Bush uses federal resources to push re-election [View All]

April 5, 2004 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department analyzes John Kerry's tax proposals and the numbers quickly find their way to the Republican National Committee. The Health and Human Services Department spends millions on ads promoting President Bush's prescription drug plan. The House Resources Committee posts a diatribe against Kerry's "absurd" energy ideas on its Web site.

With friends like these -- all operating at taxpayer expense -- who needs a re-election campaign?

In the time-honored tradition of presidents past, Bush is skillfully using the resources of the federal government to promote his re-election. And some critics say the president is going far beyond his predecessors in using government means to accomplish political ends.

"What this administration has done is taken trends from the past and then projected them into the stratosphere," said Allan Lichtman, a presidential scholar at American University. "We've never seen a political operation like this White House does, and that includes the maximum use of government resources."

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/04/05/bush_government/index.html