CINCINNATI – President Bush raised money for the Republican Party and promoted his agenda of compassionate conservatism Monday as he and his Democratic rival focus on a key state in their battle for the White House.
In his 18th presidential trip to Ohio, Bush told supporters at an alcohol and drug addiction services center of the need to strengthen American families by promoting traditional marriage.
Using taxpayers’ money to encourage marriage is “one of the smartest things we can do,” Bush said from a makeshift stage in a converted gymnasium-auditorium.
Bush’s Healthy Marriage Initiative would offer premarital counseling to parents on welfare in a proposal the White House developed in close consultation with conservative groups. Tying the concept of healthier marriages to reducing drug use and other problems, the Bush administration wants to spend $1.5 billion over five years on the effort. It is part of welfare legislation passed last year by the House and pending in the Senate.
Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry campaigned last week in Ohio, promoting a proposed federal program that would pay to keep schools open until early evening to help working parents. Kerry also raised $2 million at two events in Cincinnati and Columbus.
On Monday, Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said Bush has had more than three years to focus on the problems of families, saying he “looked the other way” while health costs, gasoline prices and other household expenses hit record highs.
The national furor over gay marriage has complicated the task of officials and civic leaders who are trying to energize support for Bush’s proposal to promote stronger marriages among heterosexuals.
Some groups contend the marriage program could discriminate against single women, pressure some into abusive marriages and convey that they should find a husband rather than seek self-sufficiency. Gay-rights activists are angry that Bush would request funds to aid heterosexual couples while advocating a ban on same-sex marriages.
Bush also was attending a $25,000-a-per couple fund-raiser at the home of longtime friend Bill DeWitt, a prominent investor.
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