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TAMARA LUSHAs the president talks of optimism, especially if Congress makes his tax cuts permanent, Democrats denounce his record.
TAMPA - Brushing aside concerns about the record federal deficit, President Bush defended his tax cuts Monday during a town hall meeting at a window factory that has bucked national trends and added workers.
While his poll numbers have declined under a withering attack from Democratic presidential candidates, Bush told 600 screaming, cheering people that the economy is recovering from a period of fear and uncertainty.
"The truth of the matter is, people are pretty upbeat all over the country," Bush said. "That's what I'm here to report to you. There's an optimism in our country that is undeniable."
His message was clear: The economy is good, thanks to his tax cuts. The subtext also was clear: The economy will get better only if Congress makes the tax cuts permanent and Bush is re-elected.
Democrats, from presidential candidate John Kerry to Florida Sen. Bob Graham to Tampa Rep. Jim Davis, whose district Bush visited, criticized Bush's record.
"President Bush's failed economic policies have resulted in the loss of 3-million jobs and the biggest surpluses in history turned into the biggest deficits," said Kerry, the Democratic front-runner.
Davis said he was invited to the president's stop at NuAir Manufacturing, but declined because he considered it a campaign event. "This was the president's day to promote his re-election," Davis said.
Technically, it was an official presidential visit, paid for by taxpayers, so Bush could hold a "conversation on the economy." The mayors of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Seminole attended. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said a scheduling conflict kept her away.
About half the crowd was NuAir employees. The rest were local Republicans and their friends.
Bush first donned plastic safety glasses and toured the factory floor, where workers busily cleaned windows as the president shook hands.
One worker, Sonia Varona, hugged the president and teared up as he said hello to her in Spanish.
"I love you," Varona said, pressing her face into his blue suit jacket.
After the 10-minute tour, Bush sat on a makeshift stage near the production floor, a bank of bright lights illuminating the stage for television.
Smooth jazz spilled out of loudspeakers and signs that said "Strengthening America's Economy" were draped around the stage. Bush introduced his wife, Laura, and several Republican members of Congress, including Katherine Harris, who played a pivotal role as Florida's secretary of state during the disputed 2000 election.
The president was flanked by five people who gave upbeat testimonials about his economic policies.
"There's a lot of people like me, they're glad to receive the tax relief," said Noemi Gonzalez, a NuAir accounting clerk. She credited the president's tax cuts for giving her and and her family an extra $2,400 she will use for her children's college education and a Texas vacation.
"That may not sound like a lot to some people in Washington, $2,400," Bush replied. "It's a lot of money. It's a lot of security. It's a lot of hope."
He also heard from three small-business owners from Tampa: Connie Horner, president of NuAir; Sam Leto of Tampa Brass and Aluminum Corp.; and Kevin Govin of Mark Master, a rubber stamp company.
All said tax cuts have allowed them to invest in new equipment and hire additional workers. NuAir has hired 100 new employees since 9/11.
"Mr. President, we have to keep this tax cut," said Leto, chairman of the company.
Bush warned that if Congress does not heed his call to make the tax cuts permanent, taxes will increase. "You hear people in Washington saying, "Oh, let's not make the tax cuts permanent.' When you hear somebody say that, they're saying: "We're going to tax you. We're going to raise your taxes.' "
Bush, who has given four speeches on his economic record in the past three weeks in other key election year states, also told the crowd not to worry about the projected $521-billion federal deficit. "Listen, we've got money in government," he said. "The fact that there's more money in your pockets has made this economy strong. And that's where we need to keep it."
Some 45 demonstrators stood across Anderson Road about a half-block from NuAir's entrance. A roughly equal number of Bush supporters and Bush detractors shared the same narrow strip of grass. They yelled at the empty street and long row of impassive motorcycle cops.
Bush spent Sunday night at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Tampa, leaving for NuAir shortly after 8 a.m. He left Tampa aboard Air Force One about 10:15 a.m. Traffic on Interstate 275 and the Veterans Expressway was snarled intermittently all morning.
It was Bush's 19th visit to Florida since being elected and his fifth to Tampa.
As Bush was leaving Tampa, Graham held a conference call with reporters in which he blamed the president's economic policies for 19,000 lost jobs in the Tampa area since he took office.
Graham said Bush's economic policies have three elements: tax cuts for the wealthy, a legislative assault on overtime pay and overseas "outsourcing" of U.S. jobs. Graham, whose call was organized by the Kerry campaign, said the result is 3-million lost jobs.
One Tampa company a few miles from NuAir symbolizes the outsourcing trend Democrats complained about.
Tropical Sportswear, an apparelmaker, has shifted more than half its cutting room work to offshore contractors where labor is cheaper.
In the Tampa Bay area alone, Graham said, hundreds of workers have been laid off by the closing of some Kmart stores, by cutbacks in US Airways staff and the closing of two Fingerhut mail order facilities.
The president did not visit any of those companies, Graham pointed out, choosing instead a company whose management agrees with his policies.
"The president has a tendency to go into a community, pick a place where he'll get a good response, declare victory and go home," the senator said.
- Times staff writers Sara Fritz and Chris Goffard contributed to this report. Tamara Lush can be reached at 727 893-8612 or at lush@sptimes.com