The Love Him, Hate Him President

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But characteristically, Rove and his untimid President want to play for all the marbles. They have increased Republican Party registrations, especially in the South and key battleground states, and boast of "hiving off" chunks of Democrats into their camp. What Rove is looking for is something Bush did not get in the last election: a mandate. They are already laying plans for the ambitious things they want to do in a second term--Social Security overhaul, tax reform, Medicare restructuring and even more tax cuts.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

You can argue whether Bush is a product of a divisive time in which he happens to be President or whether he's the instigator of it--whether he is the cause or the effect, the prime mover or the principal bystander. It's an old debate: Does history make the man or does the man make history?

The answer, as the wise philosopher always says, is, of course, both. Bush is the latest in a line of polarizing Presidents as well as the President who through his personality and policies has cleaved a land of already divided loyalties. But it is clear that in his quest for a second term, Bush is seeking to be the beneficiary of an America separated into two opposing camps. By default or design, the Democrats are mirroring this tactic. It's an ancient strategy: divide and conquer. How voters react will help determine whether those Elite Force Aviator dolls will still be selling at Christmas 2004 or languishing on eBay. --With reporting by Pat Dawson/Billings, Jeanne DeQuine/Miami, Mitch Frank/New York, Noah Isackson/Chicago, Betsy Rubiner/Des Moines, Joseph R. Szczesny/Detroit and Sonja Steptoe/Los Angeles

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