Bush lauds Forrester in Trenton, aiming to regain Senate majority

TRENTON — President Bush brought national attention to the New Jersey Senate race yesterday, stopping in Trenton to speak at a fundraiser for Republican candidate Doug Forrester.

His visit began at Trenton-Mercer Airport, where the University's College Republicans joined an enthusiastic mass of flag-waving school children, national guardsmen and war veterans in greeting him as he descended Air Force One.

Bush's visit, however, was more than just a patriotic rally. His appearance may play a crucial role in deciding what has become one of the nation's closest Senate races, and ultimately, which party will control the chamber this November.

Recent polls have Forrester running in a dead heat with incumbent Democrat Robert Torricelli, who has been dogged by allegations of misconduct. The Senate Ethics Committee issued Torricelli a reprimand in July for accepting improper gifts from a campaign donor, turning what many expected to be an easy win for Torricelli into a neck-and-neck race.

Bush's visit also drew members of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action, which organized a protest outside the fundraiser at the Sovereign Bank Arena, where Bush made his second stop.

"I'm here to talk about how best to make America a stronger country, a safer country and a better country for all of us," Bush told the crowd at Trenton-Mercer Airport.

Without going into details or covering much new ground, Bush focused on many of the initiatives he has been pushing in the past few weeks, including a permanent tax cut, an energy bill and terrorism insurance.

Bush expressed harsh criticism for the Democratic-controlled Senate, which he lambasted for approving an insufficiently flexible version of the new Department of Homeland Security. Progress on the legislation has been bogged down in a debate over civil service protections, with Democrats pushing for more limits on the hiring and firing of employees.

Bush said he would not accept any legislation that does not give him sufficient authority to manage employees of the new department.

"I will not saddle this administration and future administrations with allowing the United States Senate to micro-manage the process. The enemy is too quick for that," he said.

Homeland security emerged repeatedly in Bush's speech, often in black and white terms.

"I had made it clear to the world that either you're with us or you're with the enemy, and that doctrine still stands," he said.

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Bush also called on the United Nations to pass strong new resolutions against Iraq, stressing his willingness to act unilaterally if the United Nations refuses to take action.

"If they wouldn't act, the United States will," Bush said. "We will not allow the world's worst leaders to threaten us with the world's worst weapons."

As Bush pressed for action against Iraq in his speech inside the Sovereign Bank Arena several Princeton graduate students and at least one University staff member were across the street protesting his policies towards Iraq.

Zia Mian, a Wilson School researcher who spoke at the protest, criticized Bush for rewarding allies and attacking enemies without regard for international law.

"That's basically the ethical structure of a gangster," Mian said. "That's not the way a civilized society and democracy works."

Mian said the support for war had emerged without properly sustained public debate, forcing citizens to protest and call for a restoration of democratic processes.

College Republicans Vice President Evan Baehr '05 had a more positive reaction to Bush's remarks. "I think Bush coming to New Jersey sort of reveals some of the national attention that's being put on New Jersey because of the Forrester race," Baehr said.

The Forrester fundraiser drew more than 3,000 people and raised $1.5 million, said Tom Rubino, press secretary for the Forrester campaign.

"We obviously wanted the president here to show New Jersey that he's committed to this race, that he's committed to New Jersey and to Doug Forrester specifically," Rubino said. "Clearly we met that goal in bringing the national eyes onto this race and onto Doug Forrester."

Torricelli campaign manager Ken Snyder described the Bush visit as generic. "The President doesn't really care whether Doug Forrester gets elected per se," Snyder said. "He just wants another warm body to vote for his plans to privatize social security and appoint anti-choice justices to the Supreme Court."