A Reactive Tone Shows His Ears Have Been Burning
By David Von Drehle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 21, 2004; Page A01
President Bush's State of the Union speech showed just how closely he and his staff have been following the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, and how conscious they are of the opposition's emerging campaign themes 10 long months before Election Day.
From Iraq to taxes, from the USA Patriot Act to school funding, from foreign policy to deficit spending, Bush responded to criticisms that his would-be challengers are still working to formulate. Sometimes, incumbents act as if they have not heard what their critics are saying about them. Bush's father, for example, seemed not to register Bill Clinton's attacks on his economic policies until fairly late in the 1992 campaign.
Clearly, the current president's ears have been burning
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