Bush Goes After 'NASCAR Dads' in Reelection Effort

[stratoman]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040213/pl_nm/campaign_bush_nascar_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) will woo this year's political in-group, "NASCAR (news - web sites) dads," with a visit to Florida on Sunday to attend the Daytona 500, the showcase race of the stock car circuit.

Bush, who is to participate in the race's opening ceremonies, will be seeking the attention of the estimated 75 million Americans who follow the sport.

Some political strategists view NASCAR fans as emblematic of a major bloc of swing voters in this year's presidential campaign -- culturally conservative family men whose middle class status is threatened by a shaky jobs market.

"It's a natural constituency for us," Republican strategist Charlie Black said. "The challenge is to get 'em out to vote ... you want to show up where they are as much as you can."

The Republican party has opened a voter registration booth at Daytona, hoping to snag some of the expected 400,000 to 500,000 race fans in a state expected to be one of the hardest-fought of this year's presidential election.

The White House invited defending Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip to answer questions on its Internet site on Friday. Referring to Bush's visit, he said, "The fans are going to love it. The media will love it ... trust me on this one."

Stock-car racing has roots in the rural South, where legendary moonshine runners souped up their cars to evade police and raced for sport, but it has gone big-time with major corporate sponsors, a polished image and a global audience.

Democrats see an affiliation with stock car racing as a way to recapture the loyalties of Southern whites, who have increasingly voted Republican for decades.

SPONSORED CARS

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (news - web sites) has sponsored a NASCAR racer as part of his Democratic presidential nomination run. Florida Sen. Bob Graham and South Carolina Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) have also sponsored race cars as part of presidential bids.

"NASCAR is an advertising medium and it helps you get through to the culture where people will listen to your message," said Democratic consultant David "Mudcat" Saunders.

Saunders used stock car racing as part of a non-traditional appeal to rural voters that helped Virginia Democrat Mark Warner win the governorship for his party in 2001, for the first time in a generation.

"If we get through the culture wall ... then we can talk about issues that mean something to people, like health care (or) the environment," he said. "Bubba (the stereotypical southern male) doesn't want his trees killed and his streams ruined any more than anybody else."

He saw Bush's Daytona 500 trip as a reaction to Democratic inroads. "He's covering his flank," Saunders said.

Earlier this week, Bush visited another symbolic shrine of Southern white males -- the flagship store of the Bass Pro Shops chain, in Springfield, Missouri. No, he wasn't fishing for votes, he said, just picking up some gear,

Republican consultant Scott Reed dismissed suggestions Bush was threatened among so-called NASCAR dads. "This isn't about shoring anything up -- this is Bush," he said.

He said Bush's campaign theme as a leader against terrorism would appeal to NASCAR fans, but acknowledged many were also probably worried about jobs.

The "NASCAR dads" may be getting the buzz, but women comprise a large share of the fan base and may be the true swing vote, Saunders said. "Forty percent of NASCAR fans are women. They become soccer moms on Monday."

[88Comrade2000]

Wonder what kind of kid do you get when a nascar dad marries a soccer mom? Hmmmmm.

A demopublican? A republocrat?

[Jimbo]

Pick me up a six pack on the way home from taking little Bubba to Soccer practice, will ya?

[NavyDave]

Soccer moms, Nascar Dads, Corvettes and SUVs in the same garage, total mass hysteria