President George W. Bush kicked off a multi-state campaign swing in August 2004 with Arizona Senator John McCain accompanying him through Florida, a state carrying outsized political significance after Bush's razor-thin 537-vote victory over Al Gore there in 2000.
The two men appeared together in Pensacola and other stops along Florida's western panhandle, a traditionally Republican stronghold. McCain, known for occasionally breaking with the White House on issues such as tax cuts, was seen as a draw for moderate and independent voters. Bush called the senator a figure of honor and integrity.
Recent polling showed Democratic nominee John Kerry holding a narrow lead in Florida, whose 27 electoral votes represent roughly a tenth of those needed to win the presidency. Bush urged his supporters to actively recruit moderate Democrats and independents to his cause.
On policy, Bush said the country should give serious consideration to replacing the income tax with a national sales tax. He also pressed Kerry on Iraq, seizing on the senator's admission that he would still have voted to authorize the invasion even with current knowledge. Bush framed that statement as confirmation that the March 2003 decision to remove Saddam Hussein had been correct.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.