DES MOINES, April 15 -- President Bush used Thursday's deadline for filing income tax returns to argue anew for a permanent extension of the $1.7 trillion in tax cuts he pushed through Congress -- and to press the case that his economic policies are helpful to rural America.
"Now is not the time to be raising taxes on hardworking people," Bush said. "With this economy growing strong and getting stronger, we don't need to raise the tax burden."
The White House released a raft of statistics intended to demonstrate that the administration's tax policies are responsible for a record number of Americans who will receive refunds this year, and that the refunds are larger than they otherwise would have been. The Internal Revenue Service says the average tax refund increased 5 percent this year to $2,090.
Bush is seeking to extend the tax reductions as his likely Democratic opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), is basing his candidacy partly on the argument that the administration's tax policies have benefited the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
In an uncustomary touch, Bush drew attention to U.S. casualties in Iraq in a pointed way, quoting an Iowa father who recently buried his son, a Marine. Typically in his speeches, Bush refers broadly to military sacrifice, and he has not attended the funeral of any of the nearly 700 U.S. troops killed in Iraq.
But here, with the conflict escalating -- 92 U.S. troops have been killed this month, the deadliest month since the Iraqi conflict began 13 months ago -- Bush cited the father of Lance Cpl. Ben Carman, of Jefferson, Iowa. He quoted Carman's father as saying that his son "knew that America was in danger, and it was time for guys like him to step up to the plate." Bush expressed "deepest sympathies" to the family, saying, "I know how incredibly difficult it is for them to put their loved one into the ground."
"The situation on the ground, I readily concede, is tough work," Bush said. "We will stay the course in Iraq so his son did not die in vain."
His two-hour visit marked the second time Bush has stopped in Iowa on tax day. Two years ago, he visited Cedar Rapids, and argued then, as he did here, that Congress should make permanent several tax reductions enacted at his request that are scheduled to expire in the next several years.
In particular, Bush singled out taxes on agricultural property, citing a ninth-generation Iowa farmer who the president said believed that the gradual elimination of the estate tax has helped ensure he will be able to pass his land to his children. "The death tax is bad for rural America, and Congress needs to make it extinct forever," Bush said.
Speaking at a symposium on the rural economy, Bush honed his economic message to appeal to a rural audience. He touted his open-trade policies, saying that "we are really good at growing things, and we ought to be selling things that we grow, everywhere around the world." He promoted his energy plan, part of which would foster the use of ethanol, a fuel made from corn, one of Iowa's main crops.
The trip was classified as part of Bush's official duties, not a campaign event. Iowa is one of the midwestern states that both political parties consider battlegrounds in the Nov. 2 election. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) reportedly is among those Kerry is considering as possible running mates.
In 2000, Bush lost Iowa to Vice President Al Gore by fewer than 5,000 votes. The Bush-Cheney '04 campaign has been airing political ads here in recent weeks. The president last visited Iowa 17 months ago, two days before the November 2002 midterm elections.
Earlier this week, a group of Democratic state legislators gathered on the steps of the State Capitol here to complain that Iowa has lost manufacturing jobs and experienced a rapid rise in health care costs during Bush's presidency.
On Thursday, Bush touted the state's unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, noting that it was better than the national average. Still, the most recent state economic figures reveal a more mixed picture. The unemployment rate and the number of non-farm jobs have improved slightly. But jobs here are less plentify than when Bush took office, and manufacturing jobs have continued to disappear.
