Editorial: Open mind has served Bush well

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

In the same way that President Bush became more open to working with other nations following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, at home he also has been more receptive to the ideas offered by Democrats, an approach that has been serving him well. Bush, for the most part, has wisely acknowledged the need for the federal government to play a more active role in the wake of the terrorist attacks. The conservative Republican president pushed for more government spending to help rebuild New York and improve airline security. And early last week he indicated that while he wanted more tax cuts to stimulate the economy, he also understood the plight of workers who have lost their jobs since the terrorist attacks. For example, Bush has said that laid-off workers should have their unemployment benefits extended by 13 weeks.

The president's conciliatory approach was winning him praise from congressional Democrats. And that caused some Republicans to get worried about his extension of an olive branch. They told the president in a meeting last Thursday at the White House that he shouldn't appear to be too open to Democratic proposals, including those calling for more health insurance assistance for laid-off workers and for more funding for Amtrak. Unfortunately, Bush followed the advice of these conservative Republicans and on Friday seemingly closed the door on the Democratic spending proposals. "In order to stimulate the economy, Congress doesn't need to spend any more money. What they need to do is cut taxes," Bush said.

But not all of Bush's tax cuts would help the economy. The president's plan to accelerate the tax cut passed earlier this year wouldn't necessarily give the economy an immediate boost. That tax cut's benefits would go mainly to the wealthy, which isn't what is needed. More emphasis should be placed on providing tax relief for all Americans, something that the Democrats support and which Bush now appears to be more receptive to. Making sure that all Americans have more money in their pockets to spend would do more to spur the economy than just having the well-off benefit from a tax break.

The president should keep an open mind on economic policy, which has included incorporating worthy Democratic ideas. Bush should offer a package that not only gives businesses the spark they need to recover, but that also helps cushion the blow for employees who have lost their jobs.