State GOP discusses ideas for re-election of Bush

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri Republicans were enthusiastically optimistic at their party's state convention Saturday about President George W. Bush's chances for winning a second term. However, they acknowledged the effort to again secure the state's 11 electoral votes for the president won't be easy.

Delegate Shelley Keeney of Marble Hill said Republicans must maintain their enthusiasm throughout the long campaign and convince independent voters that Bush and the GOP agenda better reflect their interests than the Democrats and their nominee, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Missouri is one of a handful of presidential battleground states and is viewed as a must-win for both Bush and Kerry.

Although he believes the president has done an excellent job and will win Missouri in November, Jim Vernon, a delegate from rural Butler County, said Bush does have some obstacles to overcome, particularly as public concern mounts about his handling of the Iraq war.

"The Iraq situation just seems to be kind of muddled," Vernon said. "It doesn't seem to be moving in any specific direction. He's got to get that thing squared away."

Marc Racicot, the president's national campaign chairman, addressed the convention and said the party must emphasize the achievements of the Bush administration. One message that gets lost, Racicot said, is that the economy is strongly rebounding.

"One of our large jobs is to make sure that we get the right information to the people of this country so they can make a good judgment about the performance of the president," Racicot said.

More than 1,000 Republicans attended the state convention.

Bush will formally receive the GOP nomination at the Republican National Convention, which will be held in New York from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2.

Missouri will send 57 voting delegates and 54 alternates to the national convention.

Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson is part of the slate of 27 at-large delegates to New York that the state convention approved by acclamation. The slate was chosen by state party leaders, as was the list of 27 alternate at-large delegates, which includes Lloyd Smith of Sikeston and Rex Rust of Cape Girardeau. Rust is co-president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian.

The remaining national delegates were selected earlier this year from each of Missouri's nine congressional districts. The delegates from the 8th District include Karmen Foster of Poplar Bluff. Francis Hulshof of Portageville was picked as an alternate.

The convention also endorsed the state party's official platform, which reaffirms traditional Republican positions such as opposition to abortion rights and support for gun ownership rights. The platform also urges passage of the proposed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only between a man and a woman. Voters will decide the issue during the Aug. 3 primary elections.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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