Kerry fans host front-porch talks Michaud, former Clinton official, others blast Bush on economy

HAMPDEN – It was just another sunny, late summer Tuesday morning around the patio set at the home of and Chris and Shannon Cox.

Typical, that is, had it not been for the television cameras, the congressman, the former Clinton administration official and the protesters.

Economics was the talk over coffee at the Cox’s house Tuesday, specifically the failed policies of the Bush administration, according to Clinton administration official Jack Lew, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Lew blamed Bush’s massive tax cuts and the growing deficit for creating instability in what had been a sound economy under the Clinton administration.

“You look at the federal deficit growing and growing and it gives you no sense of confidence the future’s going to be more stable than it is now,” Lew told the small group, which included 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mike Michaud.

The so-called “front porch” meetings, which have become a staple of Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign, came to this Bangor suburb in the midst of the Massachusetts Democrat’s two-week focus on the economy.

The meetings, which double as media events, feature Kerry campaign officials discussing issues and fielding questions from a handful of supporters at a private home. Similar meetings, also focusing on the economy, were held Tuesday in Lewiston and Presque Isle.

The front porch forums also appear to be part of a focus on the northern congressional district, which is generally considered more competitive than the southern district, where Kerry holds a substantial lead over Bush, based on recent polls.

While much of the talk leading up to next week’s Republican National Convention has been about Kerry’s Vietnam-era military service records, the Democrat’s campaign officials say they believe they can effectively criticize the Bush administration on its domestic agenda.

But the Bush campaign has been quick to counter what they call the “gloom and doom” economic forecasts by the Kerry camp in the past week, citing improving July job numbers in Maine as an indication the economy is rebounding.

“[It] is confirmation that the president’s economic leadership is paying great dividends,” Peter Cianchette, the Bush campaign’s Maine chairman, said of last week’s news that Maine added 1,400 jobs in July. “This new layer of economic news combined with our low unemployment rate, record-breaking homeownership and consumer confidence levels is good news.”

Bush supporters also cite Maine’s lower than average unemployment rate as good news, a rate Michaud said is misleading because it doesn’t include all those displaced workers whose benefits were not extended under the current administration.

Those at the Hampden roundtable, which drew a handful of protesters carrying Bush-Cheney signs, also criticized the new overtime rules that took effect Monday.

Labor Department officials say the new rules, long sought after by employers, provide clarity on who is eligible for overtime pay. Critics say the new rules are intended to cut employers’ costs by reducing the number of eligible workers.