COLUMBUS, Ohio — With the death of former President Reagan and a week of public commemorations still fresh in the public consciousness, both President Bush and Democratic challenger John F. Kerry laid claim Tuesday to a Reaganesque mantle of optimism about the U.S. economy.
But the two men defined their optimism in strikingly divergent ways.
Bush, speaking at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden, said he was an optimist because he saw his policies -- in particular, income tax cuts -- already making things better. Kerry, however, told reporters at an airport outside Cincinnati that he was "an optimist about America" because "I think we can do better."
The president used relatively recent economic indicators to frame his rosier view -- 1.4 million jobs added since August, consumer spending up and, as he said, "vibrancy of the small-business sector." Kerry recited bleaker news -- a net loss of about 2 million private-sector jobs during Bush's term, decreasing buying power for many workers and increased healthcare costs.
Advisors to both sides expect the public's view of the economy to be critical in determining whether Bush will win a second term on Nov. 2.
The recovering but still uneven economy presents a "classic challenge" for Bush and the Massachusetts senator, said Democratic political consultant David Axelrod.
The two candidates want to show empathy for the current condition of Americans and hope for the future, he said.
"There is a trap for Kerry in that he doesn't want to be pegged as pessimistic and negative," Axelrod said. "But there is a trap for Bush in that he doesn't want to look oblivious to people's real pain."
Bush's remarks came during a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The president said he was not concerned about America's economic vitality and that he saw it as "strong and getting stronger."
"I am an optimistic person," Bush said. "I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?"
He said progress was being made despite "a recession, a national emergency, corporate scandals [and] a war."
Bush was responding to a reporter's query as Kerry planned to continue his focus on the economy for two weeks.
On Monday, the presumptive Democratic nominee revived his argument that the middle class was getting squeezed and that Bush should be held accountable.
