Campaigning and debating have set the tone for American politics in early September.
President Bush started off with his fundraising effort in Florida where he expected to raise more than two-million dollars for his reelection campaign. This will enhance his campaign total above 60-million dollars.
At the two fundraising events, president's brother and Florida governor, Jeb Bush, handled the introductions. He said, among other things, "Imagine what the world would be like had my brother not gotten elected three-years ago, and imagine what the world could be like with his continued leadership for the next four years."
In Baltimore, Maryland, however, the nine Democrats vying to challenge President Bush in November 2004, continued to sharply criticize his handling of Iraq and the war on terrorism.
Prominent among them was Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt who said, "He (President Bush) still has not gotten any money from any other country and any people of appreciable numbers from any other armed forces."
Democratic presidential hopeful and former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives called the president's foreign policy a miserable failure.
On the west coast where all eyes were focused on the upcoming recall election for California governor possibly on October 7, a Republican candidate Peter Ueberroth announced that he has decided to drop out of the race thus leaving two leading Republicans--movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state senator Tom McClintock--who hope to replace Democratic Governor Gray Davis.