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SENATE REPORT '02 MISSOURI: RUB A LITTLE BIT OF
THAT POPULARITY ON ME, WILL YA?
The following piece appeared in The Hotline on Tuesday, January
15, 2002. This article is from Vol. 10, No. 9 of The Hotline
and is property of American Political Network, Inc.
Springfield News Leader's Deslatte writes on 1/14, When
Pres. Bush and ex-Rep. Jim Talent (R) "meet in Springfield and
Aurora ... they again will be keying in on mutual goals --
Bush's desire to pick up a crucial Senate seat in Missouri, and
Talent's aim to fill it." The WH's "official reasoning for
visiting the MFA feed mill in Aurora" is for "promoting" the
Bush's "economic security agenda, but the stop also has
political importance for Talent." MO GOP chair Mel Hancock:
"It's very good for Jim Talent, him stopping here." MO "clearly
is a very important state this year, and was a very important
part of" Bush's WH 2000 election. The "real battleground for
statewide elections" in MO "tends to be in" KC and St. Louis,
where Dems "traditionally carry voters. But history says
Talent," who lost his 2000 MO GOV bid by some 22K votes, "will
need to shore up his" GOP base in SW MO "to pose a serious
threat" to Sen. Jean Carnahan (D).
MU poly-sci prof/'92 GOP House candidate Rick Hardy: "I
think Jim Talent's going to need some help at the top. Coming
here gives the imprimatur to (Talent's) race. It creates a sense
of legitimacy." Given Bush's post-9/11 "popularity, standing
next to the man at appearances make sense, many say," noting
that Bush's "expected speech on the need for Congress to pass an
economic security package" could give Talent "a wedge issue"
(1/14).