An embarassing typo on the tickets to President Bush’s event in Davenport today. The address for the hall where democratic rival John Kerry was speaking was accidentally printed on the tickets to Bush’s outdoor rally. The two candidates are just four blocks from one another. Kerry noted Bush’s nearness when addressing the business people, labor leaders and economic development officials he was speaking with earlier this morning. Kerry says it occured to him that Bush could have attended the Kerry economic summit “for a great discussion about America’s future if he were really willing to just turn the corner.” Around the corner in an outdoor park, Bush addressed supporters just before noon, breaking no new ground in a speech that did not mention his opponent’s presence in the same city. Bush told the crowd he was going to win Iowa in November enroute to a “great victory nationwide.” Bush lost to Al Gore in Iowa back in 2000 by just over four-thousand votes. Polls show Iowa voters are again nearly evenly split between Bush and Kerry this time around. Bush says he was “close in Iowa last time, but not this time.” Bush vowed to “carry” Iowa in November. Bush says there’s only one reason to look back at his record, “to determine who best to lead our nation forward.” Bush says there’s more work to do, and Bush says he’s the candidate who will “lead America forward.” sident” and his goal in a second term would be to make the world more peaceful, a theme Bush has been stressing the past few weeks. Kerry met indoors with a crowd of developers, labor leaders and business-types in Davenport to talk about ways to stimulate the economy. Kerry says “some people have been surprised at the notion of a democrat calling for lower corporate tax rates.” Kerry says he doesn’t care about “the labels,” but cares instead about making the economy strong again. Kerry says as a former business owner, he knows the big difference tax rates make. Kerry says lowering corporate taxes might help keep some companies from taking their operations overseas. Kerry also touted his health care reform plan as means of helping businesses’ bottom line. Kerry says health care costs aren’t just a problem for people finding it difficult or impossible to afford insurance, but insurance premium hikes are an “enormous problem” for businesses. Kerry says the cost of health care is forcing businesses to cut benefits in order to compete with cheaper labor in other countries. Kerry met with national and local business and labor leaders at what the campaign has billed an “economic summit” and the campaign touted a list of big-name business leaders who’ve endorsed his campaign, including Omaha business whiz Warren Buffett.
