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Bush, in Iowa, Urges Patience in War Effort and Reform of Pension Plans

By: Elisabeth Bumiller
The New York Times, March 2, 2002

Des Moines, March 1 - President Bush brushed off criticism today from Senator Tom Daschle, the Democratic majority leader, who has said that the United States will have failed in its war on terror if Osama bin Laden is not found.

"I think most Americans understand that it's going to — it's going to take awhile to achieve all our objectives," Mr. Bush said in a brief question-and-answer session with reporters here before speaking on pension reform and appearing at a fund-raiser for a Republican congressman.

Mr. Daschle, who has not ruled out a presidential bid in 2004, joined other Democrats this week in saying that the administration appeared to be expanding its war on terrorism without clearly explaining its goals.

Mr. Bush, who did not mention Mr. Daschle by name, said as he has before that his campaign against terrorism had a larger target than one person, and that patience would bring rewards.

"What Osama bin Laden has got to understand, if we haven't already gotten him — I don't know where he is — but I think he now understands that this patient and determined nation is going to hunt him down, that he can't hide long enough."

Mr. Bush was in Iowa on one of his now-regular political trips, this one to campaign for Representative Tom Latham, a Republican who is in a difficult re-election campaign.

Mr. Latham is facing a strong Democratic candidate, John Norris of Ames, as well as a primary challenge, all in an area that has become far less Republican because of redistricting.

"This is an accomplished man and a smart man who has got the interest of his district in his heart," Mr. Bush said at a lunchtime fund-raiser for Mr. Latham, "and it makes a lot of sense if you care about the future of Iowa — forget political party, if you care about the future of Iowa — to send this good man back to Washington, D.C., come November."

The event raised $275,000 for Mr. Latham's campaign and $200,000 for the Iowa Republican Party.

This was Mr. Bush's fourth trip to Iowa since becoming president, a sign that he is campaigning not only to retain Republican control of the House of Representatives in 2002 but for his own re-election in 2004. Mr. Bush lost Iowa to Al Gore in 2000 by a little more than 4,000 votes out of 1.3 million cast, and it is on the list of target states that the White House thinks Mr. Bush can win next time.

To that end, Mr. Bush spoke again today on an issue of concern to Iowa's older voters, retirement security and pension fund reform. In a speech to workers and others at a Des Moines company, The Printer Inc., he promoted his plan to allow employees more freedom in their 401(k) retirement accounts, a proposal he first made in January as a reaction to the collapse of Enron Corporation. The collapse nearly wiped out the retirement savings of thousands of employees.

Mr. Bush did not mention Enron by name but left no doubt about what company was on his mind.

"I also am deeply concerned about pension plan abuse," Mr. Bush said. "I'm worried about what's taking place, what we've seen in the newspapers here in America."

The president added "we need to make sure that workers don't lose everything if their company were to fail."

Mr. Bush said employees that should be free to sell any stock their company contributes to their retirement plans after three years, and that if a company had a so-called "blackout" period when employees could not access their retirement accounts, executives should be under the same restrictions.

A number of top Enron executives made millions of dollars in company stock sales at a time when lower- level employees were prevented from making transactions.

"If the boss sells, so should everybody else," Mr. Bush said to applause. "And if everybody else can't sell, the boss doesn't get to sell."

Mr. Bush spent a little more than three hours in Iowa. By 4 p.m., he was on a helicopter headed for a weekend at Camp David.

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