June 1, 1999
Web posted at: 2:47 p.m. EDT (1847 GMT)

AUSTIN, Texas (AllPolitics, June 1) -- Touting a "successful and substantive legislative session" which will provide Texans with "better schools and lower taxes," Gov. George W. Bush told reporters Tuesday he is ready to "test the waters" by hitting the campaign trail to see if there is real support behind the polls which mark him as the GOP's presidential front-runner. (280K wav file)

But Bush again dodged the question of whether he was fully committed to a run for the White House, saying "I'm fulling committed to start traveling the country ... I want to look people in the eye and shake their hands and let them know what's on my heart." (244K wav file)

Gov. George W. Bush

"I've had a pretty good indication that behind the polls there's some pretty good support ... but I look forward to start moving around the country and to feel the pulse myself." (148K wav file)

The first leg of Bush's campaign swing in his still-unofficial bid for the 2000 nomination will take him to the key primary and caucus states of New Hampshire and Iowa. (372K wav file)

When asked why he would even consider a run for president, the Texas governor responded: "I want to make sure that we are prosperous in America, but I want to make sure prosperity has a purpose ... prosperity without a purpose is simple materialism." (620K wav file)

Bush avoided the question of a national agenda, saying there will be plenty of time in the summer and the fall for him to lay out his campaign plan for the nation.

And in response to a reporter who asked the governor about what voters who are unfamiliar with anything but Bush's famous family might learn during his travels, Bush explained "I think people know a little bit more about me that you give people credit for."

"They are going to learn ...that I've been the leader of the second largest state in the Union, they'll know that I have set clear goals and worked together with people from both political parties to achieve the goals. I think they are eventually going to learn that I am a tax cutter, that I care about education," Bush said, adding, "I've got a lot of work to do, I know, I understand that. But that's okay, there's time."

Bush has spent the last several months -- since announcing his exploratory committee in early March -- concentrating on his duties as governor.

Although he didn't get everything he wanted out of the legislature in Texas this session, Bush will take with him a record of tax cuts.

On Sunday, the Legislature approve tax cuts worth about $1.85 billion, $800 million less than Bush wanted, but historic none the less.

Many think his record on taxes will help his presidential prospects.

"In a Republican primary, taxes are a great issue. It'll kill you or make you. He's golden on taxes," said Bill Miller, a Texas political consultant said of Bush's two-session total of about $2.85 billion. "He's got bragging rights. He's got real thrust for his presidential campaign."

On another key campaign issue, education, Bush's legislative accomplishments are mixed. The governor was unable to convince the Legislature to accept a school voucher program like the one his brother, Governor Jeb Bush, got from the Florida legislature. And, according to some, he left it to lawmakers to hammer the issue of teacher pay.

Yet, while Bush gained bipartisan approval to require parental notification before minors' abortions, jail juveniles caught with guns and begin deregulation of the electric utility industry, some analysts believe Bush was somewhat cautious this legislative session, aware the country was watching the GOP front-runner closely.

"Well, he is more careful, more cautious. He's protecting a lead. He's very sensitive to the fact that any misstep is going to be magnified a thousand fold," says Professor Bruce Buchanan of the University of Texas.

Still there are some who feel the tax cut issue will overshadow both Bush's other political defeats on lower-profile matters and his critics' complaints.

"It's like (former Texas Longhorns football coach) Darrell Royal used to say about the forward pass: Three things can happen and two of them are bad. Many things can happen in a Legislature. Most of them are bad. Bush got out unscathed," said political consultant Chuck McDonald, a former adviser to former Democratic Gov. Ann Richards.

CNN's Mark Potter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tuesday, June 1, 1999

• Clinton orders youth violence study
• Interview: DNC co-chair urges party toward new political thinking
• Buchanan pounds GOP rivals on foreign policy
• Bush ready to 'test the waters'
• Sources: Gore to announce candidacy on June 16
• Coffin used to transport Kennedy's body sunk at sea
• Alabama to consider ending ban on interracial marriages
• Appeals court reinstates charge against Hubbell
• Analysis: Casting stones on China spy reports

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