BUSH URGES TAX CUTS, FARM AID; 'THE PRESIDENT OUGHT TO CUT THE TAXES,' HE SAYS

Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush touted tax cuts and farm aid during his campaign visit to Cape Girardeau Thursday.

He told a crowd of more than 300 supporters at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port near Scott City that the nation can afford to save Social Security, strengthen Medicare, build up the military and cut taxes.

Of President Clinton he said, "I think the president ought to cut the taxes."

Bush said the federal government can afford the $790 million tax-cut bill passed by Congress last week. He said tax cuts would keep government from growing and encourage economic growth.

Clinton has threatened to veto the Republican bill, but Bush said that would be a mistake. "Mr. President, don't veto the bill," he said.

Bush, who spent Wednesday night at the Drury Suites hotel in Cape Girardeau, arrived at the port in a small motorcade of cars about 10 a.m. Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson traveled with the 53-year-old Bush from his hotel to the port.

Bush spent about an hour and a half at the port and then attended a luncheon fund raiser at the home of Cape Girardeau eye surgeon Dr. Charles Cozean.

Bush flew out of the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport early Thursday afternoon bound for a campaign stop in Springfield, Ill.

At the Southeast Missouri Regional Port, Bush toured Riverport Terminals grain-bagging plant before speaking outside to a crowd of farmers and other supporters. Many in the crowd were seated on bales of straw that ringed the site.

He said the nation's farmers need emergency aid to survive the drought and poor farm exports. Government needs to provide the aid quickly rather than leaving it stalled in federal bureaucracy in Washington, he said.

Bush wants to boost farm exports, which he sees as the long-range solution to the ailing farm economy. He opposes trade sanctions that ban the sale of food to foreign nations. Agriculture, he said, shouldn't be used as a "negotiating chip."

If elected president, Bush said he would push to get other nations to open their markets to American agriculture products.

"We ought to be selling Missouri products in China," Bush told reporters at the conclusion of his port visit.

Preaching his brand of compassionate conservatism, the Texas governor talked of ushering in a new era of responsibility. He singled out faith-based organizations for their success in helping those in need.

Government can hand out money, but it can't provide hope or sense of purpose in people's lives, said Bush.

Bush singled out Sikeston state Rep. Peter Myers' Adopt-A-Farm-Family program for its efforts to pray for and assist troubled farmers. The program has touched more than 11,000 farm families over the past 10 years, Myers said.

Bush said he wants to be president so he can help all Americans succeed. "I am running because I want our nation to be prosperous in the 21st century."

He said he opposes abortion and would support a constitutional amendment to ban abortions except in cases involving the life of the mother, rape or incest.

Bush said the nation needs a president and Congress who will "blow the whistle on failure" when it comes to education.

In Texas, he said, 38,000 third-graders were promoted to fourth grade even though they flunked the reading test.

Bush said his administration blew the whistle on the practice of social promotion in Texas schools.

"I do not support the federalization of education in America," Bush told the crowd. "I support local control of public schools."

All children, he said, need a solid education.

"There are no second-rate children in America, and there are no second-rate dreams," he said.

If elected president, Bush said he would appoint conservative judges who would strictly interpret the Constitution.