Hauntings, Visions

Scouts stand on the roof of a truck. Kids clamber up the sides of idle railroad cars for a view. It might be the most fervent GOP campaign event since John McCain’s crowds in New Hampshire. From the top of a double-decker car with huge windows as the Bush train pulls in, one reporter skeptical of Bush can’t help marveling at the tightly packed crowd, tinged with the blue of Bush signs: “Look at that!”

The security of Bush’s base makes it easier for him to reach out to independents and Democrats. Gone are the days in South Carolina when Bush disavowed even having anything to say to Democrats. In Durand, he’s introduced by a member of UAW Local 659 whose father introduced JFK at a Flint, Mich., tally 40 years ago. “This is a campaign that welcomes Democrats,” Bush enthuses after the introduction. “Our message isn’t just a Republican message.

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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Scouts stand on the roof of a truck. Kids clamber up the sides of idle railroad cars for a view. It might be the most fervent GOP campaign event since John McCain’s crowds in New Hampshire. From the top of a double-decker car with huge windows as the Bush train pulls in, one reporter skeptical of Bush can’t help marveling at the tightly packed crowd, tinged with the blue of Bush signs: “Look at that!”

The security of Bush’s base makes it easier for him to reach out to independents and Democrats. Gone are the days in South Carolina when Bush disavowed even having anything to say to Democrats. In Durand, he’s introduced by a member of UAW Local 659 whose father introduced JFK at a Flint, Mich., tally 40 years ago. “This is a campaign that welcomes Democrats,” Bush enthuses after the introduction. “Our message isn’t just a Republican message.