cutting taxes, improving education, reforming the Medicare and Social Security programs and increasing the budget for defense.
"He sticks to his core themes and the reason he does is they work for him and they achieve results," said Nick Calio, who served as Bush's congressional liaison until this year.
