BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Republican
presidential candidate George W. Bush points to a
guest at his rally Monday afternoon at the Burbank Airport
Hilton.
By Michael Falcone
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Lifting his camera above his head and the throngs of Republicans
wielding Bush/Cheney signs, John Goihl, a high school senior from
Carlsbad, strained to get a clear shot of the man he wants to be
the next president.
Goihl skipped school and drove nearly 100 miles with three of
his friends to see Texas Gov. George W. Bush at a rally, Monday in
Burbank.
A line of Bush supporters sporting campaign paraphernalia snaked
around the Burbank Airport Hilton for at least a quarter mile.
Hundreds waited to get in to the rally, which featured a
smorgasbord of southland Republicans running for state office, as
well as U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell and Arizona Sen. John
McCain, who is campaigning with Bush in the West.
UC Regent Gerald Parsky, one of Bush’s greatest allies in
the Golden State, also appeared at the rally.
Comedian Ben Stein, who emceed the rally, took every opportunity
to poke fun at Al Gore.
“If Al Gore invented the Internet, how come everything on
the Web begins with “˜www’?” Stein asked.
The Texas governor’s appearance in Burbank was the first
of a three-city, two-day campaign swing through California.
Bush appeared Monday on the “Tonight Show with Jay
Leno” and will attend events in Fresno and San Jose
today.
Bush’s presence in California ““ a state where Vice
President Al Gore still has an edge over Bush ““ sends a clear
message that the Bush campaign is trying to capture the
country’s biggest electoral prize.
Bush said he expects to win the state and stressed that he
understands the concerns of Californians.
“People seem to forget I’m from the West ““
West Texas,” Bush said.
“That ain’t exactly California, but its a heck of a
lot closer to California than Washington, D.C.,” he
added.
Half pep rally leader, half policy proponent, Bush used his 20
minute speech to touch upon the central issues of his campaign:
social security, tax cuts, medicare, education and the
military.
Bush said if elected he would rebuild the military by increasing
the salaries of armed services personnel.
Other speakers at Monday’s rally derided Hollywood
Democrats like Alec Baldwin, who said he would move to another
country if Bush wins Nov. 7.
By their thunderous applause and verbal approbation, the crowd
seemed to support Baldwin’s possible move.
Stein, who used his finger to make a gagging motion at the
mention of Baldwin’s name, also shared his opinion of the Los
Angeles Times, which did not endorse a presidential candidate, but
did come out in support of several Democrats for other public
offices, including Dianne Feinstein for U.S. Senate.
“The Times is great for cleaning up after my dog and cat
but I don’t want it telling me how to vote,” Stein
commented.
Parsky, Bush’s California campaign chairman, introduced
John McCain and also spoke briefly at the rally.
“We’ve been in this campaign for a year and a half
““ from Silicon valley to the central valley,” Parsky
said.
“We Californians are going to elect the next President of
the United States.”