Top aides to Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush briefed senior House and Senate Republican staffers in a closed meeting Nov. 23 on the status of the campaign. They emphasized that senator John McCain does not pose a threat to the Texas governor in the New Hampshire primary. "The purpose of the meeting was to convince everybody that Bush is going to win the primary," says an attendee, "and to assuage any feeling there might be that McCain is going to sneak up and creep in."
Recent polls have shown the Arizona senator within kicking distance of Bush in New Hampshire. But these Bush campaign aides -- political director Maria Cino, deputy campaign director Mark Lampkin, and press aides Ari Fleischer and Mindy Tucker -- argued that McCain's Achilles' heel is his acceptance of federal matching funds. Because of this, he is limited to spending roughly $ 650,000 in New Hampshire, of which he has already spent $ 250,000. Bush, on the other hand, has refused federal funds and may spend as much as he wants. He also enjoys the support of the state's political establishment, the Bushies stressed.
In response to a question, Cino said it would be up to the House Republican leadership to retain control of that chamber. But the aides did say that after meeting his own fund-raising goal, Bush would raise money for the party and campaign for candidates in close races.
That goal, by the way, is astonishingly ambitious. The team of aides said the Bush "corporation" -- their nickname for various campaign, special interest, and grass-roots groups -- is expected to amass a staggering $ 250 million to $ 300 million for use in the 2000 election. A bit of that will be used for the new television ads unveiled at the meeting. The ads focus on "restoring integrity to the White House," the military, and Bush's record on education and tax cuts while governor. Attendees tell THE SCRAPBOOK this appeared to be only the tip of the iceberg. "It was very clear that they are going to spend a huge percentage on television and mail and getting the message out," said an aide to a Texas congressman.
Team Bush also said that their candidate will be delivering a major economic speech in December. "It's my impression that this stuff is less actual information and more a function of the Bush campaign just doing the dance to make the rank-and-file Republicans think they're responsive to their needs," said another congressional aide. "But it's the smart thing to do. It's just doing what they ought to be doing."