Bush to broaden debate with attack on Kerry 145;ideology146;

Kerry, as signaled by his dismissive rejection of political 8216;8216;labels8217;8217; at last Friday8217;s debate, aims to blur ideological distinctions and focus as concretely as possible on his individual proposals. Bush8217;s goal, in short, is to aggregate the choice voters face into a single referendum on government8217;s size and scope, while Kerry wants to separate the debate into sparring over his ideas 8212;8212; and Bush8217;s record 8212;8212; on key domestic issues.

8216;8216;The debate will see a contrast between discrete issues vs a larger governing philosophy,8216;8216; said the senior GOP strategist. 8216;8216;Our strongest ground is talking about the golden thread that runs through John Kerry8217;s record, which we would say shows that he8217;s a liberal. His is saying, 8216;I reject labels, and I deal with these issues discretely.8217; I think that8217;s what you can expect.8217;8217; Kerry aides see the encounter 8212; the last of three between the candidates 8212; in similar terms.

One senior Kerry aide said the campaign says its best chance of blunting Bush8217;s drive to portray the Democrat as a 8216;8216;big government8217;8217; liberal is to flesh out his specific plans. That would contrast with Kerry8217;s responses in last Friday8217;s debate, when he spent more time telling voters he had a plan than explaining it to them. 8216;8216;If people get a sense of what Kerry is going to do, they are less likely to believe he is a big tax-and-spender,8217;8217; said the adviser.

Bush enters this debate on difficult terrain. For one thing, he must defend an assortment of economic and social trends that offer tempting targets for Kerry. Although the economy has added jobs for 15 consecutive months, Bush remains likely to become the first president since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression to suffer a net loss of jobs over his term. Also, since Bush took office, the number of Americans without health insurance and the number in poverty have increased by 13 percent and 14 percent, respectively. And the cost of health insurance premiums has risen by 59 percent, while the median family income has slightly declined.

All these numbers present Bush with a conundrum, GOP and Democratic analysts agree. Like any incumbent, he wants to accentuate positive trends. But as he does, Kerry is prepared to argue that Bush won8217;t solve problems facing the country because he won8217;t acknowledge them 8212;8212; an increasing refrain from the senator.

The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll showed Kerry scored better than Bush on nine of 10 domestic issues surveyed, including health care, Medicare, education and the economy. Bush led only on taxes. Yet Republicans are upbeat about Bush8217;s prospects in Wednesday night8217;s debate because he has settled on a strategy intended to reduce these vulnerabilities while challenging Kerry.

Aides say as he defends his record, Bush aims to pivot as quickly as possible toward his plans for the future 8212;8212; and to do so in a way that funnels the argument over specific issues into the more sweeping question of the role of government. It is an article of faith among Bush strategists 8212;8212; and many Democrats 8212;8212; that the broader and more ideological the choice for voters, the better Republicans fare. 8212; LAT-WP